Hotel Rio — Hotel in Mangalia

I am trying to be as objective as possible, as it's been our fourth time visiting/staying in this hotel. No, no lack of imagination here - it was solely about the argument "It's closer in case of any God forbidden unpleasant situation", as we traveled outside city limits for the first time with our daughter (6 1/2 months old). Yes, I initially wanted to go to Bulgaria or further, to Greece. :) For more details, please refer to my previous review (after our first visits, back in 2012). This is meant to be more like an update.||||+'s||- The special rate(s) and/or upgrades they offer to loyal/returning customers. A very nice perk.||- The service/personnel. I'd grade everybody (from reception desk to kitchen/breakfast space) 10+, except a quite rude receptionist (I engaged in a verbal fight with her last year, upon some credit card/POS mishap, and I am sure she has not forget - nor have I) who glacially welcomed us and did not bother to say "Hi" or anything at any time she was on duty after our checking-in. Fortunately, she is an (unpleasant) exception.||- The breakfast. Again, it's nothing you'd be enjoying in a 4-star (or even 3-) Vienna hotel, but the food is pretty good. I ate/sampled almost everything that was there, including some pressed ham, two types of bologna/salami, huge amounts of tomatoes (exceptionally tasty), fried eggs (they have omelette, too), some locally baked cakes & cheese pudding (very good). Two mornings out of five (granted, we skipped one, as we were someplace else), they had nice orange juice, plus peach or grapefruit. Also, they had home-made (not the supermarket kind) roe and something called "zacusca" (untranslatable... let's say a Romanian type of vegetable hors d'oeuvres, served cold from the jars where it was put, in autumn time, by grandmother, aunt, etc.). I deem it was because we were literally approaching the end of the season (it was already past September 5th) that they did not replenish the nice extras as days went by... And the juice became some ordinary soda. Not that awful, as in some other places, yet still ordinary colored, carbonated water. There were the yoghurts that I resented - please, please replace "Danone" with anything else from the Romanian brands -, and also the cheese (two types - cow and sheep) was not quite according to my taste. But this is already a fine tuning matter. They had goat milk - a nice surprise - and home-made (I mean made by themselves) plum jam. I happen to have a rather sensitive stomach, but again, this year, no incidents whatsoever. :)||- The existence of (at least two) baby/high-chairs in the breakfast area. Very important aspect.||- The elevator. It's extremely useful when you are carrying a child and/or pieces of luggage.||- The bigger fridge having replaced the mini-bar.||- Hot water with no restrictions and full pressure (there are hotels still shamefully struggling with this kind of issues on our Black Sea Coast, unfortunately).||- The bed. The double/matrimonial one. Comfortable and large enough to accommodate two adults and a little girl (we had decided not to mess with any cot or "travel bed" from home).||- Plenty of towels, quite decently looking.||- The functioning of the AC unit. We used it just a bit, but we could feel it was working properly.||||-'s||- The absence of power outlets in the living room area (we had an apartment). There is only a two-socket outlet (one for the TV, one for the fridge) on the wall where the LCD is also placed. In the "+'s" department: upon my complain, they provided us with an extension/multiplier cord the very next morning after our arrival.||- The weakness of the wi-fi signal, on any of the two networks = North/South, and (almost) no signal in the bathroom... :)||- The scarcity of the TV channels (60 something), many weak, and the quality of the TV signal.||- The absence of actual shower cabins in most of the apartments (at least in those located at the second floor, where we stayed in the past, too). Opposed to what I had been told the last time we were here. The curtained shower is bad, from several points of view, no need to detail. Yet, I do have to admit - it was easier when handling/giving our daughter her evening bath. :)||- The dating of carpets and partly, furniture... I deem they need to be replaced sometime soon, if they want to preserve the accommodation/overall comfort their loyal customers are used with.||- (Part of) the cleaning services. The particular morning we were not in this hotel, they entered and arranged a bit the room and bathroom. We noticed that the shelf above the sink had been just superficially wiped (perhaps once), then looking about the same or maybe a bit dirtier than before... :) We did not hesitate though to place/use whatever paraphernalia we had there. The overall feeling was/is still of cleanliness.||- The functioning (and related creaking noise) of the entrance door. They would need to check on all of them until next season comes. Sure, it's not a huge issue, yet it's a detail that matters, especially when a child is sleeping in the...

At the time I am writing these lines, nobody has yet reviewed it, even though the hotel, with its actual design, opened five years ago or so. Therefore I deem it only does it - fully deserved - justice to say a few nice words about it. First of all, I was shocked when, literally 15 minutes after I had made the booking, I was called from one of the ladies at the reception desk in order to get my confirmation. Never happened before! Nothing about the regular double room - as I/we booked a junior suite - though judging from the official hotel photos, the double should be roughly half of the suite, the living room missing. The real-life thing is quite nice by the local - and even West European countries' (think about so many dumpster holes there...) standards. Cleanliness, new LCD, really comfortable beds and a bunch of towels (eight all in all, for just two people). The bathroom is, indeed, a bit more "spartan" (do not expect a jacuzzi-like hi-tech shower), but, again, very clean and practical for a beach hotel. Now, speaking about the beach, just bear in mind that the one nearest the hotel is small, bit rocky and full of seaweeds. If you want a larger, sandy beach, just go towards Neptun. I had only one little problem with the showerhead, but it got fixed rapidly. Ahh, as bonuses, there are copies of famous paintings on the stairwell walls - and shoe-polishing machines at each floor! Another plus goes to the really functional and powerful air conditioner devices - if you want freezing cold in your room, then you truly got it. All personnel is great, very courteous and prompt. There is really the kind of facility you seldom encounter around here, especially on the Black Sea Coast, thinking about a lot of former great hotels, now all decayed... The breakfast is more than decent: a sort of buffet, approximately 5,50 euro/person. Modest range of choices, but the food offered is good. ||Just few negative remarks - it's simply odd not to have a power outlet in the bathroom. I did not need one, but some people definitely would. There is also the water pressure issue - rather low at times. Oh, and you perhaps would like to ask for a room that has the usual glass-metal cabin shower in the bathroom, not the curtain-accessorized one, as you would be gliding ever since... (Happened to us the second time, in August 2012, after our first visit paid in June, also last year. Yes, we had already become returning - and extremely contented -...

Stayed at this hotel for 2 weeks. The location is very good: about 150 meters from the sea and there is a bus stop about 50 menters from the hotel so you can easy reach Mangalia, Olymp, Saturn by minibus. Minibuses run about every 10 min, the cost per person is 4 lei (about 1 euro). From Mangalia you can reach other Romanian destinations by train or by bus. The hotel is very clean and the personnel is extremely helpful. All rooms are air conditioned. The room is equipped with a flat TV with about 50 channels, mostly in Romanian, little fridge. Free Wi-Fi is available. There are 3 access points: Rio Recepcie, Rio Sud and Rio Nord. For Rio Nord you have to ask for a free password at the reception. The better sandy beach is located about 500 meters towards Netpun. The only minus of this hotel on my opinion is not so romantic view from the north side of the hotel: you will see internal yard of Delta Hotel and it's restaurant (see my photos).But the overall mark is 5, I will recommend this hotel...