Review: Brukenthal Palace Hotel, Avrig

July 4, 2023October 5, 2023 Koen 0 Comments

This review details my experience at the Brukenthal Palace (Palatul Brukenthal), a historic hotel with beautiful garden in Avrig, Romania.

Drive towards Avrig

Having visited the Saxon fortified church of Hosman, it was a relatively short drive to my overnight accommodation, the historic Brukenthal Palace in Avrig.

The downhill drive to Avrig on the 104G road offered breathtakingly beautiful scenery, with magnificent views overlooking the Olt river valley and the Carpathian Mountains.

river olt valley hosman fortified church holzmengen — *View over the valley of the River Olt with the majestic backdrop of the Carpathian Mountains. ©Paliparan*

river olt — *Crossing the River Olt. ©Paliparan*

Brukenthal Palace

The Brukenthal Palace in Avrig is named after Samuel Freiherr von Brukenthal (1721-1803), who was the Habsburg governor of Transylvania and a personal advisor to Empress Maria Theresa.

Being born in Nocrich in Sibiu County, Samuel von Brukenthal was a true native of the region.

Brukenthal owned two beautiful Baroque palaces in the region: His city palace in Sibiu, which is now a museum, and his summer palace in Avrig.

As the orangerie of the summer palace had been transformed into a hotel and restaurant, it seemed like the perfect place to spend the night, especially considering my love for historic properties.

brukenthal summer palace orangerie — *The hotel is located in the orangerie of Brukenthal’s summer palace. ©Paliparan*

Check-in

If you are a hotel guest, you can access the car park behind the orangerie by passing through a barrier on the access road.

Check-in formalities are done inside a small office room on the lower floor of the orangerie.

As Romania was still in the midst of the pandemic when I embarked on this trip, I managed to secure an excellent deal as I only paid 120 lei (that’s €24!) for a one-night stay in an attic double room.

Even though the rate didn’t include breakfast, I thought it was tremendous value.

Attic room

Although most of the higher category rooms at the Brukenthal Summer Palace feature a beautiful design reflecting the historic property, this unfortunately wasn’t the case with my attic double room.

The only element that added a touch of palace-like grandeur was the red carpet adorned with a fleur-de-lis motif.

In my opinion, the hotel could have added more historic elements to the room to enhance the ambiance, as it appeared rather plain and could have easily been mistaken for rooms in a generic city chain hotel.

Even though my room may not have been the most charming I’ve ever stayed in, it was equipped with all the modern amenities one would expect from a renovated property.

The room was perfectly clean and featured a comfortable double bed, a desk, minibar, TV and ample storage space.

However, it was a bit strange that there was no chair provided at the desk!

A complimentary bottle of water and a small fruit basket were provided.

attic room corridor — *Corridor leading to my attic room. ©Paliparan*

books decoration corridor — *Books being used as decoration in the corridor. ©Paliparan*

attic double room brukenthal palace — *My attic double room at the Brukenthal Palace. ©Paliparan*

attic double room — *Attic double room. ©Paliparan*

hotel room desk — *Desk inside my hotel room, with the chair weirdly enough missing. ©Paliparan*

apples bottled water — *Some apples and bottled water were provided for free. ©Paliparan*

Bathroom

The spacious bathroom had all the amenities you would expect, such as a hair dryer and basic toiletries.

The shower itself, located in an alcove, was comfortable and had good drainage.

attic double room bathroom brukenthal palace review — *Attic double room bathroom. ©Paliparan*

Orangerie

Although the hotel’s interior may not ooze historic charm, you will certainly be able to enjoy the stunning Baroque environment the moment you step outside.

The outdoor terrace in front of the Orangerie is a delightful spot to appreciate the fine exterior of the building and the picturesque garden that surrounds it.

