Grand Hotel Bonavia — Hotel in Grad Rijeka

My wife and I wandered into this hotel at 11 pm, without a reservation, wearing our alpine hut hut hiking backpacks smelling of warm cheese and dried sweat. The man at the front desk spoke English well and was very polite. It was ~€140 ($155) for the night. Our stay was for the night of August 10, 2019 (Saturday to Sunday).

The room was not the most amazing, and for the price I'd say the room was overvalued. There were some minor maintenance issues (older hotel), the bed was a pair of twins pushed together and "fused" with a mattress pad, though it was still apparent the bed was two twins; furthermore, the only "blanket" were two thick sheets (though in August a blanket is not needed, per se). There were a lot of hairs on the bathroom floor, though the room was pretty clean for the most part, which seemed to suggest a rushed cleaning. In general, the room was nice, with a high ceiling and beautiful tile bathroom, both windows overlooking the center atrium where we had breakfast. The air conditioning was responsive and seemed to be uncapped, which is a huge plus. I'm not sure how well our room situation reflected the rooms in the hotel overall.

About the breakfast: this was where a large part of the value was - at least for us. A large buffet breakfast that ran until 11 am (checkout time) was spread with regional breakfast options familiar to France, Germany, Switzerland, and US, along with two cappuccino/cocoa machines. There is really too much to list here - be comfortable knowing you will find something you can eat (and you will get plenty). Very impressive breakfast with friendly staff cleaning and restocking the area constantly.

Google lists a pool as one of the amenities which, if it were true, would have put this hotel way over the top for value. Front desk staff informed us that there was a sauna and exercise area, but no pool. The exercise area was quite small, and the focus seemed to be more on the massage options (for an extra cost) and the free sauna (which includes two saunas warm/hot, steam room, cold shower relaxing area with fruits and drinks, and locker room). The woman who ran the sauna area was very helpful, informing us of the area and even providing some information on Croatian sauna culture. Slow jazz played quietly in the center relaxing room between the saunas. A dim overhead lamp changed colors slowly over time.

The staff were consistently friendly and helpful throughout our stay. While some investment could help improve aspects of this hotel, we were incredibly happy with our stay overall, and there is a great value for the cost. This was a very pleasant experience for our first night in Rijeka. Highly...

I had a disappointing stay – poor customer service and uncomfortable experience.|While there were a few positives, they were heavily outweighed by the numerous issues I encountered.||Customer Service:|The most concerning aspect of my stay was the lack of professional and helpful customer service. Despite asking, the staff refused to connect me with a manager. Their attitude throughout was dismissive and unprofessional. I felt genuinely disregarded as a guest. Overall, service left much to be desired. I always try to give a property the opportunity to make things right before posting a disappointing review. This property lacked any interest in resolving anything. I have never been denied the opportunity to speak with management.||Room Conditions:|The room itself was spacious, which was appreciated, but that’s where the positives ended. The room had a strong odor of dog upon entry. The sheets appeared dingy, and after sitting on the couch, I became extremely itchy—possibly from fleas. The toilet button was faulty, frequently getting stuck and running for extended periods without flushing properly. The shower area was also poorly designed, with water splashing everywhere and a clogged drain. The shower-head was awkward and difficult to use.||Temperature & Comfort:|The management controls the AC, you have no ability to adjust it from your room.|Room temperature was a major issue. At check-in, the room was a stifling 77°F—even with the blinds closed and AC running on high. In the early morning, the room temperature was still 23°C (about 73°F), far above the ideal sleeping range. I was unable to sleep comfortably due to the heat. It’s clear the hotel is aware of the issue—there was only a single sheet on the bed, with the rest of the bedding stored in the closet. Meanwhile, the lobby remained noticeably cool, suggesting a lack of concern for guest comfort in the rooms. ||Room Amenities:|The room lacked basic conveniences—there were no USB ports or outlets of any kind near the bed, and no coffee or tea provided. These are standard expectations in most hotels today.||Noise:|There was loud, disruptive noise from adjoining rooms, this impacted sleep and the ability to rest.||Breakfast:|On a positive note, breakfast was very good. The area was spacious and well-maintained, which made for a pleasant morning experience.||Decor:|The hotel has older decor, which didn’t bother me. However, overall cleanliness and maintenance left a lot...

Truly the WORST attitude I have ever seen at hotel reception (after working more than 15 years in tourism sector in previous chapter of my life and been in 72 countries as tourist)! After a request made 6 months ago, which has been explicitly asking for rooms with two separate beds in each room and has been confirmed by the management - surprisingly a super rude lady (Masa) has told us that we have mainly double rooms... We have explained what we got confirmed by their management and she got extremely rude, explaining how this is what we have, being super agressive and not-supportive and using deeply inappropriate attitude toward guests in a hotel... In the meantime - Croatian guests got their twin room with a smile (still explaining us that they do not have twin rooms they previously confirmed to us by email). After travel for 12+ hours, not mentioning that we were a group of athletes with disabilities, which are coming on sport competition and the rules requiere that athletes do not share beds with coaches due to need of proper rest (which was our original idea on requesting specific rooms) - we got an awful welcome as well... Reception is the "face" of each hotel and... some people are just not made to work in...