Carol Parc Hotel - Bucharest, Romania 

I stayed for two nights at the Carol Parc Hotel in Bucharest. I had heard nothing but good things about the hotel and wanted to see the opulence of the property. The weekend rate was 400 Euros per night for an executive room. Upon arrival from Budapest I was met by a bellman and a driver who I later learned was the resteraunt manager. I arrived after midnight and I think the hotel wanted to ensure that I had no problems as Gara de Nord can be an adventure after dark. I arrived and was shown the my room which was lovely and had one of the largest marble bathrooms I have seen in my travels. It is clearly the most luxurious hotel in Bucharest. The food from Poem resteraunt which is available via room service 24 hours a day is probably the best food I have ever had at any hotel. But this is where my satisfaction with the hotel ended. The location of the hotel is poor. They like to think of it as secluded but it is on a side street near to a marginal area of Bucharest the street is dirty and unkept even by Bucharest standards and the occasional stray dog still wonders the area. The location of the Radisson, Hilton, Marriott, and Novotel are all much better in my opinion. I then asked if they could arrange a tour of the city for me because I was moving to Bucharest to take a job. They said they would not have a driver for sometime. I waited over 90 minutes for a gentleman to arrive. When he arrived he did not speak sufficent English to explain things to me and looked blank when I asked him to take my on a City tour. He would occasionally tell me the name of a street and that was it. For this I was charged over 70 Euro per hour which is much more than other 5 star hotels in Bucharest. The Radisson charges 20 Euro per hour for such a service. But I was still reasonably happy with the hotel. Then came check-out. I had booked a room for 385 Euro per night inclusive VAT. When I went to have my bill totaled I saw they had charged me VAT for my room rate AND then added the 20% VAT TO THE ENTIRE BILL. I protested showing the woman at reception my confirmation email. There was no manager in the Hotel on the weekend and she had to be called at home. I was told that this was the way things were done in Romania. This is untrue, I have since stayed at hotel who honor their rates. This as I had the confirmation email and even brough out a calculator to show what the rate should have been with City and Hotel tax included and showing the clerk where the mistakes were made. This little stunt cost me about 150-200 Euro roughly. Upon leaving I asked the hotel to call my a taxi who charged me 100 RON to go a few blocks, why would the hotel call such a service. Unless you are really desperate for luxury and don't care what it costs there are better options in Bucharest try the Radisson you can read my review on Trip Advisor.

Probably the best hotel in Bucharest, great looks, educated staff, commendable services. Staying here made a nuisance of a business trip to Eastern Europe into a small vacation. Secret tip: ask to go to the tower bar, and have a barman serve you drinks all night.