Balvanyos Resort - Peakture Hotel & Grand Hotel Balvanyos

When I first visited the resort four years ago, I also briefly had the impression that the dogs might be neglected. They are indeed fed with regular food left by tourists, which may seem unusual, but they are large dogs with big appetites, and there are about 4–5 of them ( all extremely friendly). In a way, it’s actually good that leftover food isn’t wasted — and the dogs seem to choose what they eat. They clearly avoid anything spicy, and I’ve even seen them enjoy large beef bones. One evening, they were quite dirty, and I was about to leave a comment — but the next day they were freshly cleaned, which made me pause and reconsider. Now, returning in 2025 and having seen a comment suggesting they’re neglected, I paid special attention to them during my stay. I noticed they’re periodically let out of their enclosures, which to me is a sign they’re cared for and not forgotten. They also have ducks, chickens, and they used to have goats, though I don’t think they do anymore. Well done, Balvanyos! Tourists are very sensitive when it comes to animal welfare, and it’s clear your team is aware of that.

We have stayed in this property before (original review is below) so we knew what we were getting ourselves into when staying in the area. The hotel has actually improved massively, this being mostly down to the fact that children now have their own separate spa. This has improved space in the adults spa itself and has made the environment much calmer and less crowded. There was the odd day where we needed to perch our towel on a plant pot however we were usually able to get at least one seat regardless of the time we arrived. We did spot the occasional child in the area itself but these were mostly 12+ who had been snuck in by the parents and when they were noticed by staff, they were asked to immediately leave. They also had to open the spa on our last day late due to maintenance which meant that we were left without the indoor swimming pool which was being cleaned. It wasn't a huge issue (except for the noise and chemical smell) however it would've probably been more efficient for the hotel to arrange this overnight when the spa is closed. We did bump into the staff member on our first night in the restaurant who was extremely rude to us last year however she was a complete delight this time round, making jokes, being super attentive and friendly. She didn't remember us so I'm hoping that our bad experience with her last year was simply down to her having a bad day. All of the servers in the restaurant were lovely however there was some inconsistencies with wine portions - we would recommend simply purchasing a bottle because it just works out as more cost efficient. Our room smelt slightly of urine upon entering but we put that down the cleaning chemical they had used. The room was spotlessly clean and they had given us a bottle of champagne for our anniversary which was a nice touch. I would've loved to give it 5 stars this time round however there are small issues that are really preventing me from doing so: - We arrived at 2pm (check-in is at 4pm). Our early arrival and lack of rooms weren't the issue - we weren't expecting our rooms to be ready before 4pm but we also didn't expect for them to tell us that they had nowhere for us to store our luggage whilst waiting which meant we had to wait in the bar with all of our bags for a hour or so. The receptionist did kindly give us access at 3:30pm. - The second was the horrible condition of their gym. They are a spa hotel however their actual gym section never seemed too busy (we could see it from our room). I went for a run on one of the days at around 12pm on the treadmill and was actually disgusted by how unclean the space was. There were dirty tissues, black ink, sticky substances and nothing to wipe the machines down with. I did find some hand sanitizer however it was almost empty and the remaining amount congealed. My headphone case was covered in a black tar like substance which was somewhere on the machine. - Last year our room had a radiator however this year we were placed

I'm really bummed out. The place is basically a construction zone, total chaos everywhere. We booked the whole spa, but the changing rooms are just in the kids' area, and everyone—men, women, and kids—has to share with zero privacy. No one tells you where anything is, and it feels like you don't even matter to the staff. To get to the adult area with the sauna, you have to go down a cold, drafty staircase. They're doing repairs while customers are trying to relax, with workers in dirty clothes everywhere. We couldn't even use most of the sauna because they were swapping out equipment, and then an employee barged in and doused everything with water, making the steam so thick that everyone had to leave. I tried to say something about how messed up that was, but they totally ignored me. It's such a shame because this place used to be amazing. Overall, it was just way too much and really disappointing!