When my group of friends and I decided on a city break to Bucharest, we instantly looked to airbnb for our accommodation. However, after some research, I realised the options were rather limited and, because the prices for hotels were on par, it was more appealing to stay somewhere where we could get breakfast, fresh towels and maid service. With this in mind, and after reading several reviews online, I discovered boutique hotel Sarroglia.
The Hotel
Winner of tripadvisor’s Certificate of Excellence last year, Sarroglia came across as the perfect choice for us – stylish, centrally located, and clean and comfortable. On arrival, I was impressed by the lobby, contemporary in feel – its seating area made up of designer Mies Van Der Rohe leather seats and cocooned by a mezzanine with modern plastic chairs and tables. Sarroglia itself names the reception area an ‘art lounge’, full of paintings, sculptures and designer furniture – which you can even purchase if the mood takes you. Meanwhile, the bar area and restaurant continues to exude the ultra-elegant theme that is so evident throughout the hotel.
Location
About 25 minutes from the airport, the Sarroglia is well-placed to explore Bucharest. Situated near the Old Town with its streets lined with popular bars and restaurants, we navigated our way by foot to explore our surroundings. Several hotspots including University Square and the Icon Gardens are all within a 15 minute walk. There are also two Metro stops nearby. As the weather became quite bad during our stay, we ended up getting cabs frequently, particularly at night, but the hotel receptionist organises them quickly – and we never had to wait more than a couple of minutes.
The Rooms
The hotel has 33 rooms in total, over five floors and range from standard to executive suites. We booked three standard rooms – and although each room was spacious and decorated in a similar way: wooden floors, black and white furnishings, flat-screen TV, bathrobes, slippers and toiletries, they all had slightly different touches from wall art to different layouts , some with enclosed showers, others like mine, with a wet room . We were all impressed with the comfort of the beds, which had memory foam mattresses, as well as the powerful rain showers. Plus, they were all spotlessly clean.
I do have a few gripes, however. In our bathroom, there was a flimsy shower curtain which did nothing to stop the water from soaking the whole floor. Meanwhile, when we specified a triple room, we did not expect a flimsy camp bed to be made up – the staff endeavoured to make it more comfortable with another duvet, but still, they could have provided us with another mattress. Lastly, another element lacking in any of the rooms was a full-length mirror – the only one available was in the bathroom. Not great, when you have several people getting ready.
Amenities
Even though the hotel is small in size, it still has plenty of services on offer, from a gym to a roof-top terrace and hot tub as well as free bicycles and in-room spa treatments. The hotel can also provide guests with a free mobile phone, arrange airport transfers, and make restaurant reservations. We also made use of the free late checkout, which was very welcome after we’d all had a very late night on our leaving day! The main bonus, though, was the free wi-fi.
The Italian restaurant and bar had very welcoming staff, but the food options were quite limited – and slightly confused, offering staple italian fare alongside sashimi. The barman was also no mixologist. He hadn’t heard of any of the cocktails we asked for – and those he did, didn’t taste very pleasing to the palette. My mojito tasted so awful I couldn’t even drink it.
Breakfast, which is served daily from 8.30am-10.30am, was a decent affair. Tea, coffee and juices, and a buffet selection of pastries, cereal, fruit and yoghurts alongside cold meats, cheeses and sausages gave a wide range of options. You can also ask for eggs and bacon, which are cooked to order. It set us up for the day, as well as giving us some substanence after a heavy night of drinking and dancing!
Verdict
Overall, our experience at the Hotel Sarroglia was good. Its upmarket persona lives up to expectations on several fronts from the modern interiors to the comfortable bedrooms. But the main selling point of this Bucharest boutique hotel is the price. It’s a steal in comparison to other establishments of a similar quality outside of Eastern Europe. Standard rooms including breakfast start from €69 per night. Yes, that’s per room, not per person, and the final bill was a pleasant surprise. At such good value for money, it’s not hard to understand why the Sarroglia has such good reviews and a legion of fans.
Ting blogs about travel inspiration over at My Travel Monkey.
Images: Matt Bramford & My Travel Monkey
