Review Radisson Blu Bratislava Slovakia
Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel Bratislava is one of the best locations in Bratislava for a tourist. Step outside the door and you are in the heart of city dining, pub crawls and the primary tourism area of the Old Town city. Free Walking Tours of Bratislava meet at the Hviezdoslav statue in front of the Radisson Blu.
A 3-night stay at the end of July was our second time at this hotel. We stayed four nights in December 2016 on a 4-for-2 weekend rate before that Club Carlson booking option was eliminated at the end of January 2017.
Radisson Blu Bratislava is a category 3 Club Carlson reward at 28,000 points per night. Our paid rate was 85.50 EUR ($100 USD) per night. The stay also qualified as one of two stays for a Free Friday. We stayed at Radisson Blu Edwardian London Heathrow for our next hotel the night before flying back to California.
Club Carlson free Friday Night every two stays or 10K points July 1–Sep 30.
Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel on Hviezdoslav Square, Bratislava.
National Theater" src="https://i0.wp.com/loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Slovak-National-Theater_thumb.jpg?resize=504%2C337" alt="Slovak National Theater" style="border: 0px;" />
Slovak Old National Theater on Hviezdoslav Square, Bratislava.
A large wall poster by the lobby elevators provides a detailed history of the Carlton Hotel. This location in Bratislava has historically been a site for hotels for several centuries. Owner Henry Prüger, who had spent time operating The Carlton London, designed and opened The Carlton-Savoy in 1912.
Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava 7th floor view in winter.
Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava 3rd floor view in summer.
The current look of the hotel was from a major reconstruction in 1925-1929 adding a four floor extension to the three floor hotel.
Hotel Carlton fell into disrepair in the 1970s. The hotel had become structurally unsafe and closed in 1992. The historic hotel property was considered for demolition, but was saved by local preservation advocates. The Carlton reopened in 2001 with Radisson Blu branding.
Christmas Market on Hviezdoslav Square, Dec 2016.
Our room was 307 for this stay. I prefer the 7th floor room we stayed four days in December with the sloped roof curving the walls of the room. I have always liked attic room spaces with the feel for me of living in an upscale European artist’s garret.
Turns out a few photos of the 7th floor room from last December are the only images I have after 7 nights at this property. Looking through my photos from Bratislava in July shows no images at all of the Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel Bratislava room, except for a photo of room number 307.
That iPhone image was my insurance against a loss of memory after our Bratislava Friday night pub crawl. I thought I quickly got over being ripped off for paying 25 EUR on a 2-mile taxi ride to the hotel, but apparently my mind was still not focused after check-in. I failed to snap any photos of our room.
The room layout from December was identical, but Room 307 had different furniture style and a larger bathroom with tub/shower.
Looked like we had a double bed in December. Room 307 was two singles pushed together as a King Bed.
We had double sized windows in Room 307, although only one window opened.
There was a fruit and chocolate amenity tray in Room 307 upon arrival.
Coffee maker and mini-bar in cabinet.
Billa market is directly around the corner from Radisson Blu for basic food staples of hot chicken and meat, water and beer, fruits, vegetables, bread and dairy products.
Main difference between the 7th floor bathroom last December and our bathroom in room 307 in July was a bathtub/shower. The bathroom was larger in 307.
Lobby-Bar-Restaurant
Radisson Blu Carlton Savoy Restaurant
We tried to eat at Savoy Restaurant on Christmas Eve when there were few places open in the city. We could not be seated in the empty restaurant without a reservation.
We dined in the bar on Christmas Eve, perhaps an even more relaxing environment of the hotel.
In fact, many places we dined in Bratislava had 50% or more tables reserved and vacant when we went to eat in places. Seemed odd not to be able to get a table sometimes to dine on a meal when most tables in a restaurant were reserved and vacant, while other tables had only one person drinking a beer or coffee and settled in for a long time.
Our go to hot food restaurant during our July stay in Bratislava was Cafe Verne on the opposite side of the square, about 100 meters from hotel entrance. Open for breakfast and dinner with great prices, good food and cheap beer.
Photo of the Radisson Blu Carlton lobby at Christmas.
Guest floors have musical scores on the wall as decorations.
Claude DeBussy – The Little Negro (probably not a selection you would see in USA hotels).
Fitness Center is a small room on the 7th floor with an interior courtyard view.
I recommend paying for an upgrade view if you find yourself in a courtyard view room.
I think the view is the highlight of the rooms at Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava.
I used the Business Center computer on our last morning to print out our Boarding Passes for Ryanair flight from Brno to London Stansted.
The hotel called a taxi for us to take us back to the International Bus Station two miles away. A nice black Mercedes with a Transporter like driver drove us back to the bus station for 8.50 EUR. Much better deal than the 25 EUR arrival price.
Lesson learned. Next time I need a taxi to my hotel, I will call the hotel and ask them to book my taxi.
Trip Report: Christmas Season in Bratislava
Trip Report Bratislava Christmas Markets
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