Grand hotel River Park Bratislava: spectacular view of the Danube (but not from my suite)

When I found out that I would be "forced" by business to spend two nights at the Grand Hotel River Park Bratislava, I smiled and immediately did the math on how many points I would earn. The facility is one of three in the Marriott group in the capital of the Slovak Republic and is by far the most beautiful.

Reservation

The organization of the conference I was to attend had bargained a favorable price, i.e., 190€ per night for the room with breakfast included, a cost 25€ lower than the best for the same dates without the discount code, a price that It obviously did not include breakfast either. This is one of the first times when the convention price is better than the dedicated price for Bonvoy members. As Cassano would say, "Chapeau."

In the days before the event I was torn on whether to request the upgrade to suite guaranteed for this stay, at the moment I haven't used a single one of my guaranteed upgrades, and this hotel seemed like an ideal candidate, in the end, however, I thought that with the facility almost full of conference attendees I would have a fairly high chance of being among the guests with the highest loyalty level in the Bonvoy program. They are currently Platinum, but With these two nights I cut the fateful figure of 75nights and became Titanium. The most I can aspire to since To become an Ambassador, in addition to the 100 nights, you also have to spend $20k In one year.

Location

The hotel is located on the banks of the Danube, about 25 minutes from the airport. It is not in the center, but it takes about 20 minutes to walk from the hotel to the Castle, one of the symbols of Slovakia's capital. I opted for a cab outside the airport, which was literally deserted, at a cost of €20 metered.

Check-in

When we arrived it was just past noon, there was a fair line of people checking in. When our turn came, I immediately noticed the color of my reservation card, which was different from that of the non-elite guests.

Of course, when I heard "we upgraded you to Castle View Suite," I thanked and especially pleased with myself for resisting the temptation to "wasting" two guaranteed upgrades. In fact my room went from a basic room to one 3 levels higher, which costs no less than 300€ more per night.

The only thing that surprised me is knowing that in this hotel Platinum members and above do not have access to the lounge, this is reserved only for those who book suites. In my case having had upgrades to the suite I still did not have access.

The lobby is very scenic especially because of the spiral staircase in the center, a staircase that leads to the second floor, the one that houses the hotel's meeting rooms and ballroom.

The hotel

The property was opened in 2010, initially under the Kempinski banner and then, in 2015, switched to Marriott.

The Grand hotel River Park Bratislava belongs to the "The Luxury Collection." a sign that the Marriott chain dedicates to luxury hotels, but with a soul. This year is my third visit to a hotel of this family, on three different continents. North America, South America and now Europe. Of the three hotels, this is the least "luxury" hotel I visited.

The Suite

Years and years of "Four Hotels with Bruno Barbieri" have turned everyone into hotellerie experts, but what makes the difference then is the amount of nights you spend in the hotel each year, in my case never less than 70/80.

My suite was room 825. The room is really big: as soon as you enter, on the right, there is a walk-in closet, which could easily be turned into the game room if we were talking about an apartment.

There is a living room with a sofa, armchairs, and mega-screen TV, as well as a table and a small dinette that houses the mini-bar, coffee maker, tea kettle, and potentially much more.

The bedroom has the bed as the undisputed protagonist. It is an XXL king mattress, you can tell by looking at the pillows on the bed. Let's say a family with two children can sleep on it without any problems. And of course there is a super topper.

The bathroom is also huge; if it were windowed, it could easily be turned into a master bedroom in a small provincial hotel. There is a tub, not a whirlpool, big enough for two people. There is a walk-in, double shower. Double sinks and finally a separate toilet area. Nice that the toilet is accessible from both the hallway and the bathroom and also has its own sink.

The view from my suite was the only flaw. Looking all the way to the right in the distance you could see the castle, but let's just say the view of the Danube is a different matter. But gift horse don't look a gift horse in the mouth, or perhaps it would be better to say don't complain, when you get a triple suite upgrade.

In the evening a sweet surprise in the room, a little attention for a loyal customer that is always nice to receive.

The Spa

On the top floor of the hotel are the hotel spa, swimming pool and gym. Unfortunately, however, to access the pool you have to pay separately (35€) unless you stay, for a fee, in a suite.

There is a small shortcut to free admission to the pool, which is to book a massage or treatment in the spa, in which case you get free admission for the day.

The gym is very scenic, as is the pool for that matter, you can work out while admiring the Danube and the hills around the city.

The same goes for the pool, you can relax while admiring the sunset after a long day around the capital.

Food & Beverage

I will not evaluate the proposal related to the event, but only the standard offer. When we arrived, we tried the Lounge bar on the ground floor. From kids menu to more structured dishes, I must say that the offer is very varied, we tried a little bit of everything.

Nice and well-organized breakfast buffet, not too much choice out of the ordinary, but in this case I have no idea how much it affected the fact that about 140 rooms in the hotel were booked by meeting participants.

Definitely excellent attention to vegetarian and vegan products, as well as the presence of all the indications about the presence of allergens in the proposals.

In conclusion

Definitely an important location, but I did not feel that "care" for detail. Not being a regular customer, but a member of a "group," it may have affected the service in general. The service perhaps has been the weak side of the offering. The staff did not speak English, the feeling was that many were new hires and did not even know where the glasses were.

• Bonvoy

The verdict

Important hotel, if a tad cold. I did not perceive the attention one expects from a The Luxury Collection; if I had paid for a Castle view suite I would have complained about the lack of a Castle view. Obviously when there are meetings of this kind one cannot expect the care and pampering of an independent stay, but here it was all just too impersonal.

7

Pro

• The in-suite upgrade
• The view of the Danube

Against

• Poorly trained staff
• Pool to be paid as extra