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Swine Flu Hotel Closes After 40 People Become Ill

Where: Hotel Sinaia, Bd. Carol 1, No. 8, Sinaia, Romania, 106100

Earlier this year when swine flu first erupted, 280 people were quarantined at the MetroPark Hotel in Hong Kong, we lightly dubbed it a Swine Flu Hotel. But now we have a real Swine Flu Hotel.

Hotel Sinaia, a resort in the mountains of Sinaia, Romania, has been closed after 40 Romainian and foreign law students attending a conference caught the dreaded H1N1 virus.

Health state secretary Adrian Streinu-Cercel says 40 people were hospitalized Sunday in Bucharest, suffering from medium to severe forms of the flu.

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Bad Rate :: $516 or More a Night at the Bucharest Hilton

Where: 1-3 Episcopiei St., District 1, Bucharest, Romania

[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same region and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quoted here were captured on July 31, 2007 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]

If you're heading to Bucharest, Romania, you can easily spend two weekend nights for less than $300, starting with this week's Good Rate at the Rembrandt Hotel. If that's full, you're not hurting for choices though: European site Booking.com lists 21 hotels for under $150 a night for a August 17 to 19 and Expedia lists 15.

Then there's the Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest, where the lowest rate we could find for that weekend was 380 Euro a night, or $516. Even if you can manage to get the best deal captured from this promotion screen shot, it's still $342. Did we mention that this is for Bucharest? In the land of Count Dracula, Romania? Yes, we know that Romania joined the EU this past January, but Prague, Vienna, or Budapest this city is not.

This being a Hilton, you can also expect to pay handsomely for parking and Internet access. If the ugly standard room photos on the website are the best they can do, we would also advise charging even more euros to your expense account to make sure you are on the Executive Floor. Besides a continental breakfast, you'll get furniture and bedding that looks like it was made after the end of the Cold War.

Related Stories:
· Good Rate :: $143 Deal at the Rembrandt Hotel Bucharest [HotelChatter]
· Hotels in Bucharest [HotelChatter]

Tags: Good Rate / Romania Hotels / Bucharest Hotels / → All Tags

Good Rate :: A $143 Deal at the Rembrandt Hotel Bucharest

Where: Strada Smardan 11, Sector 3, Bucharest, Romania

[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which one most deserves your hard-earned benjamins. Rates quotes here were captured July 31, 2007 and are subject to change. Enjoy.]

A couple of months back National Geographic Traveler raved about Rembrandt Hotel in Bucharest, Romania, saying the boutique hotel "has brought long-needed sanity to the city's inflated hotel prices." Then we look on TripAdvisor and it's also the #1 rated hotel there.

The 15 rooms are all a bit different, ranging from smallish ones with a "matrimonial bed" to spacious "business rooms." Rates are a max of 117 Euros ($159) on weekends and top out at 137 Euros ($186) on weekdays. It gets better though: through August 31 they'll knock 10 percent off that rate and your meals and drinks at the popular Cafe Klein, plus throw in a fruit basket and a welcome drink. Not bad for 143 of our anemic U.S. dollars.

Guests rave about the better than average service and continental breakfasts. Stylish rooms come with hardwood floors, attractive lighting, CD/DVD players with discs to borrow, and complimentary Internet access.

Related Stories:
· Bad Rate :: $516 or More a Night at the Bucharest Hilton [HotelChatter]
· Hotels in Bucharest [HotelChatter]