Hotel Silva — Hotel in Vatra Dornei

This two star hotel was recommended to us by others hiking the Via Transilvanica (VT). People said it had friendly staff, was clean and was perfectly located for people walking the VT. They also noted that the property was beginning to show its age so we should temper our expectations.

Everything people told us was true. Staff were super friendly, the room - while a but timeworn - was clean and comfortable *Note: don’t judge the single beds too quickly. While they looked a bit worn ours were super comfortable. Our room faced the rear of the building so it was very quiet; we left the balcony door open all night (there’s a screen door) so our room was fresh and cool, making sleeping under the duvet blissfully comfortable.

The friendly staff made this visit special. One experience in particular illustrates what we mean. We arrived late on Friday afternoon and were desperately in need of a laundry service. None were open - and weren’t due to reopen until Monday. The woman at the desk told us to bring our laundry (about two kg of clothes) so she could have a family member launder our clothes at their home. Amazing! Even more gracious, she waved us off when we asked how much we could pay (*later when she dropped our clothes to our room we insisted on giving her 20 Lei - about CDN $6.40 - which she eventually took with many thanks).

There is a great terrace with picnic tables just across from reception on the first floor. It overlooks the train station so when we had our picnic dinner (with food bought at nearby markets) we were able to watch trains - and their passengers - come and go. Great people watching.

The morning of our departure we got two nice coffees to go from the restaurant.

Cost: 240 Lei (including VT hiker’s discount) - given that we stayed on August 15 - Assumption Day in Romania - this was great value for...

My overall average rating is because it is an average place overall. However, for the price, it is above average.||||I stayed here on the recommendation of a person in Vatra Dornei's tourist office, who said it was a good deal for the money. It only has 2 stars in Romania's rating system, but it was as nice as other 3 star places I stayed in, for less money. The rooms are not fancy by any means, but are clean and perfectly comfortable, with a nice balcony. Some rooms face the main street (loud), so I asked to be put in a back room, which was much quieter.||||The young lady working at the desk was fabulous - she was better at customer service than staff at many 5 star hotels. She answered my many questions, was very friendly, and worked hard to solve a problem (I wanted to rent a car for a day and was having trouble finding and communicating with the car rental offices in town). Had I been successful in renting a car, I wanted to hire her for the day as a translator/guide.||||The hotel's restaurant food was fine, though hardly outstanding. Once again though, it was the staff that made the experience - very friendly and helpful. Included in the room rate is a coupon for a restaurant meal. The amount was enough for 2 meals for 1 person, making the hotel an even better value. The restaurant is very smoky though, which was a huge...

You can come here for the restaurant, to eat. Great food and great stuff. But don't ever stay here. I did this last weekend and it was my worst idea in a long time. ||We saw this hotel on Booking, mentioning "private parking" and "balcony" for the room we booked. These two were main criteria for our choice. ||1. You have no private parking. You park in the front of the hotel, on the street. Trucks pass near your car all night long||2. The lady you will find at the reception will be in your top 5 most arrogant persons you ever knew.||3. You will pay before you see the room (big mistake, we did it)||4. Eventually you will find out that your room has no balcony, and bonus, at 4th floor, without elevator (that's what happened to us)||5. I asked the lady why we don't have balcony, because in the description it had, so actually I pay for something and I get something else. She told me there's nothing she can do, and I can leave if I don't like it (great host, no?)||6. I found in our room dirty blankets, dirty toilet and torn towels ||||So if you want to have a good time in Vatra Dornei, don't you ever think about...