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Review Radisson Blu Bratislava Slovakia

a group of buildings with trees

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.

BTS Rad Blu

Radisson Blu Carlton Hotel on Hviezdoslav Square, Bratislava.

Slovak National Theater

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.

Rad Blu BTS view

Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava 7th floor view in winter.

Bratislava Rad view

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.

Rad Blu xmas night

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.

Rad Blu room-1

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.

Rad Blu BTS bed

Looked like we had a double bed in December. Room 307 was two singles pushed together as a King Bed.

Rad Blu Bratislava

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.

Rad Blu coffee

Coffee maker and mini-bar in cabinet.

Rad Blu bar

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.

Rad Blu bath-2

Rad Blu bath-1

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

Rad Blu Savoy

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.

Rad Blu bar

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.

Verne BTS

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.

Rad Blu lobby

Photo of the Radisson Blu Carlton lobby at Christmas.

Rad Blu chairs

Guest floors have musical scores on the wall as decorations.

Rad Blu wall decor

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.

Rad Blu gym-1

Rad Blu gym-2

I recommend paying for an upgrade view if you find yourself in a courtyard view room.

Rad Blu BTS courtyard

I think the view is the highlight of the rooms at Radisson Blu Carlton Bratislava.

Rad Blu dusk view

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.

Related December 2016 posts:

Trip Report: Christmas Season in Bratislava

Trip Report Bratislava Christmas Markets

 

July 2017

San Francisco SFO – Copenhagen, Denmark – Stockholm, Sweden – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Prague, Czechia – Bratislava, Slovakia – London, England – San Francisco SFO (22 days-6 flights-20 hotel nights-6 bus trips)

My July in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Czechia and Slovakia July 5, 2017

SAS flying over San Francisco

Copenhagen, Denmark: Skt. Petri Copenhagen Choice Hotels Ascend Collection

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Loyalty Traveler Lost and Found in Amsterdam

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Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam design for social living

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam beer, bud and burger joints

Amsterdam and Prague Hotels: 2 stays earned 1 Free Friday Park Plaza Vondelpark Amsterdam and Park Inn Prague

Prague, Czechia: Pickpocket stole my wallet on Prague Airport Bus

Prague, Czechia: Park Inn Prague hotel review

Prague, Czechia: Best Western Hotel Kinsky Garden Prague truly boutique

Prague, Czechia: Hotel review Clarion Prague City reward stay

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Pilsen, Czechia: Marriott Courtyard Pilsen CZ category 1 reward stay

Pilsen, Czechia: Pilsen Czechia photoessay

Brno, Czechia: Holiday Inn Brno, CZ PointBreaks stay

Brno, Czechia: Brno by beer

Brno, Czechia: Brno Bones in Europe’s Second Largest Ossuary

Czechia: Impressions after 9 days in Czech Republic

Bratislava, Slovakia: Review Radisson Blu Bratislava Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia: Walk to Bratislava Castle Slovakia photo essay

Bratislava, Slovakia: Bratislava Slovakia photo essay part 2

Bratislava, Slovakia: Category 1 Park Inn Danube Bratislava Slovakia opens Oct 1, 2017

Bratislava, Slovakia: Trip Report Regiojet Bus Bratislava to Brno Airport

London, UK: Buyer Beware National Express bus London Stansted to London Heathrow

London, UK: Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow hotel review

Hotel Loyalty: Loyalty? Yes! Loyal? Not so much for my hotel travel

Hotel Loyalty: My two Club Carlson Free Friday Nights posted today

Airline Loyalty: Aegean Silver elite and 17,000 miles to Star Alliance Gold

 

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