Grand Hotel Bucharest — Hotel in Bucharest

This hotel is far from qualifying as a 5-stars one and it's really a shame, given its history. We always wanted to explore this so-called-gem, so when we decided to book a room, we never thought it would be such a huge disappointment.

We had a standard double room, which apparently haven't seen the cleaning service for quite some time. There was dust on the carpet, especially in the corners, near the bed, a clear sign that the cleaning service was done in a hurry, or not a all. There was dust on the nightstands and also on the table lamps.

The furniture is very old and although I totally understand that keeping a certain old "vibe" is part of this hotel own charm, when that furniture is broken, it should be replaced.

The bathroom was clean, but the roof was very attracted to the floor, to put it mildly (meaning, that it showed clear signs of falling down). This is not something you would like to see anywhere, not to mention in a 5-starts hotel. The shower curtain smelled of urine. Maybe you can buy a new one? Just saying. It's such a shame for a bathroom that is covered in top-quality marble.

The sink battery was pretty rusty, which made it difficult to maneuver and there was no toilet brush. Again, this is not something one would expect from a 5-starts hotel, nor the fact that even if the room was for two, we only had one pair of slippers and one bathrobe.

The balcony offers a marvellous view over the city, but when you look at the door and the external ceiling, serious reconditioning needs to be done.

At check-out, we notified the staff at the reception desk about all these issues and we were informed that the hotel it's scheduled for some repairing work ext year, but regardless of that, next time we want to have a true "Intercontinental experience" we should book a deluxe room, which has a minibar included and also access to the top floor.

Needless to say that's not the point. Standard room, Deluxe room, Presidential suite or ... the store-room where the handyman keeps his tools ... this is a 5-stars hotel that should offer CLEAN rooms. I am not interested in "minibar included service" or "access to a certain floor", but I am interested in common sense.

P.S. this review was done when the hotel’s name was...

Avoid Avis Grand Hotel, Bucharest. Upon arriving for our 10am booking we were told to wait in the hotel lobby. At 10:35 we and another couple were called into the office, I was then told I must leave, but the straight couple could stay and they went and got another chair so they could sit together. I stood next to my seated partner and said I was ok standing. I was then told there wasn’t room for me and that I must go outside the office, I asked ‘do you not want me here’ in response and was told again to go outside. I then had to wait outside whilst my partner tried to pick up the car. The very rude ‘man’ then told my partner a passport was needed and we wouldn't be getting the car without one, despite having a photo driving license, the payment card and a photo international driving permit. My partner then came out of the office to tell me, so I went back in to say the booking email only said we needed a valid driving license and the payment card, to which ‘he’ said ‘What?’, and that I was “arrogant” and we “wouldn't be getting the car” we prepaid for. Clearly homophobic discrimination at Avis Grand Hotel Bucharest. Well avoided if you don't want to put up with name calling, rudeness and a staff member who thinks ‘he’ has a little bit of power, thinks ‘he’s’ someone important, and can dictate who gets a car and who doesn’t. Thankfully there are much better car hire companies in Bucharest who appreciated our business, and like the job they are paid to do. I feel sorry for ‘his’ colleagues having to come into work every day and deal with ‘him’. Having seen other reviews of this office it seems we are not alone in experiencing bad service from this ‘man’ who is clearly working in the wrong industry as ‘he’ knows nothing about customer service and treating people equally. We asked for ‘his’ name, but ‘he’ refused to give this, something you would only need to do if you did something wrong. Someone doing a good job would be happy to give their name. Thankfully I managed to get a photo and video of the ‘man’ to pass on to Avis, who can hopefully identify ‘him’, or I will post these on social media if they are unable to identify him so others can help. We will be taking the matter further with...

This is most definitely not a 5-star hotel - rather 3 stars. I have been to the hotel two times before, five and ten years ago and now for a third time (May 2022) and the quality of their services has declined strongly. The interior and the furniture seem in many places worn down, outdated and have mostly lost their old splendor. Staff were generally polite but they seemed stressed, disinterested and unmotivated. You could not help thinking there was a bad mood within the staff or problems with work conditions. Check in took about ten minutes although there only was one group of three in front of me - there was only one clerk and the electronic system seemed to be slow. At check-out, we had to queue for 25 minutes although he had to rush to a meeting - they offered no alternative to checking out via the clerk and check-out took ridiculous 5-6 minutes pro person, and again, there were only two clerks in spite of a very long queue. I had asked to pay the bill the day before because i had anticipated the problem but they refused on the grounds that i might consume something from the minibar on that evening and not pay it if i payed before checkout (??!!). They did not ask us how the stay was at checkout, the whole procedure made a rather uncommunicative, unfriendly impression. Reception refused to call for a taxi for us saying their is a machine for that in the lobby... We had a conference booked in the hotel with a buffett booked after the event - food did not arrive after the event, apparently because of a health and safety control by the authorities. Kitchen had closed afterwards and there was no breakfast the next day (no comment). Instead of breakfast we received a ridiculous package of two white toast sandwiches with some poor quality sausage and gouda cheese. No dietary options were offered whatsoever and even this package did not arrive to every member of our group. Will not be visiting a fourth time, which is actually a pity because this one of Bucharests historic hotels wich used to have a "Grand Hotel" flair, has a great location, a great view, etc. Unfortunately, the old flair...