It makes for the perfect place to have a drink or meal from the hotel’s on-site restaurant.

orangerie terrace brukenthal palace — *The terrace in front of the orangerie. ©Paliparan*

*The outdoor terrace is a great place for drinks or an alfresco meal. ©Paliparan*

brukenthal palace orangerie — *Orangerie terrace. ©Paliparan*

orangerie brukenthal palace — *The terrace in front of the orangerie. ©Paliparan*

orangerie terrace — *The terrace and garden in front of the Orangerie. ©Paliparan*

Garden

A delightful French-style garden can be found between the orangerie and the main palace building.

The garden’s main attractions include a fountain and a set of stairs, both inspired by the exquisite beauty of the renowned gardens of the Sanssouci Palace of Prussian King Frederick the Great in Potsdam, Germany.

orangerie gardens brukenthal palace — *The gardens surrounding the orangerie. ©Paliparan*

garden seats — *Garden seats. ©Paliparan*

autumnal garden decorations — *Autumnal decorations inside the garden. ©Paliparan*

brukenthal palace gardens fountain — *The fountain and set of stairs inside the gardens of the Brukenthal Palace. ©Paliparan*

brukenthal palace gardens romania — *The fountain and stairs were inspired by those in the Sanssouci Palace Gardens in Potsdam. ©Paliparan*

garden view stairs — *View over the gardens from the top of the stairs. ©Paliparan*

brukenthal summer palace avrig — *View over the lovely gardens of the Brukenthal Summer Palace. ©Paliparan*

Brukenthal Palace

At the top of the stairs, you will find the main palace buildings of Brukenthal Palace.

These buildings appeared rather dilapidated and could certainly benefit from restoration works.

The Baroque ensemble was however still beautiful to see, and I especially liked the two small rooftop windows that looked like eyes – a traditional feature of Saxon houses in Transylvania.

Brukenthal summer palace — *Brukenthal Summer Palace. ©Paliparan*

brukenthal palace — *The exterior of the building could definitely do with a renovation. ©Paliparan*

neglected building — *The palace buildings have really fallen into disrepair. ©Paliparan*

palace grounds — *Palace grounds. ©Paliparan*

palatul brukenthal — *Palatul Brukenthal. ©Paliparan*

Park

Adjacent to the palace and its garden, there is also a forested park.

This small forest, which features a small creek and some walking paths, also makes for a pleasant stroll.

park brukenthal palace — *Walking through the park. ©Paliparan*

park walking path — *Walking path through the park. ©Paliparan*

Restaurant

The Brukenthal Palace Hotel features an on-site restaurant located in the orangerie.

Before I had dinner I first enjoyed a drink outside on the terrace, before moving into the charming dining room featuring some historic portraits and fireplace.

I did really enjoy my dinner as the food was of good quality and the portions absolutely massive.

Especially my main dish of chicken Milanese with cheese turned out to be a generously sized portion.

To finish my meal, I enjoyed some delicious papanași, a traditional Romanian dessert consisting of fried doughnuts made with soft cheese and topped with sour cream, jam, and sour cherries or other forest fruits.

terrace sunset brukenthal summer palace — *At sunset, I had a pre-dinner drink on the terrace. ©Paliparan*

chicken milanese — *Chicken Milanese. ©Paliparan*

papanasi dessert romania — *Some yummy papanași as dessert. ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

Overall, I had an excellent stay at the Brukenthal Summer Palace in Avrig.

Although my attic double room may have lacked a bit of charm and weirdly enough had a chair missing at the desk, it was clean, comfortable and certainly value for money.

I do think it is worth to pay a bit more for one of the higher category rooms, as they do offer more historic charm.

The premises of the hotel are magnificent, offering you the opportunity to freely explore the gardens and historic buildings of the Brukenthal Summer Palace.

The hotel also boasts a great on-site restaurant, which is particularly attractive during the warmer months of the year when you can enjoy a meal or drinks on the terrace in the palace gardens.

I certainly wouldn’t mind to stay again at the Brukenthal Summer Palace.