JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, Romania [Master Thread]
#31
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
Programs: CO Silver, HHonors Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 982
Cool! What flight are you on? I'm flying YYZ - AMS on Saturday on the 6 pm flight.
#32
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Greener Pastures
Posts: 10,515
I'll be in Bucharest at the JW Marriott next week as well. PM before Thursday night if you'll still be there & if you'd be interested in meeting up. I'll be with a buddy of mine - though I'm not sure whether we're going to stay there long or checkout early as we may head out into the mountains. I think I get there on Monday the 28th.
Either way, I'll change the thread title so it's Marriott related & move this to the Marriott forum since you may be able to get better answers there.
bhatnasx
Mileage Run Moderator
Either way, I'll change the thread title so it's Marriott related & move this to the Marriott forum since you may be able to get better answers there.
bhatnasx
Mileage Run Moderator
#34
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MUC,BER
Programs: LH FTL
Posts: 226
I don't have great confidence in any Bucharest taxi company. All taxis display their rates on the car. They vary form 1 - 3.3 Lei per kilometre (~50ct to 1,5US$) as the airport is not very far from Bucharest it should cost something between 20-60 Lei. But you cannot relay on the taxi driver to take the most direct routing. I also was told not to put luggage in the trunk. I was told that some drivers would refuse to open the trunk until you paid them far more than they deserved.
Make sure that a meter is in the cab and functional. The only bad experience I had was with the 'official taxi company: Fly' at the airport. The driver took a route twice as long as needed.
But besides the taxi drivers I really enjoyed the city!!
Make sure that a meter is in the cab and functional. The only bad experience I had was with the 'official taxi company: Fly' at the airport. The driver took a route twice as long as needed.
But besides the taxi drivers I really enjoyed the city!!
Last edited by jannis; May 24, 2007 at 6:00 am Reason: spelling
#36
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 189
I was at the JW in Bucharest a few months ago and used the J.W. hotel shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel. It costs around $16 to $18 per person, IIRC, and operates on a regular schedule, i.e., every 30 or 60 minutes. That choice seems far wiser than using a taxi from the airport. Email the hotel to get details and/or reservations. If there are more than one in the party, it may be cheaper to arrange for a hotel car (which is actually a Hertz car and driver - Hertz has an office at the hotel). The cost for two from hotel back to airport, in a Mercedes, was around $28 or $30 IIRC. The hotel can also give you this info by email. As you probably know, the JW is a very nice property, and while not having as good a location as the Hilton, IMO it appears to be the much nicer of the two.
#37
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 6,790
I was at the JW in Bucharest a few months ago and used the J.W. hotel shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel. It costs around $16 to $18 per person, IIRC, and operates on a regular schedule, i.e., every 30 or 60 minutes. That choice seems far wiser than using a taxi from the airport. Email the hotel to get details and/or reservations.
Be very wary of taxis in Bucharest. Some charge a low rate (1.00 to 1.40 lei per kilometer) while others charge up to 8 lei for the same kilometer. They do indeed have to post their rates on the side of the cab, but they can post from top down as "intial cost" (cost for turning on the meter, usually 0.9 to 1.9 lei) and then normal price per km (tarriff) or vice versa, so unless you look closely you can be misled.
And then there's the problem of the "less than direct route" where you're paying for an unknowing and unwanted tour of the city.
All the main downtown hotels either have a shuttle service or can arrange for a reliable cab to take you to your hotel for about 18 - 20 Euros (which can be added to your hotel bill). Call them in advance to set it up.
#38
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: CO
Posts: 813
Further notes
Stayed at this hotel a few weeks ago. Adding this for future travelers.
The cabs that stand outside the JW (Skytaxi) have rates that are more than twice the normal rate. If just heading around town, one can cross the street and grab a cheaper cab. The 'Inyourpocket' guidebook - available from the conceirge or online clearly lists all the reliable cab companies and also which ones to clearly avoid. We used this diligently to avoid getting ripped off.
