Hotels
In Bucharest, the Athénée Palace Hilton (Str. Episcopiei 1-3; 011-40-21-303-3777; www.hilton.com) is a smart splurge – renovated in 1997, this elegant hotel offers clean, plush, airy rooms and the marble-columned lobby beckons you into the hotel's luxurious
early-20th-century ambience. Bucharest's first true boutique property, the Rembrandt Hotel (Str. Smârdan 11; 011-40-21-313-9315; www.rembrandt.ro) offers spacious, Scandinavian styled rooms, rooftop views of
the city, and a hip bar and restaurant all at an inexpensive nightly rate. The InterContinental (Blvd. Nicolae Balcescu 4; 011-40-21-310-2020; www.intercontinental.com) is housed
in a Soviet-style building and formerly a favorite haunt of Romania's Communist Party leaders, but it's still popular today because of its heated pool, sauna, and hair salon.
Beyond Bucharest
In Sighisoara, the Stag House (Str. Scolii 1; 011-40-23-657-74625; www.ar-messerschmitt-s.ro) is a 10-room, 17th-century inn and a favorite of Britain's Prince Charles (he stays in the spacious, $78 double with a big brass bed). The exterior is adorned with paintings of bucks and the interior houses a new inn/restaurant called Messerschmitt. Meanwhile, in Bucovina is home, the Hilde's Residence (Str. Sipotului 2; 011-40-23-023-3484; www.lucy.ro) is a charming inn near the town of Gura Humorului. Hilde's offers quiet accommodations as well as breakfast and dinner. Proprietor Lucy Glaser makes her own berry liqueurs, and can arrange local sightseeing packages and traditional Romanian banquets.
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