Parlament Palace

The bellman was very attentive with our bags, and the hotel has great amenities. Our room was cold when we arrived, which is a real plus in the 5 Stans. You can hear cars and some music at night, though it didn’t bother me much.

I’ve been coming here since it opened, and the terrace is lovely and inviting. The receptionists did a great job, and dinner for our group was very good, with excellent service. Breakfast was the weak point: it was poor for a hotel like this, and even the bread had run out. The better rooms are full apartments and very well equipped.

The price just isn’t worth it. The rugs were disgustingly dirty, and the rooms seemed dirty too. There were drunk people shouting in the corridors at midnight, the bathrooms had no water hose, and reception wasn’t staffed all the time.

The river view is great, but this place is basically a disco with rooms attached. Music from the club pumps through the rooms facing the river until about 4 a.m. every night of the week, so sleeping there is impossible. The rooms smell because the bathroom siphons aren’t installed properly. Breakfast is basic, but enough.