Baron Hotel Yaremche

Yaremche was right outside the door: the railway station, shops, and restaurants were all nearby, and Elephant rock was just across the road, with a nice walk down to it. From the room, I could watch the sunrise. The place itself has a beautiful Carpatian style, with ancient icons on the walls, and there was a hot sauna. Everyone was cheerful, caring, and welcoming. Breakfasts were generous, and the comfort, coziness, hospitality, and authentic feel were far beyond what I expected. I had an amazing weekend and came away full of impressions, with my mind finally free of worries.

The pizza was delicious, and the others enjoyed their pizza, vareniki, and pelmen, so the evening was all right in the end. The Wi-Fi was strong, and I appreciated that our waiter could speak English, though one of us was local. My own orders were a mess. I asked for beef carpaccio and got roast beef salad. I had to explain three times that it wasn't what I'd ordered, and nobody believed me until I showed them the description and pictures on Google. They eventually understood, but the carpaccio wasn't available, and they didn't ask if I'd like something else. We also ordered dry white wine and were brought room-temperature champagne. The waitress didn't know the difference between champagne and white wine.

I booked through Airbnb, and a mistake in how they handled the booking meant my debit card was charged three times the correct amount. I've asked the staff for a refund, but still haven't heard back. It was disappointing.

I only went to the restaurant, not the hotel, and had a great dinner. The food was delicious and surprisingly reasonably priced, and the waiter was really nice. I could see from the window how clean everything was, and even the waiter wore white gloves.