We were spending a total of six nights in Romania, and would be changing hotels every night (apparently that’s how road trips work?). Of those six nights we spent five in Transylvania, and a total of four of those five nights were in boutique hotels and guest houses. The one exception was the first night,…
Continue reading: Review: DoubleTree By Hilton Cluj, Romania
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
@Lucky
Quick question: Since you stay in so many hotel rooms, do you have any type of bedbug protocol? For instance do you check for bedbugs when entering the room or only keep your luggage in the bathtub? Just curious to hear how you deal with bedbugs
Good question regarding bedbugs. I actually would love to see a post on this and how you deal with the issue/your thoughts on bedbugs e.g. is the whole fear overblown
Never seen a cooked to order egg option at a DoubleTree... have you?
Price is indeed exorbitant. Stayed at DoubleTree Tower of London this summer for less than half that room rate... heck, for less than what I value 30,000 points at. Hotel prices in Romania really are out of control.
Exorbitant rates in cash but cheap using points is when you redeem!
This was a 0.9cpp redemption, which is not uncommon overseas.
"Tiffany and I are both Honors Diamond members, so we both received suite upgrades. "
You said that so matter-of-factly, when many "long-time" Hilton Diamonds have claimed in this space that they have never received a suite upgrade (on the other hand, I just noticed that of late there have been fewer such "long-time" Hilton Diamonds making the claim).
I am considering a 'Great Eastern Europe Escapade' that will include Romania, Bulgaria and more) and I will definitely consider redeeming points this property.
"Of those six nights we spent five in Transylvania, and a total of four of those five nights were in boutique hotels and guest houses"
What's the reasoning for staying at so many hotels in one city? Is it blog related?
After a very ambitious first vacation to Europe about 20 years ago when I wasn't sure I'd be able to return, I find it much more relaxing to stay somewhere for a few nights before moving on.
And pictures of European pastries should be banned (is there an Ad-Block for that?). They seem much higher quality than the doughy croissants largely found here in the states.
@rich Transylvania isn't a city, it's a region. This whole trip report is about a road trip they took through that region of the country. So they spent four nights in four different cities in the same region of the country. Kind of like if you drive up the California Coast at a leisurely speed you'd spend several nights at different hotels in California, but not necessarily in the same city.
@ rich -- Transylvania is an entire region, so we're staying in several different cities 🙂 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania)
Staying in one place would certainly be less of a hassle, but perpetual motion is part of the fun of a road trip!
@ George
The DoubleTree Minsk has a cooked to order egg option at their (also overall great) breakfast buffet.
Interestingly enough, the rates there also tend to be around $250 per night. It might just be me, but I think that part of the world has a much higher-end brand positioning perception for DoubleTree. I'm curious if others had similar experiences.
The DoubleTree Las Vegas Airport and Bratislava each have cooked to order omelettes (and I assume other eggs) included in their Diamond breakfast benefit, so I don't think of that as odd at a DoubleTree.
@dfw88 and tiffany,
Thanks. I have never been in that part of the world (eastern Europe and especially Romania). I just assumed it was a city.
@Lucky; in the review, you write:
“After having stayed at several boutique hotels the past few nights, let me just point out that this bed was really, really, really comfortable.“
But wasn’t this your first night in Romania? Or do you consider a Turkish Air Boeing a boutique hotel as well?
Ben, when were you in Cluj. I was there last Tues night/Wednesday and past by the Doubletree on my way to restaurant Samsara that is around the corner. The Doubletree is in a more quiet location a bit away from the old parts of the town, where the "free tour" is wonderful to get used to the town. Overall, a walkable city.
@ Jonathan
Even in places like Minsk & Cluj, they ought to be aware that Doubletree is nowhere near the price+luxury level of Waldorf Astoria, or even Conrad.
When I stayed there in July, I got upgraded to the same suite class as a Gold, so I don’t think there’s much demand for the premium rooms. I also had a corporate rate of about 130USD/night, and it was close to peak season. So I’m not certain what’s up with the rate they were quoting you.
Where did you rent your car and what kind did you rent? I’m curious since I want to explore more my next trip.
@ Matt -- I just rented through National/Enterprise; they had the most reasonable rates factoring in the drop fees. We booked a small crossover knowing we'd be in the countryside, which was a good choice in general, though the car itself is abhorrent.
That rate is ridiculous for a 2nd Tier city in a country where the montly average income is one of the lowest in Europe.
@Julia: "That rate is ridiculous for a 2nd Tier city in a country where the montly average income is one of the lowest in Europe."
Because obviously, hotels in any city set their prices based on demand from people who live in said city.
@Julia:
1. Define "2nd tier city."
2. Room rates don't necessarily reflect average income. Compared with income, hotels in Germany and are cheap and hotels in Romania are expensive; especially chain and boutique hotels. As I mentioned, you can find great rates even in London. It's a function of not only income, but supply, demand, and government factors (whether taxes/fees or regulation). Bucharest and Moscow are known to be expensive, and average incomes are fairly low. My boss stayed at a boutique property in not-very-central Bucharest for $200/night ("a great price!") in shoulder season, while The Dixon in London was available for $160/night in peak season this year.
3. Cluj is a university city, tourist destination, and tech hub. It commands high prices, just like Bucharest.
Hi
Bit stunned at the complaints about the prices of Hilton Hotels in Romania. Here's what we paid on a recent visit in 2017
Sighisoara $ 74 ($US)
Sibiu $116
Oradea $ 78
Kosice $ 89
All those prices are tax etc inclusive (price charged to credit card with 2.5% Forex and exchange (I'm Canadian).
To put prices in context I just looked up the price in Sibiu (my favourite Exec floor of the above) and booking for tonight was 80 Euro or $94 USD inc taxes. Even cheaper than 2017.
Lovely country to visit and the hotels were certainly cheap. Not as cheap or as nice as our visit earlier this month to Shanghai and Chongqing but nice all the same.
Another very good country to visit and really really cheap is the Ukraine where last year the non-chain hotels were anywhere from $25 to $75 per night including breakfast. Mind you the Hilton in Kiev was probably $180 (and worth every penny).
Safe travels. Hope you enjoyed the glitz of Bran Castle (but in October you really have to do it at least once 😉 ).
Bucharest?
Hilton Doubletree there was a tad on the expensive side at about $100.
JW Marriott was an absolute STEAL - was able to use a 25000 point coupon (annual free night from Marriott) and they put us in a suite on the Executive Floor. (We're the lowest level of elite (silver?) and did not qualify for an upgrade). The JW in Bucharest had one of the best executive floor lounges that I have experienced as a lowly rated elite. The food and beverage selection was without doubt brilliant. If I didn't have so many Hiltons already booked we would have stayed longer.
Looks decent, but I was surprised you didn't choose to stay at the Hampton Cluj instead, which is actually really nice. It was 5k points a night just two years ago, but now it's up to 20k so it's not the deal it once was. Cluj was a really fun place to stay, though.