Through a contest of circumstances, I had to spend a weekend this summer on the Black Sea coast. More precisely in Eforie Nord, the last place I went to the sea in Romania, five years ago (and I had said I would never return). So the expectations with which I had set off were quite low, but the reality looked even worse.
The seaside adventure started right before I got there, when I booked the accommodation - I chose to book on Booking.com because it's the platform I use every time I go on vacation. From the few options with a decent price, I chose the BIA studio in Vila Roberto - 425 lei / two nights. Just a few days before arriving at the accommodation, when my money had already been debited from my card, someone there called me to tell me that, in fact, my room was already booked by someone else, the fault being exclusively of Booking, according to the lady (although I have never had any problems with the dozens of bookings made through this platform, most of them outside the country). I inform that lady that it is not my job, I have paid accommodation, so let her solve with the Booking. Then the lady tells me that she can help me with another option: she gives me an apartment in the same building - "trust me, I'll give you something good". I answer that this option is excluded and that I will file a complaint with Booking and ANPC. "Okay, come to the room you booked, I'll find a solution," the lady told me, extremely disappointed by my lack of cooperation.
When I arrived at the location, I was told by phone how I got to the hotel's private parking lot - which was written on Booking for free (photo).
I park the car, I arrive at the reception, the lady greets me with a smile, and after 2-3 minutes of discussion she says to me: "you know, I have an arrangement with the gentlemen from the parking lot, so you have to pay another 20 lei / day". Although I was absolutely sure it was written for free (parking is one of the first things I check when making a reservation), I tell myself in my mind that I wouldn't really want to leave with the scratched car there, so I give the lady a 50 lei paper - I never received the rest (10 lei) or any tax receipt. Arriving in the room, I find that it looks pretty good, even better than in the pictures, so I quickly forget about the 50 lei and settle down. During my stay there I discovered that the drain from the bathroom did not work, the TV had no signal, and through the walls could be heard perfectly the heated discussions about the maneles of the moment of the landing neighbors.
But in the end, go to the beach for the sun and the beach, not for accommodation, so let's go to the beach! Arriving on Belona beach, I am immediately intercepted by the "boy in the sunbeds", who tells me in a disgusting tone "35 lei sunbed". "It simply came to our notice then. You can pay by card, yes? ”I ask. "No, ma'am, just cash." I'm looking for the last cash in my wallet, I pay it and leave. Good? You guessed it, obviously not receiving. The next day, the same sunbeds cost 40 lei a piece, "weekend price", the boy explains to me in the same squeaky tone and disappears. But, after a few hours, he comes back to someone next to me and then I take courage and tell him "don't be upset, I think you forgot to bring me the receipt". He froze for a few seconds, woke up, and said, "If you want to ..." "I want". He returns after about 10 minutes with the receipt (probably one of the few that day).
But let's get back to HoReCa, an industry so pitiful from the beginning of the pandemic to the present. After solving with the sunbed, I go to the beach bar to have a drink (8 lei for a non-alcoholic beer, from 11 lei for an alcoholic beer, and a bag of 10 lei for chips). I hand out the card, but the guy at the bar quickly cuts it off, "I can't use the card." I go back to the deck chair, beg for some cash from the people I'm with and come back victorious to pick up my products. And, you guessed it, the voucher doesn't exist.
The same story with the lack of voucher at the El Stefanino restaurant, where I had dinner - 15 lei for a non-alcoholic beer, 49 lei for a portion of horse mackerel, 65 lei for a portion of seafood and 45 lei for a portion of carp. And the services, execrable. I only received an "information note". At least here I already knew how to pay by card and I prepared with cash.
Read also:Coronavirus | Stinging fine for a water park in Eforie ...
To be objective, I will also say that I came across a civilized place during my short seaside vacation, namely the Gulf of Fishermen restaurant: excellent service, very good and fresh food, payment by card and tax receipt at the end (commonplace in any other tourist country).
Epilogue
This year, before reaching the Romanian coast, I was in Egypt, Turkey and Greece. Find below what I found there. You draw your own conclusions.
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About the author Roxana graduated from the Faculty of Letters, being also a certified translator of English and French. He has over 15 years of experience in the press and communication, is a Nazi grammarian and passionate about art history. As a journalist, he has worked for publications such as Businessmen's, Bucharest Business Week, România Libera - where he was coordinating editor - and Wall-Street.ro . Throughout her journalistic career, Roxana has written in fields such as diplomacy, tourism, aviation, retail, ...More articles written by Roxana Grosu »
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