Perfect hotel for family with kids.
The location is very good, just a short walk from the city centre.
The best was definitely the staff, very friendly. The playrooms for kids were great but what really made it fantastic was the great staff who were so friendly. They played games, painted together etc.
Also a shoutout to the very helpful staff at the entrance helping out with parking and luggage.
I need to stress first that this is comparison against the other hotels in the league Tonanti wants to compete. Of course it is not comparable with some 3-star small hotel, or so. And it does not mean that it is bad. So let’s start.
Spa and pools:
I had expectation that it is the biggest spa in the country (although it is not mentioned anywhere by Tonanti, for example). Spa is not comparable with Fruske Terme, for instance. Inner Spa is in the range of Izvor, outdoors is small (2 not so big pools). It is opened for children up to 18h, which was convenient for us. However, it is not marked clearly (I saw only on one place in Spa caffe). If I had been with a kid I would have complained for that. There are 5-6 saunas and Salty room. Big enough and nice. Although Fruske Terme concept where Spa area is clearly separated is Berger approach for me. Inner pool is big and nice. My impression is that there are too many deck chairs. Caffe is a bit far away from pool, a bit inconvenient. It works up to 10pm, which is nice. Outdoor thermal pool is really cool. Overall spa & pools 4/5
Rooms:
Generally fine. Big and bright. What I cannot understand is that there is no shampoo (very inconvenient for ladies). Also, there is water or coffee. I understand that water is drinkable, but still, hotel of this level has to have it. Therefore rooms 4/5
Food:
Good breakfast, not the best I’ve seen, but there is enough delicious food. Dinner was really good. Overall food 5/5
Stuff:
A kind of uninterested. I can’t say that they were not kind, but something was missing (I would say like majority stuff in tourist in Serbia, but here, you would expect more. Overall stuff 3/5
Gym:
Small without natural light, but I was able to do all exercises I wanted. Like in majority of hotels but not like in the top ones. So, gum: 4/5
Location:
Perfect. Vrnjacka Banja is one of the best touristic places in Serbia with history going back in XIX century. For me much better than some resorts in the mountains. You have a lot of thinks to do outside hotel. Location 5/5
General set-up:
I had a feeling that hotel was not built perfectly from architectural perspective. When you go to spa you need to pass close to dining room for instance. In other Spa hotels you go directly to spa area. There are many technical rooms between saunas, you get confused. Set up 2/5
Other:
À la card restaurant does not work. Koznik restaurant which is, basically part of hotel had some private event (not mentioned anywhere), so we could not have a dinner.
Like a said, not bad hotel, but a bit below Fruske terme and Izvor. Since a graded both of them with 4-stars, I cannot grade Tonanti with more than 3. General experience like majority of Serbian upper level hotels: one step missing to become perfect, but one step is important in this segment.
I'll start with the positives
+the kids' corner is open all day
+the pools are big
Unfortunately, the negatives are too many
-English speaking staff is rare, fortunately we are from Bulgaria and we understood each other more or less
-the cleanliness of the room and the pools was satisfactory, but by no means sufficient
-the food was varied, but not offering anything but water for dinner has never happened to me
-the SPA area - the saunas worked one day, the next one didn't work, the infrared sauna is more of a quartz heating lamp, I never saw steam in the steam room, the salt room is not quite salt, so to speak it is more of a room with a salt lamp
-the icing on the cake- on Saturday we see a fairly large group coming and obviously a party is being prepared, we ask the reception at 6pm if any party is expected, because the restaurant is right above our room, and we have two children under 5 and we specify that if something like this is supposed to happen we will leave the hotel now. They tell us to expect a peaceful and quiet evening and not to worry about noise, there won't be any. Live music and dancing starts at 8pm. We call the reception and they tell us that it will be like that, and they apologize, but the party will end at 12am (in fact we heard tables being moved until 2am). They wanted to compensate us for the inconvenience with a late check-out, ridiculous!
In conclusion, the hotel has no idea what a SPA hotel means and if you want to spend a peaceful and relaxing holiday this is not the place.
I definitely do not recommend ⛔
This hotel would be considered 4-star, and might be deemed one of the highest-ranked hotels in the area, presumably by visitors who are coming from developing nations and used to a far lower standard of quality and service.
As for Tonanti specifically, while there are some lovely and noteworthy touches (namely, excellent location, a solid assortment of food offered within the breakfast and dinner menus, as well as an impressive Finnish sauna and beautiful tepidarium), there are significant areas for improvement to bring this facility to a level where they can deservingly earn a 4-star title. Let’s discuss them:
-Safety and maintenance: rusting and broken down parts throughout the spa center including a loose rail in the thermal pool where the jacuzzi is, loose pieces in the steam room (on ceiling), broken buttons and faucet in the steam room, open electrical box in hotel room (didn’t close properly), loose wooden seat slabs in the sauna, and maintenance/technical rooms left open in the spa center
-Housekeeping and service: there were no tissues, body soap or shampoo accessories in the room upon entry and the room wasn’t cleaned hours after breakfast the next morning (had to remind reception to do so); there was a lack of communication and coordination between the cleaning staff and reception which resulted in housekeeping entering the room on the second morning without knocking and then proceeding to return again after we made it clear that we were leaving that day and didn’t need the room clean; furthermore, tea and water aren’t offered complimentary to guests upon entering the room (even tea is charged, when coffee, tea and water are generally offered as a default welcome amenity at hotels even with 2-3 stars)
-Aesthetics: the outdoor thermal pool is equipped only with plastic chaises and a plastic, cheap-looking green fence; consider investing in some better quality furniture and decorations to make this section feel premium and exclusive to guests; in the standard rooms, a need for investment in better shower heads and upgrading the plastic cups and water bottle offered in the spa center with more premium water containers and cups (flavored water like cucumber, lemon and orange) for better hydration; Carpeting and upholstery -in need of a drastic redesign and deep clean (lots of stains and dirt in both the floors within the room halls and on the dining room chairs; paintings in the room are outdated and misaligned with the style
-Amenities, facilities and services for adults: while the hotel caters tremendously to children, the spa center should have a private entrance (separated by doors) so that adults can have peace and quiet for relaxing and rejuvenation; having the spa center adjacent to the indoor pool doesn’t allow for this necessary separation -spas are not for children and this should be enforced
Ultimately, these changes and improvements are what stand between the hotel claiming to be vs. being a 4-star accommodation.
It's the best hotel all-around. Good for kids, good for adults. Tasty food, nice staff, great facilities. We enjoyed every minute of our visit and we are going back in few days. Recommended
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Goč (Serbian Cyrillic: Гоч) is a mountain in central Serbia, about 15 km south of the spa town of Vrnjačka Banja. It belongs to the northern part of the Kopaonik mountain range and its highest peak, Krnja jela (Serbian Cyrillic: Крња јела), has an elevation of 1,127 m (3,698 ft). Goč is a popular hiking and mountaineering destination and the village Goč is a small ski resort.
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