PORTAL Village Adults Only (+16years) — Hotel in Săliște

I don't write reviews very often of the places I go to, mostly because they live up to my expectations or because they're just fine. Not excellent, not terrible. But with this place I feel almost obligated to write one. And not because of positive experiences!||||This place is not what we expected. Far from it actually. Plus a food poisoning...||||To start off with the positive (and this is actually the only truly positive thing): The location. Natural, quiet and tranquil on the edge of one of Romania's wonderful - and by most European standards - huge forests. The nature here is really what attracts. ||||The standard of Portal Village itself though, is really subpar. From the staff who (with the exception of the hotel manager) spoke english very poorly, not to mention their complete indifference in giving good customer service, to the quality of the main house (the "Green Bistro"/reception/breakfast room) and the general standard of the cabin and the maintenance of it.||||We were there for several nights in one of the two Moon cabins (see picture), and we did not have any housekeeping visits at all. No fresh towels, no making up the bed, no floor cleaning, toilet paper you name it. Even with their little wooden "please make up my room"-sign hanging on the door for half a day. Nothing.||||With a place that decorates itself with words like "Premium Glamping", "Amenities and facilities 4** Premium Level" and "mattress FIVE STARS", you expect a relatively high standard and level of service. Prepare to be disappointed.||Even in the off- or shoulder-season period (October 2023) this place was not cheap, and to charge this amount of money for a product like this in a rural part of Romania feels like a complete rip-off. And then I haven't even mentioned all of the things that didn't work like the rainfall shower head or the humidity issues inside the cabin or the paths around in "the village" where you have to use your phone's flash light to see where you are going (it is pitch-black in the evening). Words like "glamping" and "premium" is not what comes to mind.||||The craziest part however, was what happened to us on the first evening when we arrived: Food poisoning from their restaurant the "Vatra - Green Bistro". We were 360° sick for days, and even after making the staff aware of this, they did nothing. No assistance or any help. No asking us if we felt better. Not even toilet paper. Nothing!||||The food poisoning is with 99,9% certainty coming from this restaurant. We had the same first, the same main and the same dessert. This really ruined a huge part of our holiday in Romania. It even went on after flying back home. And the only thing we "got" from the staff - this time the hotel manager, who seemed like a nice guy to be fair - was an apology and an offering to come and stay and eat there again for free. Yes, you read that right. EAT and stay there again. Not really what one would want after what had happened.||||We of course don't know what specifically caused the food poisoning, but it is plausible to believe that is was the kitchen hygiene standards that, as far as I could tell, was not very impressive to put it lightly. Before checking out, one of the kitchen staff took some of the breakfast buffet food and scooped it onto another board with their bare hands. After they of course touched I don't know how many used utensils and tongs around the buffet table. Yuck!||||As you can read, it was not a very pleasant stay for us, so to round off this review, I would really just recommend anyone to think twice about this place before booking. There are so many beautiful and natural places in Romania to discover - and a lot of delicious food as well. Without the...

We found this place randomly while looking for a 2-3 days getaway and this is exactly what we got. The location is set in a really nice and quiet village. It's a pleasure to walk around and if you want to, you can also go to Sibiu which is 30 minutes away,by car, from the location. We did not expect to enjoy this place as much as we did. The whole stay was perfect,starting from our arrival,where we were welcomed by the owner herself who served us some home-made cocktails and gave us a tour around the place, to the quietness overall of the location and landscape. You genuinely feel a disconnect from everything once you get to your room. The rooms are phenomenal, with huge windows and clean bathrooms. You don't have a TV in your room which is a plus from my point of view. Honestly,once you get there, you don't need one. For the first couple of hours we just layed in bed and stared at the forest in front of us. There are two types of rooms: Moon which are facing the forest and Sun which are facing the field and the village. Now the food is absolutely delicious. You don't have a literal menu per se,you leave everything to the chef and it was weird at first but in the end,from my point of view it's way better. You always get something new and fresh since they focus on a few dishes and if you are vegan or vegetarian, they are always prepared to meet your needs. One other thing that I really enjoyed was the fact that both the owner and the chef were always checking on guests to make sure everything is alright,and everyone is satisfied with their rooms and food. They also have a spa which you can reserve for an hour. Unfortunately we did not have time for it when we were there but we'll surely give it a try next time. Overall we were more than satisfied with the location,the food and the welcoming...

I was looking for a place to escape and relax for a couple of days with my wife. Found the location while looking for lodges. |Remote, quite place with good parking and even in a period of grey weather it is a beautiful place. |We looked around and entered the main building which is the restaurant where we were greated by the owner who is very friendly. We sat down to a cup of tea while she made sure our bungalow was ready.|She showed us where we will stay, on the way she explained how everything works, also inside the bungalow where everything is and how the air conditioner works. |We booked an all inclusive package with spa and wellness, which here is on appointment base, spa and wellness area is for 4 people max which is nice since you have the area all to yourself. She booked for us when we would like to have spa treatment and wellness (hot tub+sauna). |The food is extraordinary in taste and quantity, ingredients are locally grown and purchased form local producers, very well prepared.|They sometimes have 1 or 2 dishes not available but it is difficult to not find anything you like.|Bungalow is clean the spa area is cleaned after each session just as if no nobody was there before.|It is practically in the woods so you are walking in nature and can go to hike on different trails. |For us it was a very relaxing and excellent experience, loved every moment and didn’t...