Zabola Estate - Transylvania

An absolutely extraordinary place. Zabola Estate combines breathtaking nature, beautiful historic buildings, exceptional interiors and wonderful food with impeccable, warm service. Everything feels authentic, elegant and full of character, without ever being pretentious. One of the most beautiful and memorable stays we’ve had in Romania. We will definitely return. 10/10!

amazing estate

This place is just wonderful to get break from the city. It a little paradise. We had some drinks and dinner at the castle. Our server, Lorand, was just amazing, fun very accommodating. Thanks Lorand for a great evening.

The restaurant was fine, the most pleasant interaction during our entire stay was with one of the restaurant staff members, who served us beautifully: discreet, attentive, smiling, and genuinely kind. Exactly the kind of hospitality one would expect from a property of this level. Zabola Estate has all the ingredients to offer an extraordinary experience. That is precisely why the gap between the beauty of the place and the quality of the experience was so disappointing.

Zabola Estate is, without a doubt, a beautiful place, full of charm and with a fascinating history worth discovering. Unfortunately, our experience proved that a spectacular setting is not enough when the service and attitude of the staff fail to match it. At reception, we were greeted by a young lady who seemed more like an unrecognized princess than someone working in hospitality. Arrogant attitude, zero empathy, and very poor communication skills – not only in her interaction with us, but, from what we observed, with other guests as well. The SPA is available only by reservation made at least 24 hours in advance. This rule might be understandable if we had found a busy, fully operational spa. Instead, the spa area was locked and looked rather abandoned. The guided tour, which we had genuinely been looking forward to, was probably the most surreal part of the experience. Instead of learning about the fascinating history of Zabola Estate, roughly 70% of the tour was devoted to the guide himself: his family lineage apparently dating back to the 1300s, the 17 companies he runs, and his business ventures in New Zealand. We left knowing considerably more about our guide’s résumé than about Zabola Estate. The room had a lovely atmosphere, but the bathroom setup was a good example of design winning over functionality: the only option was a freestanding bathtub placed directly in the room. It may look great in photographs, but it is extremely inconvenient when you simply want to take a shower. The pillows were extremely thin and lacking any real support. Zabola Estate has all the ingredients to offer an extraordinary experience: the natural surroundings, the buildings, the atmosphere and, above all, its history. That is precisely why the gap between the beauty of the place and the quality of the experience was so disappointing. An aristocratic estate may have history and character. Its service, however, should not be aristocratic in the wrong sense of the word.