When heading to the airport, since we were leaving early and didn't want to take the Skytaxi, we asked the bellboy to call us one of the regular cabs. This worked out well as the meter fare to the airport came out to 32 lei (this was at 5 am) - this will be slightly higher during rush hour I presume.
The cabs that stand outside the JW (Skytaxi) have rates that are more than twice the normal rate. If just heading around town, one can cross the street and grab a cheaper cab. The 'Inyourpocket' guidebook - available from the conceirge or online clearly lists all the reliable cab companies and also which ones to clearly avoid. We used this diligently to avoid getting ripped off.
When heading to the airport, since we were leaving early and didn't want to take the Skytaxi, we asked the bellboy to call us one of the regular cabs. This worked out well as the meter fare to the airport came out to 32 lei (this was at 5 am) - this will be slightly higher during rush hour I presume.
#39
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 6,790
When heading to the airport, since we were leaving early and didn't want to take the Skytaxi, we asked the bellboy to call us one of the regular cabs. This worked out well as the meter fare to the airport came out to 32 lei (this was at 5 am) - this will be slightly higher during rush hour I presume.
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,917
Is there a large convention in town during the second weekend in December? Hotel seems to be sold out, and am trying to book a room. May head to the Sofitel which seems quite affordable for a 4-star.
#42
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: CO
Posts: 813
Based on the tourist literature, Bucharest probably deserves about 2 days. I confess that we didn't do too much here but instead headed for Brasov and from there went to Bran Castle (aka Dracula's castle) which my kids loved. The downside to this hotel is that it is away from the main downtown strip and one time at rush hour we had a really difficult time getting a cab to take us back to the hotel.
#43
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Belper, Derbyshire, United Kingdom
Programs: Marriott Rewards Silver, Starwood Preferred Guest Plus, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 967
I spent New Year in Bucharest and stayed at the JW. The hotel is really nice, our room was large with a large bathroom containing a separate shower cubicle. The toilet was in another separate room. Our friends got a smaller room but it was on a curve at the front of the building and had huge windows so lots of natural light.
I'm Silver so didn't get to sample the Executive Lounge (despite trying to sweet-talk the desk clerk). Breakfast, particularly the pancakes, was excellent.
Bucharest itself is a funny old place. There is no real focal point and a lot of it is still in the state of neglect that Ceaucescu left it but I imagine that in years to come it will have money spent on it. I agree that 2 or possibly 3 days would be enough time.
We arranged airport transportation with the hotel in advance and were lucky in that the charge never appeared on our bill! As has been mentioned, the taxis in the city are a lottery. If you get one of the more expensive ones they will quite happily take you the most indirect route possible, where as the cheaper ones tended to go straight to our destination.
I'm Silver so didn't get to sample the Executive Lounge (despite trying to sweet-talk the desk clerk). Breakfast, particularly the pancakes, was excellent.
Bucharest itself is a funny old place. There is no real focal point and a lot of it is still in the state of neglect that Ceaucescu left it but I imagine that in years to come it will have money spent on it. I agree that 2 or possibly 3 days would be enough time.
We arranged airport transportation with the hotel in advance and were lucky in that the charge never appeared on our bill! As has been mentioned, the taxis in the city are a lottery. If you get one of the more expensive ones they will quite happily take you the most indirect route possible, where as the cheaper ones tended to go straight to our destination.
Last edited by GlennTheBaker; Mar 21, 2008 at 10:50 am
#45
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: Mucci, BA-GGL, LH-Sen
Posts: 2,241
My 2c worth as I've just stumbled upon this thread.
I've stayed more nights at the JW in Bucharest than I care to recall and made Gold on the back of 50+ nights a year in this property.
Some comments:
Rooms
1. When you check in make sure you ask for a room near the elevators. Otherwise you could end up a veeeery loooong walk to your room. They'll know which ones to offer.
