Viceroy Kopaonik Serbia — Hotel in Raska Municipality

I recently encountered an extremely disappointing experience during my two-day stay (originally planned for 2 nights but ended up being only 1 night) at the hotel. Two days before my reservatio, I was hospitalized with a high fever. Despite providing a medical report, my request for a two-day postponement was denied based on your cancellation policy. Despite the room being available and it not being a peak time (middle of the week), a significant additional amount was demanded to postpone our reservation.

I declined to pay the extra fee and proceeded to the hotel on the reserved day. We arrived at the hotel around 12 o'clock with two small babies. The room was ready, but we were informed that an early check-in would require a fee of 50 euros. Despite our need for a room to change into warm clothing after the journey, we were not accommodated without an extra charge. The front desk initially suggested a complimentary 1-hour early check-in at 2 pm and promised to call me, but no one contacted us. Eventually, we obtained the room at the regular check-in time of 15:00. During the three-hour waiting period, despite spending most of the time at lunch, the rest was sufficient to make us feel uncomfortably cold due to the lack of suitable clothing.

We had reserved the Kopaonik suite for our comfort with the children. Upon entering the room, prepared hours in advance, we were met with an ice-cold atmosphere, a bedroom lacking baby beds, and a less-than-desirable view of construction. After calling the front desk, someone promptly arrived with the baby beds, made some adjustments, and assured us the room would be heated within an hour. However, the room did not warm up. When I called again after an hour and a half, stating the room was still cold, the staff ignored my concerns and asked the attendant about the room adjustments. He jokingly mentioned it would warm up soon, which did not happen. Frustrated, I went down to discuss the issue in person. Meanwhile, my daughter and wife, who had been at the pool, reported that the spa was also cold. Notably, there was no hair dryer in the room, leaving them shivering. It's crucial to emphasize that we are discussing a hotel that costs 400 euros per night.

Upon coming downstairs to talk face to face, after a few phone calls, we were relocated to one of the hotel's best rooms. It was warm and comfortable. However, an illogicality in the room design became apparent. The suite room was chosen to allow us to spend time in the living room without disturbing the children who would be sleeping early. Yet, the lighting system in the rooms (likely all rooms) is connected to a single system, making it impossible to turn on the light in the living room without also illuminating the bedroom, and vice versa. After putting the kids to sleep, we found ourselves using a flashlight (not a joke) for 1-2 hours before finally going to sleep.

On the night I took three fever-reducing pills, my wife fell ill the next day, which we attributed to the cold exposure in the initial room. Consequently, we checked out of the hotel one day earlier. Subsequently, my daughter and son also fell ill. This experience significantly tarnished what was meant to be a relaxing holiday, and the hotel's approach substantially contributed to this...

This is not a European ski resort hotel that it is pretending to be. The breakfasts are very poor and overcrowded. Most days there are no empty seats, and if there are, you have to wait an unusually long time for the staff to barely clean them. The selection is not what one would expect in a 5 star hotel - a whole lot of westerns classics are missing, and there are no Eastern European dishes to compensate. A single sausage type, mildly warm eggs, and an inadequate tea selection all disappoint with some exceptions such as the fresh croissants. An obvious solution to overcrowded breakfasts would be to offer complementary room service breakfast, but alas, it is not included.

No matter, the room service is abysmal, truly some of the worst I’ve experienced. The Greek salad was inedible, the salmon dry, and the burger buns were fridge-cold. There is a bar downstairs which offers a much better Greek salad, and it is incomprehensible to me how the room service could not offer the same. Make no mistake, the bar is not good - the waiter brought appetizers and main courses all at the same time for a group of 6.

The waiters brought out the wrong orders and when asked to correct, they brought me the bill with both included.

The ski room is small but overall adequate, although they will not tune your skis. This is a service which comes complementary in most European rentals, and to refuse it on the icy Serbian slopes is a major oversight.

But the worst part of the hotel is the service. They are sometimes rude, but always wholly incompetent: It seems completely normal for the reception to take a request and then disappear. Once during our stay the reception confirmed our booking in their restaurant, only for us to find out the kitchen was closed when we arrived and they had instead booked it at the bar. On a separate occasion Nikola at the reception misled me about the closing time, and I arrived to a closed kitchen. On checkout a member of my family was asked if they’d used anything in the minibar - quite a standard question. What isn’t standard is calling housekeeping in front of their face to double check that they had indeed not used anything. Insulting.

No one was greeting us upon arrival. The road to the hotel from the airport is 4 hours, and no one thought to offer us help with the luggage from the car or to the room, no one even offered to hold the door or show us around. The rooms they gave us were miles apart, although decent.

Above all, they are not trying to improve any of these blunders. No one asked us how the stay was going, and one time when we raised some concerns the receptionist just… switched the topic.

Also, the internet is so bad I opted to use cellular roaming the...

What I liked:

The rooms are really nice and spacious. They come with a great view of the Central Valley, and some even have balconies. The bathroom is big and nice, with a bathtub. There's a large TV in a cool wooden frame, a 55-inch one that lets you watch your own stuff from Netflix, HBO, and more. They also have a well-equipped mini bar safe box and a coffee machine, which is a nice bonus. Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

The staff was nice and ready to assist, but it was clear they could use more hands. I even heard restaurant workers talking about needing more help. Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

What I didn’t like:

Food: I can't put it differently, but the food is terrible. We had breakfast and dinner included, but after our second dinner, we decided to eat outside the hotel. Rating: 1/5 ⭐️

The restaurant area is small considering the number of rooms, making it a challenge to find an available table and navigate through the crowd. Additionally, the restaurant's design is simple compared to the hotel's overall elegance. The limited staff also means that empty tables can take a while to be cleared. 1/5 ⭐️

The indoor spa is quite tiny and not particularly remarkable. It's disappointing because you'd hope to enjoy some time there. I think they only have 10 lounging spots and a small pool that resembles a Jacuzzi. Additionally, there are two compact saunas and a steam room. 2/5⭐️

Outdoor Pool and Patio: Once again, the outdoor pool and patio area is too small for the number of guests the hotel accommodates. There are only 25 beds, a single small Jacuzzi, and another compact pool available. This space definitely needs a better design. Unfortunately, you'll likely have to share this area with a large number of people. Some lucky early risers reserve the beds by placing towels, which can block them for the entire day. To address this issue, there should be supervision to discourage this behavior. Staff should remove towels and personal items from guests who save spots and then leave, only to come back later. Rating: 2/5 ⭐️

In conclusion, your overall experience is significantly impacted by when you choose to visit and the budget you're comfortable allocating. During the summer season, our nightly rate was below $200, which represented excellent value. However, if you decide on the busier ski season, where rates can exceed $500, the increased costs might not necessarily translate to the same level of satisfaction.

Here's a helpful tip: consider making your reservation directly with the hotel. While it might mean skipping the convenience of a booking app, it could lead to...