Готель Цісар , Hotel Cisar — Hotel in Lviv Urban Hromada

10-13/9/18 - We three middle aged British guys were on our last few days of our Ukrainian holiday (fourth time) and were flying out of Lviv on Thursday 13th September.||We arrived late on a Monday night as our Intercity from Korosten was ten minutes late. At the station the public transport information was useless and it seemed by the information on the trolleybus bus stop that the service had finished by 23:00. We decided to walk the 2km to the hotel with our 5kg backpacks getting there at 23:25 (a straight road left towards the centre after the station approach road). We had emailed ahead to warn of our late arrival, although the hotel had a 24 hour reception.||We arrived tired and the receptionist was very professional and friendly (as were others during our three night stay, very accommodating too and some spoke better English than others).||We were given the keys to our (more expensive option) balcony triple room no 403 which was bright, smart, clean with three good sized single beds in a row, an armchair, small cushioned table, large wardrobe, desk and chair.||The balcony had a small table, only two chairs and was shared with 404. The door was a double glazed continental uPVC style, secure and kept the street noise out. We used the balcony for breakfast using the desk chair as the third. We found the table moved in our absence with a stinking ashtray and empt ciggie packet on it twice, i just moved it into 'their' corner.||The room had enough electrical sockets for gadgets. 17 inch wall mounted LED TV with remote. 32 satellite channels but none in English unfortunately. A desk/table was useful with sockets nearby and a big bin underneath.||A modern A/C unit was in the corner and its remote included. The unit took up space on the balcony floor though. The A/C was heeded a few times as the room got quite stuffy in the general heat and the traffic noise let alone particulates from the diesels) was too much for the balcony door to be left open or ajar.||Wifi was generally good so catch up (if you dare too) with News from the outside world on devices! ||Shower-room was big enough with external light switch for a central light but no dedicated over basin mirror lights for shaving etc. So a bit dull. The tap water pressure was good for jetting out razors. Enough hot water in the late morning for showers but I could tell system was struggling. When we arrived the toilet cistern was leaking (into pan so cistern not filling) so I requested at Reception for it to be fixed, it was whilst we were out, although is still leaking at the back seal so wet ledge under sink and behind toilet. The (quite cheap) toilet seat cover fell off and I reinstalled it. A loo brush and a small bin were by the loo. There was no active extraction fan. There were hooks and a heated towel rail for towels (and drying socks overnight). There was no sink plug for washing smalls (we bring our own or wash whilst showering) and the coat hangers were used to dry some on the balcony hanging off chairs (set back so not to bring the tone down). The balcony got the sunset heat.||As seasoned travellers (on a budget) we like places with fridges and kettles (to make our first coffee or tea puck me up). Neither was in our room but I asked at reception for a kettle (as I had noticed a hair dryer supplied on request earlier - a previous reviewer was not aware). A big kettle was taken out of the store just for us! I was sooooo grateful and it was well used the two mornings after (no, the showers were perfectly hot, thanks!).||On our second day all the towels were replaced and beds tidied (we asked the receptionist not to do this after our second night as we were happy on eco-mode, checking out after our third night.||Unfortunately there were very thin walls so I was woken up in the morning by early risers talking loudly but no big deal as I part wrote some TA reviews before my friends got up (and that coffee in bed!). There were also some occasional unusual gurgling/coffee making noises which emanated from the bathroom plumbing. This was no big problem!||The associated Restaurant Cisar (unlisted separately on TA) on the ground (with a mezzanine floor) floor was open to the general public and a godsend on our second (Tuesday, after a concert for finished at 21:15) evening as most restaurants out of the centre closed at 22:00 and shops were banned from selling alcohol from 22:00 also (Ukraine s going through a process of cleaning up its reputation as heavy drinkers AND foreigners on Stag Do short breaks wreaking havoc). The restaurant was serving most dishes 24/7 and the were remarkably cheap and good considering the almost canteen like style (with table service even on the mezzanine floor). See separate pics on this site for quality and cost! Also the beer was good and cheap, after 22:00 and we saw a bottle if Hrilka with three shots served by the friendly waitresses at an outside table at 23:00 (not body local to disturb, only the guests on the road side of the hotel - double glazed windows worked!). At the back of the menu is a price list for breakages and cleaning bills....such is Stag Do life.....||Breakfast was had on the balcony the first two mornings. Our first morning attempt of finding a proper bakery failed (reception had no idea) but the second morning we found a deep long old fashioned shop with a real bakery at the end only 50m away towards the centre, at #55, 'Rodinna Korbaska' (a quaint chain it seems) which had a good selection of hard and soft breads, sliced to order, and sweet breads including delicious chocolate bread and their (stodgy compared to the French) versions of jam or custard filled croissants all served in paper bags, not plastic (hurrah!).||Overall this is a great value hotel which is fairly central with great facilities including its integrated 24 hour restaurant. Friendly staff run this (chain) hotel. We had a pleasant three...

I am almost 64 years old, and this hotel reminds me of over 40 years ago during my back-pack days of “splurging” on a cheap hotel instead of camping or staying in a crowded hostel. The hotel really isn’t so bad, but nowadays I am used to something a little more ..... consistent. However, on the positive side, this hotel is right in front of a bus and tram stop and just a 10 minute walk to the very popular old town and old town squares. ||||On another positive note, our very nice balcony room (which we requested) had 2 twin beds instead of a smaller, more typical Ukrainian double bed. This meant my husband and I actually were able to have a good night’s sleep. The water in the shower was sometimes hot enough but inconsistent, so I had to shampoo leaning over the shower the first night. The next morning, no hot water at all. No shower that morning! Bring your own shampo, etc. Also, no hairdryer in room. There is a decent cafe at street level which makes breakfast and dinner convenient. The pizza is not too bad. There is also parking for about 10-12 cars, somewhat “secured”. We had a car and driver, so that was something we had to have. 2 nights was tolerable, but l miss the 5 star brand hotel we had in...

You will definitely feel you are in Lviv once you settle in this hotel, it is the essence of everything that is good and bad about the city. It’s relatively cheap (at least in late January) and practical, with a cafe in the building that offers typical Lviv food, with plenty of Lviv gems to explore around you – all those cozy backyards and buildings in various states of decay, or worse, sloppy repair without any regard for history or good taste. It is close enough to the center and sites such as the St. George cathedral, and it is relatively close to the train station or the airport. The walls in the rooms are thin enough to hear your neighbors talking, the windows and balcony doors are cheap enough to let you hear the noisy Horodetska street and feel the draft of January air outside. But if you are young and your aim is to spend a few days close enough to the city center, and you want to get the genuine Lviv atmosphere, this hotel will fulfill...