dmp1991

My wife and I will be flying return on BA LHR-OTP next week. A search shows there are two lounge options -- "Master card Business Lounge" and "Tarom Business Class Lounge". Though they're described suspiciously similar on the OW site. Same location, opening hours, description, amenities, and access. But they do have different pictures, albeit both have the same style. Are these really the same lounge?

We're GCH holders and flying biz class on the return, so I don't expect access problems to (both) lounge(s). However, if there really are two of them, I'd love any advice on which to aim to use.

Octavian Antony

Hi,

I fly to OTP every 2 months and I am a GCH as well. At check-in, BA will acknowledge your status and give you a paper lounge invitation, that you can use to access both lounges.

The two lounges are actually 90 percent identical and they are situated right in front of each other. The snack and drink offering is exactly the same for both. I personally prefer the MasterCard lounge to the Tarom one because of better, more modern looking seating.

62aClubWorld

We are making the same the same trip gch and ce. So, see you in the lounge then!

csutter

Depending on what you are used to, neither lounge is worth arriving particularly early for. Expect nuts, pretzels and wafers, yoghurt if you're lucky (although many moons ago they did have ice cream). Plus some no-brand spirits and wine.

I always found security at OTP to be very efficient (in that typically indifferent way!) and wouldn't arrive at the airport more than an hour or so before the flight.

r00ty

I've always used the mastercard lounge. It's usually pretty quiet. They have the usual expected stuff, coffee, water, soft drinks, beer, wine and some spirits. Plus some snacks (biscuits, nuts, that kind of thing).

It's certainly nothing to write home about. But, a quiet place to sit down.

Also they seem to only change the wifi code once a year.. So once it's setup, I always end up getting some emails while walking to baggage claim on arrivals as I pass the lounge.

LTN Phobia

Have they done away with crisps now?!

paul4040

I agree. The MC lounge at OTP is nothing special; not worth arriving early for. OTP as an airport in general appeared efficient and well-run when I visited, in complete contrast to Bucharest itself!

If you're travelling on a Sunday beware that the train/bus combo service is basically non-existent, and the airport buses are very patchy. Best to get a trusted taxi with a price agreed in advance.

r00ty

Actually, there are now machines which will call up a proper taxi, and they're generally "ok" if you use that method. It'll give you the number of the car to expect and you can choose the taxi company you want.

It used to be quite dodgy before they were introduced though.

62aClubWorld

Anyone knows the expected cost from the airport to the city - do they take Euro's by the way or would we need to try and get some RON ?

IAN-UK

Indeed, passing through the airport without the time for a lounge visit is the prize. The airport has improved greatly over the last couple of years.

The weekend bus service really shouldn't be much different to rest of the week. The Express 783 has its peak hour frequencies cut back a little, but I think still manages 2 or 3 trips to/from Piata Unirii each hour - and even runs (much less frequently!) through the night.

I stay near the university, so take always the bus (unless I've got luggage).

I've never used the shuttle bus + train - at 7 lei it's twice the price of the bus for a longer, more clunky journey: though I guess North Station is handy for some places in the city. And OK - putting things in perspective, 7 lei is only £1.20

LTN Phobia

You really should get some RON from the cash machine (there are multiple) at the airport. You could end up with a silly rate if you don't. Currency exchange booth at OTP does not offer a decent rate so it's better to use the ATM.

There is a taxi ordering system in operation at OTP.

Taxi rates generally vary from 1.39 - 3.50 lei / km. 3.50 lei ones only tend to make an appearance around the airports and other potential visitor traps. Sub-2.00 lei ones are far more common although at airports 3.50 lei ones tend to be rather common. You really shouldn't pick the taxi that charges 3.50 Lei/km though (this is the rate the OTP ones at the rank all charged until some time ago but it's changed now and you can get the cheaper ones through the taxi ordering system). The rates are displayed on the side of the taxi and not difficult to spot.

Make sure the metre is turned on as soon as you get moving - not turning the metre on and charging you more than it should be is one of the potential pitfalls of taxi rides there. Besides that, the most common trick is the usual "driving around the houses to rack up the fare", although you won't come across it often at all if you are using one of the better taxi firms. It's the independent one that you need to watch out for. That being said, rip-off taxis are not altogether so common in Bucharest nowadays, no more than say in Italy. Speaking bits of Romanian also usually stops them from taking the mick. Despite all that, because the taxi rates are rather low in any case, even after driving right around the houses it shouldn't come to any more than £15-20 in any case.

Do not get persuaded by the taxi touts (they have tried to clear them but there are still some around) in the arrivals area. Their fares are generally outrageous. I sometimes get them to tell me the rate out of curiosity and I have had anything up to €150! It normally costs less than £10 equivalent to the city centre.

Expect some bad driving from some of the taxi drivers, but not as bad as IST usually - I have not had one reverse down a dual carriageway in Bucharest yet despite a rather frequent use.

If you use the taxi ordering system from OTP, keep the ticket in case you want to make a complaint. Don't give it to the driver.

If you want to read about Bucharest taxis and other modes of transport, I recommend you read http://beta.inyourpocket.com/buchare...blic-Transport
It's written by a long-term resident of Bucharest and is a good source of information.

(I have no association with IYP guides other than having been a reader for various cities.)

I should probably provide one word of warning. Watch out for feral dogs. Some are not in a good mood and may snap at you.

IAN-UK

My association with In Your Pocket guides is also that of a reader. But a very happy reader kept amused and informed while in some odd corners of Europe. I recommend them highly.

corporate-wage-slave

40 RON is typical to the main business hotels, and yes if you ask before jumping in, they invariably will take Euros, but the implied exchange rate would normally not make this a good option.

Bucharest was the last place in Europe, along with Kiev, that I used to pre-arrange transfers since the alternative used to be so dodgy. But now I just get the bus, 780 or 783 depending on where I'm going. It takes just as long as a taxi, give or take 10 minutes, and it is safer. However the Hilton and a few other hotels do offer mid priced mini bus transfers. The city has improved enormously compared to 10, 20 years ago.

eefor jfp

Agree with most of the comments here. I was in Bucharest last week and go 2-3 times a year. The expensive taxis (3.50 Lei/km) are for Mercedes. The 1.39 or 1.49 Lei/km are for Dacia Logans. If there are two of you and a fair bit of luggage, you might want to opt for the Mercedes but otherwise the Dacias are fine. To the center (Intercontinental, Radisson, Hilton) it was 25 Lei last Sunday afternoon using SpeedTaxi (1.39 Lei/km). It can be a little more if you get stuck in traffic.
Transfers can be really expensive. The Radisson was asking, I think, 250 Lei for a private transfer which is five times what a Mercedes would cost and ten times what a cheap taxi would run. In all my trips I have NEVER had a problem with a taxi except for drivers claiming they don't have change. So when you get money from the ATM, get x90 Lei (i.e. 290 or 490) so you will get some tens and not just hundreds). And definitively use the ATM--the rate at the airport exchange places are horrible.
Finally be aware that duty-free at the airport only takes Euros--no Lei, so you want to arrive at the airport with as close to zero Lei in your pocket as you can (after you pay the taxi). Everything else (the sandwich shops, etc.) is really expensive.
Finally, as people have said, the MasterCard lounge is nothing special but it is quiet with a nice view of the apron. "Don't get there early just for the lounge" is definitely solid advice.

csutter

Or my favourite scam of all, the taxi that's 13.9 RON instead of 1.39 (note the misplaced decimal point).

And is it just me, or are the feral cats much scarier than the dogs...?