Where to stay in Bratislava city centre – Radisson Blu Bratislava
When I was presenting about how my Facebook fanpage and blog were hacked in April 2015 at the WordCamp WordPress conference in Bratislava, Slovakia I stayed at one of the most famous hotels in the capital.
Radisson Blu, once called Carlton, is probably the oldest hotel in town, located in the city centre. Even people not living in Bratislava have heard of its name at least once in their life.
I have to say the receptionists were super helpful and gave me a room before 7 am when I arrived early on the night train. I could take a shower, a quick nap, have breakfast and get ready for a meeting before my business apartment at the hotel was ready for me. Then in the afternoon I could swap the roots to fully enjoy the big apartment just to myself.
What I enjoyed at the Radisson Blu Bratislava hotel:
- location – I am so into walking that staying at a central hotel is the most convenient thing for me. From the Hviezdoslav’s Square, the hotel location, is easy to walk to any place in the city centre within a few minutes. There’s a Billa supermarket just behind the corner if you run out of fresh fruit. And the Danube river is also just a 3-minute walk away.
- buffet breakfast was simply awesome! Maybe you know already that I only eat breakfast at hotels, not at home or when staying somewhere else. And trust me, saying no to Radisson Blu breakfast would be a big mistake. I even woke up a bit earlier to have time to eat slowly and send some emails in the meantime. There’s everything that proper breakfast should have. You can choose from fresh fruit, smoothies (are made in the kitchen and ready for you in the bottles), make fresh orange juice yourself, get a pancake, bread and pastries, dried fruits, seeds and nuts, eggs and of course some meat, sausages and vegetables. That’s really breakfast of champions!
- Savoy restaurant – it changed its location from the corner more to the right of the hotel building (towards the centre of the square), in case you are looking for it from the outside. It’s the same restaurant where breakfast is served for hotel guests but it’s open also for lunch and dinner.
- There’s a summer terrace in front of the restaurant when the weather permits to enjoy lunch or just a drink with friends or even a business meeting. The menu changes between the seasons as they are using many fresh and local seasonal ingredients, e.g. wild garlic in spring when I was there. They are combining old recipes with new culinary trends. If you are looking for traditional Bratislava cuisine, then the Savoy restaurant is your choice. You can find the main menu in the hotel lifts, too.
- WiFi throughout the hotel – I had no problems uploading photos and doing all the other things a digital nomad needs to do on a daily basis.
- big business class apartment – my room was great! I had the corner room on the fourth floor with the view of the Hviezdoslav’s Square where I could watch the sunset above the buildings. The king size bed and different pillows had a plus point for me, also the work table, sofas and TVs. I just wish I had more time to relax in my room doing nothing, reading or watching a good movie instead of the WordPress presentation and raw course I organized. But it felt really nice to wake up, open the door and see the living room with many windows through which the beginning of a new day was visible at the streets.
- ecological washing – the hotel staff uses eco products to wash the bed linens
- free coffee and different kinds of tea in the rooms – you also get a kettle, cups and spoons
- bathrobes, slippers and security box in each room
- Casino and the bar by the hotel lobby
- shoe cleaners on each floor by the lifts
- free city map on the left side of the reception and some leaflets with information about activities, restaurants etc.
I heard that they are working on refurnishing the rooms in the next years so if you visit later on, you might admire unique design.
To be honest, I wish they have built swimming pool and wellness instead of Casino which would make the hotel visit even more enjoyable. Mine, for sure. But on the other hand, I do understand that a different kind of clients are staying at the hotel. It is not a typical wellness hotel.