2. If you have booked an executive room they may try to stick you in a room far from the elevator on the 8th floor. Avoid this if you can as the rooms here apart from being far also tend to be small. Ask for an executive room in any of the other floors which will be much better, close to the elevator, and very spacious
3. Avoid rooms on the 2nd floor. The noise from the ballrooms and the sports bar on the 1st floor can keep you up late at night
4. Avoid rooms with connecting doors as these are thinner than a sheet of paper and let through all sounds. If you get noisy neighbours you'll be able to hear every conversation, their phone calls, their tv.
I agree with what other said about the gym, it's pretty good.
The restaurants in the building are varied:
1. The Italian (Cucina) was once considered one of Bucharest's best restaurants. Food is still good there but service is awful. It's slow and unresponsive.
2. The Sports bar is exactly what you'd expect. If there's a big sports event that day make sure you book a table well in advance otherwise you won't even be able to get in
3. La Cupola is a very generic restaurant in the same space as that used for breakfast.
4. Lebanese restaurant. This is excellent. It's in the Marriott building but separate from the hotel so you won't be able to charge it to your room
5. Apparently there is a good but expensive Japanese restaurant now as well.
Taxis
It's true that these can be dodgy. The limousines outside the Marriott can be expensive but if you ask the bellboys they'll usually be more than happy to call you a regular and safe taxi. No need to cross the road for one.
From the airport, you can get a taxi from the taxi rank outside the building. There will be a long line of them. All belong to the Fly Taxi company and they charge abou 3.3 Lei (~1euro) per km for a total to the hotel of about 60 RON. If there is traffic (anytime between 7:30am and 8:00pm) it will take up to 1:30 to get to the hotel from the airport. Bucharest's roads are awful. At other times the hotel is 20 minutes away.
Hope this helps.
I've stayed more nights at the JW in Bucharest than I care to recall and made Gold on the back of 50+ nights a year in this property.
Some comments:
Rooms
1. When you check in make sure you ask for a room near the elevators. Otherwise you could end up a veeeery loooong walk to your room. They'll know which ones to offer.
2. If you have booked an executive room they may try to stick you in a room far from the elevator on the 8th floor. Avoid this if you can as the rooms here apart from being far also tend to be small. Ask for an executive room in any of the other floors which will be much better, close to the elevator, and very spacious
3. Avoid rooms on the 2nd floor. The noise from the ballrooms and the sports bar on the 1st floor can keep you up late at night
4. Avoid rooms with connecting doors as these are thinner than a sheet of paper and let through all sounds. If you get noisy neighbours you'll be able to hear every conversation, their phone calls, their tv.
I agree with what other said about the gym, it's pretty good.
The restaurants in the building are varied:
1. The Italian (Cucina) was once considered one of Bucharest's best restaurants. Food is still good there but service is awful. It's slow and unresponsive.
2. The Sports bar is exactly what you'd expect. If there's a big sports event that day make sure you book a table well in advance otherwise you won't even be able to get in
3. La Cupola is a very generic restaurant in the same space as that used for breakfast.
4. Lebanese restaurant. This is excellent. It's in the Marriott building but separate from the hotel so you won't be able to charge it to your room
5. Apparently there is a good but expensive Japanese restaurant now as well.
Taxis
It's true that these can be dodgy. The limousines outside the Marriott can be expensive but if you ask the bellboys they'll usually be more than happy to call you a regular and safe taxi. No need to cross the road for one.
From the airport, you can get a taxi from the taxi rank outside the building. There will be a long line of them. All belong to the Fly Taxi company and they charge abou 3.3 Lei (~1euro) per km for a total to the hotel of about 60 RON. If there is traffic (anytime between 7:30am and 8:00pm) it will take up to 1:30 to get to the hotel from the airport. Bucharest's roads are awful. At other times the hotel is 20 minutes away.
Hope this helps.