Grand Hotel Italia — Hotel in Cluj Metropolitan Area

We can not comment on the hotel rooms themselves as we only attended their restaurant on New Year's Eve. With much regret, we did not expect to have such issues at a 5-star hotel, but then again, appearances are not always what they seem to be.

Having prepared the reservation well in advance, booked flight tickets, plans with friends and so on... it's New Year's Eve one time a year so thought we would treat ourselves; all seemed OK until the evening started and we took our places at the table. This is when we noticed with real disappointment that management does not apply the same rules to all their customers apparently. Having a business ourselves, we know how important it is to treat customers in the same manner, regardless of how little or how much they spend with you (or who they are for that matter). Receiving anything but this from a 5-star location brought back memories as to why we moved away from this country in the first place.

The problem? Well, it seems there's no problem with smoking within the restaurant here, despite having "no smoking" signs. But wait, how can someone smoke if they have a "no smoking" sign? Well, in this situation, it was enough to instruct the floor manager that he (the individual smoking) will not stop smoking, because (and I quote) he mentioned the following: "do you know who I am? do you know who you are coming up against?"

The manager did not seem to know him, or anyone from their group, neither did we, but that was enough to prevent rules being applied equally to all. After several complaints, we were bluntly told that the smoking law isn't properly defined in Romania, so there's no way to stop them... this again, with "no smoking" signs on the wall.

So, this was how we spent our New Year's Eve, approx 4 hours of constant smell of cigarettes and e-cigarettes in the background, only because some individual used his "street rep" to discourage the restaurant management staff from applying the rules.

Unfortunately, the food was just as bad. The starter was random at best, while the main course - duck - was overcooked.

The only person that actually tried to assist us was our waiter, the sole person that showed us some customer service that evening. She would have gotten a much better rating, but the review is for management, not herself. This could have easily been avoided had they informed us that local gangsters do whatever they want on their premises, or that smoking is...

Adequate Stay with Some Disappointments at Grand Hotel Italia

I recently stayed at the Grand Hotel Italia in Cluj for a three-night stint during the Upriserz event and had a mixed experience, prompting me to give the hotel a 3-star rating.

On the positive side, the hotel boasts an impressive facade and the rooms offer a decent level of comfort. The location was also convenient for attending the Upriserz event, which was a highlight of my trip.

However, there were several aspects of my stay that fell short of expectations. For starters, breakfast was a bit of a challenge. If you're not an early bird, you may find the pickings quite slim. It appears that the hotel doesn't regularly replenish food items once they run out, which was a bit of a letdown considering the caliber of the establishment.

Additionally, I encountered an unpleasant situation when attempting to draw a bath. The water ran with a disconcerting black-yellow tint and was accompanied by small debris. Despite several attempts to let it run clear, the issue persisted, leading me to abandon the idea of a relaxing soak and opt for the shower cabin instead.

The event itself drew a crowd of a thousand people, and it became evident that the hotel restaurant wasn't equipped to handle such a large number simultaneously during the lunch break. The lack of adequate seating forced me and several other attendees to eat standing up, which was not ideal and detracted from the overall experience.

The room's air conditioning system left a lot to be desired as well. It was preset and offered no option to adjust the temperature, only to turn it off completely, which resulted in an uncomfortably dry atmosphere in the room.

For a hotel that prides itself on being a five-star establishment, these issues were quite disappointing, especially when considering the price paid for the stay. One would expect a seamless experience with top-notch amenities and services. While the Grand Hotel Italia certainly has potential, it's clear that there are areas in need of improvement to truly deliver the luxury experience that...

Highly overrated. Was here for a wedding and stayed for 2 nights. 0 attention to detail. Very bad circulation and flow of people. Untidy/dirty terrace, half of the things were broken: lights, etc. Very poor landscaping and maintenance of garden. Near the pool dumped construction materials. Terrible for allergy sufferers. It's like they planted on purpose high-allergy species. In the huge lobby loads of flowers (lilies) - the entire place was stinky. The rooms are very nice, large and have stylish furniture. There are centralized controls near the bed, with electric blinds. I found that nice and practical. The service was fine besides house keeping - except for the replenished toiletries I couldn't have said anyone was there. At checkout the service was cold, was not asked if all was OK. Overworked staff - I was shocked to see the same people serving at the event until 2am also serving breakfast - how is this even legal?! The restaurant service was great, highly professional staff. The event halls, like the entire hotel, have a very poor architectural design, terrible acoustics, and bad lighting - but shinny chandeliers. The bar is very sad and unattractive. I'm not sure why it's even a 5* hotel. Prices are fine, but the quality is absolutely not up to standard. The entrance/circulation route is via the logistics area, but then no pedestrian access from car park to the reception - you need to walk through vehicle barriers. Absolutely unacceptable. Needless to say it's not an accessible building for less- abled people. Also, while having breakfast on the terrace, people were carrying boxes with supplies up the stairs. Who designed the flows in this building? Nobody thought about anything, other than making it shiny. The acoustic insulation is completely lacking and couldn't shut an eye because of the very loud music until 3 am. Needless to say I won't be back. Did I mention no...