Ioana hotel Sinaia, a perfect base for Sinaia ski resort

A retreat in the Carpathians, Ioana hotel Sinaia stands cosy and well integrated into majestic pine forests. A perfect base for Sinaia ski resort or a mini break in Sinaia with kids or without, the hotel is just few minutes walking distance to Peles Castle, the neo-Renaissance masterpiece and former royal residence. And if you need more convincing, one of our favourite restaurants in the area is in here: Forest restaurant Sinaia, gourmet cuisine, kidsclub and an amazing wine cellar.

We stayed in a junior suite, beautiful and spacious. Fireplace to be lit, pine trees in the snow by the windows and our balconies. The kids stuff impeccable: two lovely cots with crisp bedsheets, their own toiletries, bathrobes and slippers. Complimentary fruit basket as well as goodie bags with toys from the hotel – much appreciated by the little people.

The personnel is attentive and looked after us so well. A true luxury in the area, which does not lack 5 star hotels but staff training and attitude changes are still needed.

A 15 minutes easy stroll for Romania walking holidays (or 5 minutes drive) from Hotel Ioana Sinaia, there’s the gorgeous Peles Castle. We spent a couple of hours in the sun having some snow fun and some serious snowball fights – all parties shouting of joy and occasionally trying to persuade the eldest to stop eating it.

Another lovely late evening walk with my eldest in the snow: crisp air, little rivers singing mysteriously in the night, tall pine trees, the lights of some cute houses and some Romanian architectural gems and a big white moon. The bear tales are still going round but these days are rarer.

Ioana hotel Sinaia’s kidsclub looks after little ones until 10pm, which is a treat for parents like us and kids that recently landed from different time zones. So there’s plenty of time and support to enjoy Forest restaurant Sinaia beautiful ambience, the delicious cuisine and to explore extensively the wines cellar. The sommelier used to be a larger than life Romanian and English speaker Serbian, very keen to get your palate pleased with superb wines, recommending food to match and getting you mesmerised with stories.

Breakfast at Ioana hotel Sinaia is abundant and feels also very intimate despite a number of guests around – must be the setting with various steps and enclosed areas. We indulged into Romanian traditional goodies, including walnut gem, apple pie, fresh juices and fresh baked bread. And of course spotting the sweet bunnies napping in various places.

We spent a gorgeous night and day in Sinaia with kids on our way to Brasov – just wished we didn’t get so carried away by all those wonderful stuff and forget the baby daily reflux medicine to get a proper night sleep.  On our list ‘forget me not’ next time 😉 So not just a gorgeous base for Sinaia ski resort, but also a perfect stopover or weekend away in the mountains. Thank you Ioana hotel Sinaia!