Ipsilanti House

The owner was always ready to help, and the friendly staff made our stay pleasant. By chance we found this calm, very clean apartment building. The rooms are modern, tasteful, and clean, with a good bathroom and a small kitchen corner that is a real kitchen, including a cooker and kettle for cooking and hot drinks. The bed was good. Parking was easy and the area was fine. One small drawback, the curtains aren't opaque. I'd strongly recommend it.

To get inside, you have to call the person listed on a sign outside and wait for him to come show you the room. The price is negotiated on the spot. I initially refused, but he brought it down from 40 euros to 30 euros for one night. The man didn't speak English. I paid in cash and wasn't given a receipt. I didn't try the TV, electric kettle, or air conditioner, so I don't know if they worked. The room had a roll of toilet paper, but no soap, shampoo, or anything like that. The towels and bed smelled as if other people had used them and they had simply been left to dry. For a warm shower, you have to turn it on and wait about 10-15 minutes. It sounded like workers or construction workers were staying in the rooms. You could hear people in other rooms clearly, as well as street noise through the windows. The part that bothered me most was the checkout arrangement. When I arrived at 19:00, I was asked when I wanted to leave the next day. I said after lunch, then clarified 13:00-14:00. But the next day the man woke me up and said the cleaning service came at 12:00, so I had to leave by then or pay for another day. I needed a good night's rest and had expected the time we'd agreed on. Thanks for the toilet paper, by the way! Things that need fixing: wash the bedding and towels properly, make the bed ready for sleeping, and provide something for washing hands and body. Insulate the windows to reduce street noise. Keep the price stable and explain the total cost and required documents clearly. Provide a check for what was paid, give tenants an entrance code, and have someone on site so guests don't have to wait. Only disturb guests at the agreed checkout time. If you want to host tourists and people newly settled in Iasi, someone there should know at least basic English. Using a translator makes it take a long time to find anything out.

The room was clean and tidy, with air conditioning and a kitchenette. The location is quite close to the city centre, and we were fine with the room size, about 12-12 sqm, and the shower, around 1sqm, though some people may find them small. There were several problems. The administrator doesn't speak English and kept talking in Romanian even though it was clear we didn't understand. The amount requested was different from Booking, so expect to pay about 10 EUR more. I paid 400 RON in cash and expected 50 RON in change, about 10 EUR, but nobody returned it or seemed to care. Credit cards aren't accepted. Neighbors played loud Romanian music from 5 AM. This was at the end of summer, and I don't know how they get up on colder days. I'd suggest staying somewhere else. Let the 50 RON you owe me help your business prosper. Sarcasm.

It was okay.