JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel — Hotel in Bucharest

This has been one of the best Marriott stays I have ever had. Truly received a place in the great memories of our vacation.

Pros Breakfast: The breakfast every morning was superb. We had plenty of choice as vegetarians. What made it even better was the hospitality. Pufu and Ionuti took excellent care of us everyday with genuine warmth and interest in ensuring we were having a great time. We used to look forward to breakfast everyday just so we could meet them as they always made our day! We had a few early days so the breakfast starting at 6:30 AM everyday was a huge advantage.

Lounge: The lounge is one of the top three Marriott/Starwood lounges I have been in. There were some good vegetarian options everyday (would have loved to see a bit more choice as they often considered fish/shrimp as vegetarian). Once again the hospitality in the lounge was very good. Also loved that the lounge is open 24x7. Loved both tea time and evening food.

Elite Status Recognition: Elite status was recognized and elite benefits given. A big plus!

Room: The room was very well done. Loved the presence of both 110v and 220v plugs with different prongs. Good lighting in the room. Good variety of bathroom amenities. Great views of Parliament Palace and the upcoming Cathedral from the hotel rooms.

Areas of Opportunity Email Response: The email responses are non-existent. For example, prior to our trip, wanted to book hotel shuttle and spa appointments. Tried three different email aliases to never hear back and finally hear back too late after many emails. This is in no way reflective of the great hospitality once you are at the hotel. This is also a loss of ancillary revenue to the hotel.

Spa: Was offered water at the spa post my spa and they ended up silently charging me on the folio at checkout. Was told it would be removed but it never was. If someone is taking spa treatments, water should be free and if not free, it should be clearly stated it is chargeable.

Room: Would love to see bathrobes and slippers...

It's like visiting a heavily unionised hotel in the US or UK 30+ years ago.

Some of the staff are lovely and are obviously nice people in real life. Sadly a lot don't seem to enjoy their work or serving other people. And they really want you to know. Maybe they find working in a service industry demeaning. (it was the same in Starbucks so maybe it's a city or countrywide attitude. The UK used to be similar. It's almost always trained out, or selected against, in 5 star places but not here.)

On two separate occasions I asked for simple things which were available in the hotel but not at that time and place. I was told bluntly that there was none available. When I asked if they could get me some I got the dead eyed direct stare and a very clear "no". What were these luxuries? The first was soy milk at coffee after the dinner buffet which was available at the hotel coffee stand 20metres away. The second was margarine to have with bread at breakfast. It was available on other days but no one was going to get me any when they hadn't put it out.

The bedroom was huge and comfortable. The public spaces were grand. The gym had heaps of equipment. The swimming pool didn't look great. The 4 spa/gym reception staff had the dead-eyed uninterested approach to customer service. The inhouse coffee/cake place had great coffee. All the breakfast waiters were friendly. Breakfast selection was great. The dinner buffet for our group (I was there for a poker tournament) was very poor. The kebab shop across the road had better choice (and food!) for €4.

The service was awful. For 2018 in a "5 star" hotel I would say it is unacceptable but it may be the best available in Bucharest in which case it is what it is. There is no way I would make J W Marriott Bucharest a vacation destination but if I had to come to Bucharest it's OK I guess. Just don't extend your stay to get pampered with kindness and service. You will be sadly...

Viking used this hotel on our disembarkation day and also when we returned from our post-cruise extension trip. So I had 2 very different rooms, but the experience in the rooms was the same. The 1st night, although I requested a king bed room, I was given 2 Queens - not a biggie. This room's toilet was in a separate room than the shower and separate tub. The tub was to die for! I'm 5'7 and to find a tub I can fully lay back in and be covered by water is rare. Plus the back sloped perfectly instead of kinking my neck at a weird angle. The shower was also nice. The beds were adequate but could use some upgrading. The only downside to this room - even though it was on the 2nd floor (with the ground level floor being "zero") it was at the back of the building, which at that point, the 2nd floor IS the ground floor. People walking by on the sidewalk outside could look right into my room. The 2nd room was on the 5th floor and I had a great view north of the city of Bucharest. This room was smaller than the first room and the toilette and tub/shower combo were in the same small bathroom. Still, the bedding was comfortable and the room also had a lounging chair, table and desk and chair. Had room service deliver a meal on the 2nd night. Prompt and courteous, but the fries were stone cold and the chicken Caesar had very little chicken in it. The location would be great if you had business at the Parliament across the street. But for touristy stuff, it was about 3/4's to 1 mile to anything. Still better than some places that are even further out from the Old Town, but quite a walk back to the hotel when you'd been walking all day. Not sure if I would choose to stay there again, but then, I don't have anything else to...