Romania - Eastern Europe - page 494

dining options, an expensive and extensive shopping mall, and the slight whiff of
impersonal service (there are 407 guest rooms); public spaces are unlikely to make you
feel much like you're on holiday with businessmen barking into their mobile phones
as they pace around the lobby. Another excellent international chain hotel, located in
the north of the city, and unfortunately attached to the World Trade Center, is Hotel
Sofitel (Montreal Sq. 10, 011469 Bucharest; & 021/318-3000; fax 021/317-
2997; www.sofitel.com), with over 200 beautifully appointed rooms seeped in gra-
cious luxury. There's plenty of space and an abundance of comforting extras; the bath-
rooms have bathtubs as well as separate showers. The hotel has every imaginable
amenity and its marvelous Mediterranean restaurant, Les Oliviades, is one of the city's
best. Doubles start at 220

€

($275), excluding breakfast and taxes.
Athénée Palace Hilton Built between 1912 and 1914 on the site of an ear-
lier inn, Bucharest's most celebrated hotel—voted “Romania's Leading Hotel” in the
2005 World Travel Awards—is one of the attractions around Revolution Square
(make sure you request a room with this view). Its history smacks of glamour and
intrigue—legend has it that staff would spy on important guests, and secret code
words were frequently whispered in its halls and dining rooms. But today this is very
much a top-quality Hilton-branded establishment, completely overhauled in 1997
with an eye to business and high-end travelers who prefer not to skimp on luxuries
while connecting with some of the city's past. Accommodations are spacious and
pleasing, if reminiscent of hotel rooms anywhere; cream walls and blue carpets are
complemented by luxurious white cotton linens. There's a casino downstairs as well as
shops, and a selection of excellent in-house restaurants among the marble pillars and
archways. Service is polished, and the concierge desk is one of the best places in town
to organize guided sightseeing.
Str. Episcopiei 1-3, 010292 Bucharest. & 021/303-3777. Fax [phone]. www.hilton.com. 272 units. 360 €
($450) double; 440 ($594) deluxe plus. AE,

DC, MC, V. Amenities: 2 restaurants; bar; terrace; casino; pool; fitness center; concierge; car rental; business services;
boutiques; salon; barber; room service; babysitting; valet; currency exchange; laundry, cigar shop; travel agency; city
tours; ATM; Internet. In room:A/C, TV, Internet, minibar, tea- and coffeemaking facility, hair dryer, safe, alarm clock;
executive-floor rooms have extra amenities.
K+K Hotel Elisabeta Position, taste, service—what more could you want?
Located right in the heart of downtown Bucharest, K+K is right near the Teatrul
National, and within walking distance from the Lipscani District and the Cismigiu
Gardens; there's even a Metro station just around the corner. It doesn't have an excess
of hotel facilities but concentrates on the much more important business of service
delivery. Staff is all exceptionally helpful—at breakfast (an excellent buffet that includes
champagne), the waitresses may even offer unsolicited sightseeing advice. Besides
enjoying the thoroughly relaxing and welcoming atmosphere, there is the high standard
of the guest rooms, with comforting touches like luxurious linens and flatscreen televi-
sions; the only possible complaint is the relatively small size of the bathrooms. The con-
venient location also comes at a small price; hotel planners had to carve this glamorous
lodging out of a slightly seedy-looking side street; there's an erotic club right next door
and some views out the back are ugly, so make sure you book a street-facing room.
Str. Slânic 26, 030242 Bucharest. & 021/311-8631. Fax [phone]. www.kkhotels.com. 67 units. 260 € ($325)
double; 321

€ ($550) executive double; 405 € ($506) king deluxe/junior suite; 475 €

($58) extra bed. Rates include breakfast. 9%
tax excluded. AE, MC, V. Amenities: Bistro; bar; breakfast room; sauna; room service; laundry. In room:A/C, TV, Inter-
net, minibar, tea- and coffeemaking facility, hair dryer, electronic safe, scale.

€ ($401) junior suite; 413 € ($516) Presidential suite; 46 €