There are hotels, and then there are legends. History has had its bites of happiness and sorrow with Romania, and all of them have passed through the lobby of the Athenee Palace. The love affairs of King Charles the 2nd, the secrets of the Nazis during WW2, the Soviets' ultimatums of 1940, the wide ears of the Securitate agents in the 1980s, all of them, just like people ordering a țuică or some of sarma, have passed through this hotel, its lobby or its English Bar. The rooms have everything one expects in a 5* unit, but, if you come at the Hilton, stay at the Hilton and choose an Alcove Room (currently known as Junior Suites and Presidential Suites) overlooking Revoluției Square and the reason for the name of the hotel, i.e. the Athenaeum. Compared to these ones, the "standard" rooms in the glass covered backyard concrete box are simply not worth looking into. Just like at the Marriott, there is a taxi driver mafia around (possibly the toughest in town), so beware in what kind of car you get, for otherwise you will pay dearly.

As Mr. Hilton said himself: "if I were to describe the three best features of a successful hotel, they would be: location, location and location". The rest can be seen on the website.

GPS - N44 26.473 E26 05.764

1-3 Episcopiei, http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=BUHHITW

Click on the map for getting the full detail Google map of the area.