So, my hotel room stunk strongly of cigarette smoke the entire time I was there. I really should have requested to change rooms, but I was hoping they would offer to switch me when I called reception the first day to complain about it. Instead, they just said they would speak to the cleaning lady. Absolutely nothing changed - when the smell is that strong, it takes drastic measures to rid the place of it. I don't think they even changed the bedding, though. I ended up leaving the door to the terrace open almost the entire time to help air it out, but the street outside is very busy and loud and I woke up frequently from ambulances and motorcycles each night. But once I was into the second day, I just wanted to get out and experience the city and not make a big fuss about changing rooms. I was afraid they'd put me in an even worse room somehow.
If it weren't for the smell, I think I would've liked the hotel. It's in a very central, fantastic location, a two minute walk from a central Metro station. The room was reasonably spacious, modern, and had a terrace with a nice view of the neighborhood. The bathroom was nice and clean. There was a mini-fridge with drinks and Pringles for one euro each and the front desk doesn't seem to keep track, they just took my word for it when I said I ate two cans of Pringles (out of sheer hunger a couple days). There's even a sun deck on the roof with nice views.
Lesson learned: be more assertive about hotel rooms. They really should not have smoke-stinking rooms in the first place, however, for the price of the hotel. read more