Gateway to Eastern Europe at the Intercontinental Bucharest

The Intercontinental Bucharest is my first memory of Romania. I had flown to Bucharest with my husband to spend two days in Romania’s capital city before embarking on our 9-day Passage to Eastern Europe cruise with Viking River Cruises, so when Viking told us they’d arranged for their early travelers to stay at the Intercontinental, I knew we’d be both centrally-located and in very good hands.

In fact, I couldn’t have been more right.

The 5-star luxury hotel towers over Bucharest like any magnificent hotel should, overlooking the Romanian capital’s parks, hotels, residential areas, and side streets with a kind of grand stoicism. Its exterior is nothing extraordinary—beige-colored, square windows and square cement balconies stacked on top of each other, curving in a semicircular half-moon shape–but its inside has an elegance and warm that feels both classic and contemporary. It’s pretty popular, too: out of 976 reviews on TripAdvisor, the Intercontinental Bucharest clocks in at 4.5/5 stars and is ranked the 5^th best hotel in all of Bucharest. Though there’s a lot worth saying about this place, the numbers do speak for themselves.

Here’s the scoop on what you’ll find at this particular Intercontinental:

The Location?

Of course, the Intercontinental hotel chain is no stranger to luxury business and travel accommodations—they are known for being conveniently located to airports, city centers, and business districts. However, what sets this one apart from others I’ve stayed in is its exquisite location to absolutely anything a traveler would want to do in Bucharest. Not only is it less than a block from the Metro, it is walking distance from the National Theatre, the Old City, the Cismigiu Gardens, and Bucharest’s best business and shopping districts. In our short time in Bucharest, we walked to dinner at nearby Placinte (Romania’s classic Moldovan restaurant) and made our way to the Old City’s main street, stopping at cafes and shops along the way.

The Rooms?

During our two nights in Bucharest, we stayed in one of the Intercontinental’s Superior Rooms, which includes more amenities than a standard Classic Room but not quite as many as their Club Intercontinental Rooms or the King Superior Suite Rooms. Essentially, the only difference between the classic and superior rooms and the club rooms/suites is that the Club rooms offer complimentary access to the lounge on the 21^st floor (a place they boast is the most modern and stunning business executive lounge in Bucharest), and the Superior Suite includes a living room, sitting room, Jacuzzi bathroom, and fully-stocked minibar.

The King Superior Suite Room

The Perks?

While I walked through the lobby one morning, I heard the staff speaking Romanian, English, and French. When I asked the concierge desk how many languages the staff speak, the receptionist told me that all of the staff generally speak six languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Romanian, and Spanish. Because Romanian is a romance language, this didn’t entirely surprise me, but it was refreshing to see how accommodating the staff was to the many international travelers passing through its walls.

The hotel is also fully handicap-accessible, with ramps and rooms to accommodate all guests no matter their disability.

At the time of this review, prices for the Classic Rooms start at €159.67; King Bed Superior Suite Rooms start at €289.67. Prices may vary depending on date or time of year. You can make your reservations online at the hotel website or try a booking site such as Booking.com.

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Intercontinenal Bucharest
Bulevardul Nicolae Bălcescu 4
București 010051
Romania

+40 21 310 2020

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Article by Kristin Winet; photos courtesy of the Intercontinental Bucharest Hotel.

Most gracious thanks to Viking River Cruises for hosting our stay at the Intercontinental Bucharest. If you’re interested, check out the itinerary. Bucharest is the first port stop in a nine-day cruise through Eastern Europe.