DIFFERENT BUT WITHOUT A COMMON THREAD
LOCATION
Originally, this was the Tulip House Boutique Hotel. In 2017, they renamed it Roset Boutique Hotel. The hotel is located in the heart of the city, right next to the city centre of Bratislava. This district is dotted with imposing Secession buildings, most meticulously renovated. One of them now houses the Roset Boutique Hotel. You can reach most city landmarks on foot or take the well-functioning public transport. The nearest tram station is right next to the hotel. You can stroll to the scenic old town (Staré Mesto). Active guests will be impressed by the location, as they can run or walk down tidy trails parallel to the Danube. The Eurovea shopping centre is within spitting distance.
ACCESSIBILITY
The hotel is well-connected with public transport, with the adjacent tram and bus stations enabling guests to reach nearby city districts with ease. Guests arriving by car can park in the spacious parking lot or opt for the public garage nearby. If you book your room via the hotel website, the parking is free. Otherwise, you will need to pay 20 EUR per day. That is the same price as the public parking garage behind the corner. The Bratislava Airport is not too far away, some 15 to 20 minutes. Luckily, the taxis in Bratislava are affordable. An alternative option is the Vienna Airport, providing superb connections to the rest of the world. Considering the tidy cycling paths in the city, the hotel could offer bike rental. As it stands, though, you must resort to renting a bicycle from one of the local providers, such as Slovnaft Bike.
COLD STARTER - Architecture and aesthetics
The stunning, refined Seccession facade will not leave you indifferent. Grand front doors embody the hotel story. Several hotel guests joyfully took photos at the Instagrammable entrance when we visited. At the turn of the century, the fin-de-siecle Art Noveau and Secession architecture originating in Vienna soon flooded Bratislava. Roset Hotel is a case in point – bedecked with ornate decorative details, such as tendrils and garlands. Typical Secession elements also turn heads in the interior, including the steel frame handrail adorning the corridors. The tiles and furniture are distinctly Art-Noveauish. You will enjoy the incredible spaciousness of the rooms with their impressively high ceilings. The Secession story is undoubtedly the genius loci, giving the hotel an unmissable imprint.
WARM ENTRÉE - The staff and the culinary experience
During our stay, the hotel restaurant was dormant. The friendly receptionist thus redirected us to a nearby restaurant that turned out to be fantastic. We did try the hotel breakfast, where the staff still seemed the only silver lining. The basement floor housing the breakfast room was rather dark and slightly claustrophobic, influencing the general well-being of guests. Although the selection was diverse and rich, we noticed too many generic dishes and spreads. Why doesn’t the hotel offer something original and local? Insofar as the cuisine was mediocre, the staff was incredible. The tidiness of the hotel is at a high level.
MAIN COURSE – The meetings offering at the hotel
Hotel rooms
The hotel could be considered an aparthotel given the size of the rooms. We stayed in a colossal apartment dubbed the Deluxe Suite. The suite, covering sixty square metres, welcomed us with a fully equipped kitchen adjoining a dining area, living room and sleeping room. The room is a whole apartment within a hotel. The high ceilings further added to the spaciousness of the room. The wooden floor can even be heated in cold winter months. The elegant furniture reflects architectural trends popular in 2008 when the hotel was renovated. Many parts of the room showed wear and tear, though. A renovation would be welcome. The bathroom featured a classic hotel design, although we did wish for a walk-in shower instead of a cumbersome bathtub. As a whole, the room can be considered a hotel classic that caters to prolonged stays. Roset Hotel & Residence is a home away from home that guests have been praising on booking platforms.
Meetings centre
You can host your event in four rooms within the hotel. Two are classic meeting halls – the Rhapsody Hall, accommodating up to 30 attendees, and the Business Lounge, capacitating 60 participants. In addition, event organisers often host their events in the atrium, where up to 40 guests can convene under a glass canopy. Alternatively, events can take place in the hotel restaurant.
DESSERT – The extras
The staff is incredibly hospitable, aiming to satisfy every whim. We should not take that for granted in the middle of the high tourist season.
FLOP – NEGATIVE SURPRISES
The restaurant’s inactivity may originate from staff shortages and other challenges. In any case, we expected a functioning restaurant or a cafe to bring some life into the vacant ground floor.
TOP – POSITIVE SURPRISES
The hotel atrium is a unique space we imagine could host spectacular events. The hotel should promote it as an event venue.
SUSTAINABLE ENDEAVOURS
The hotel neither promotes nor implements any sustainable initiatives. Here, sustainability is not on the radar yet.
FINAL IMPRESSION AND CREDIBILITY
Hotel Roset is neither a typical meeting hotel nor the first pick of event organisers in Bratislava. However, it is a nice addition to the hotel market, with excellent reviews on booking platforms. One of the reasons is the spaciousness of the rooms. In a way, these mini apartments made us wonder whether guests need this much space. Regrettably, the hotel is not leveraging its superb location. A cosy cafe or elegant restaurant would make a ton of difference. Once, a cafe already operated here. Breakfast was below average for the standards of business guests. The hotel has a long way to go to evolve its gastronomy.
Contrastively to the alluring, prestige hotel facade, the interior is less opulent. It aims to attract guests with spaciousness rather than with interior design. As long as the price performance of this hotel checks out, this formula will work. However, the owners must start investing in improving service to leap forward.
FINAL GRADE: 4.78 TWO MEETING STARS⭐⭐ Boutique Meeting Hotel
3 MEETING STARS⭐⭐⭐ final score from 4.81 to 5.00
2 MEETING STARS⭐⭐ final score from 4.61 to 4.80
1 MEETING STAR⭐ final score from 4.41 to 4.60
