Odesskiy Dvorik

The hotel sits in a quiet part of Odessa, with little noise at night. Shops and currency exchanges are walkable, and the city center is about a 25-minute walk. My room was luxurious and spotless, with a private balcony. Staff were friendly and accommodating, and spoke enough English. The restaurant meal was good, though I waited almost an hour for it. Breakfast had plenty of choice and was good too.

I wouldn't recommend this hotel. Although the exterior looks impressive, service at reception was slow and lacking. I had to ask twice for documentation of my stay, and was questioned about why I needed it. The room felt under-equipped at first glance and needed better cleaning and fresh bathroom items. Dinner was another disappointment. The restaurant interior looked nice, but the wine glasses were dirty and the menu had very little available. The reception hadn't told us about any restaurant discount. While we were there, staff began shutting the place down and clearing the menus from the tables. The food was undercooked, rare, and inedible.

The location is decent, near a park and the sea, though it takes about 20 minutes to walk to the town center. Beyond that, I found the hotel disappointing for a four-star place. Staff and management didn't seem to understand hospitality. The rooms are dated, plain, and lacking character. The junior suite costs more and gives you extra space and a large comfortable bed, but the bathroom is still small and standard. Online, the hotel presents a charming facade, but you may be put in a soulless annex a few doors away, with no elevator. Breakfast was mediocre at best, served cold, and the staff were unfriendly. Even if your room is ready, don't count on early check-in without paying half the room rate. That fee got me no cleaning, even after I'd showered in a leaking tub that flooded the bathroom. Nothing was especially terrible, but there wasn't much to like either. Expect only the basics.

The reception staff were very polite and accommodating, and I liked the green courtyard with its seating spots. Breakfast tasted good, though over our six-night stay it got repetitive. The room's design felt rather dreary and unwelcoming. Ironing costs far too much, although I should say I never asked reception whether I could iron things myself.