The hoteliers in the resorts on Prahova Valley have found themselves abandoned by a large part of the Romanians and are in the red when it comes to revenue, after years in a row they made fortunes by charging huge prices. Romanians found that the prices here are higher than anywhere else.
Until not long ago, the Winter holidays were the glory season of Văia Prahova, with tens of thousands of tourists willing to pay any amount to spend Christmas or New Year’s Eve at Sinaia, Predeal or the other resorts in the area. The crisis is also showing its fangs in tourism, and Romanians tired of paying exorbitant prices preferred to stay at home or reorient themselves to other destinations.
The period when the mountain becomes a setting on Instagram or Facebook accounts, and DN 1 and world-class hotels and guesthouses seem to be a thing of the past. If until yesterday hoteliers could ask for anything and did not take care of tourists, something has changed. According to News.ro, this year the world bypassed the resorts in Valea Prahova, and the impact is really huge on the resorts.
Empty parking lots, free rooms, slopes without kilometer queues, all these were the surprises of Christmas 2025. And it seems that the situation will be similar on New Year’s Eve. The public reaction of the Romanians, on social networks such as Reddit, is eloquent, with people feeling revenged for what they call the exaggerated prices practiced by the hoteliers in Valea Prahova.
People applaud the fact that the myth of the Romanian willing to pay absolutely anything for questionable services pales.
The myth that no longer holds true: “The Romanian comes anyway”
The hospitality industry in Valea Prahova operated for a long time on a dangerous myth. The idea that the fairy-tale landscapes of the Southern Carpathians and the proximity to Bucharest are enough, and the services, which obviously do not suffer comparison with the famous French, Austrian and Swiss resorts, may be of lower quality because the Romanian “is fine with that” seems to be a thing of the past.
The comments on Reddit show that in the collective metal of the Romanians this myth has been broken or is about to be broken.
“They asked for 1,500 lei per night in a mediocre guesthouse, without breakfast. What did they think, that we were stupid?”, one wonders. For years, hoteliers have found all kinds of excuses for the enormous prices. The price increases were justified by the pandemic, inflation, investments, season, weather or even the excuse of lack of staff and wages.
Alpine prices, communal chalet services
One of the most common complaints in the comments is the grotesque discrepancy between price and quality. “With this money I go to Austria or Italy and at least I know what I’m paying for”, said one user.
For the Romanians on Reddit, the term “Christmas package in Valea Prahova” has come to mean small rooms, badly furnished, standardized festive menus, music of questionable quality and played too loudly, but also the feeling that you are being done a huge favor and very lucky to have been accepted as a guest. But the irony of fate is that many owners of hotels and guesthouses seem genuinely surprised that the Romanians chose something else.
“Maybe now he’s learning that it doesn’t go on forever with whining”someone said. Another added: “When you charge luxury prices and offer communal cottage services, don’t be surprised.”
One comment perfectly captures the break: “They believe that if they have a mountain next to them, they also have a divine right to tourists”. Others have qualified the idea.
“A very good trend. I don’t want them to go bankrupt, just to get their prices and services down to earth”, someone said.
“Unfortunately, their services are not enough. They must vote local politicians capable of developing the area properly, and put pressure on them. In tourism, you are quite dependent on the public space, if that doesn’t develop, ok, you have services for nothing, ok, because the tourists have nothing to do”, there was another opinion.
Irony and sarcasm were at home. Romanians laughed at the statements of some hoteliers who talked about “low prices”
“Low prices, under 300 lei… I laughed out loud”someone wrote. “Only “in some cases”. Normally “low prices” means around 500 lei per person/night. They are small, I write them with a font size of 10-12…”added another. “I’m talking about 300 lei as if it were 50. The boyars got used to holiday vouchers”, came another reply.
On the same topic full of irony, because it is still the time when a well-known television station broadcasts the mega hit “Home Alone”, someone used the words of the kid who was forgotten by his parents at home.
“Merry Christmas ya, filthy animals! Maybe next year you won’t have any customers! We see!”, was the stinging irony.
Cheaper in Bali or Dubai
Others compared the prices of Romanian hoteliers with those of other countries.
“I’m in Rome now, although I wanted to go to Sinaia, but it was cheaper here (including by plane). It’s no use lowering the price now if two months ago when people were booking the price was x 5”he said.
“I don’t know in which country they live, but under 300 is not a low price”was another comment.
Someone else says that the money spent at a luxury hotel in Poiana Brașov or Sinaia could spend a month in a tropical paradise like Bali. “With the money spent in a week on a good hotel in Poiana or Sinaia, you can spend a month in paradise in Bali. Or if you really are a fan of winter and want to practice winter sports, stay for two weeks in Switzerland and/or France, in luxury resorts where you have serious slopes (the skiers from Valea Prahova don’t even know how to pronounce their names). Anyway, our skiers will choose all of Prahova Valley, even though they have money to travel around the world and see them in the wonders are quiet. It is because of them that they prosper with their luxurious hotels.” wrote one of the users of the platform.
“It is 2 times cheaper in most European countries. I’m not surprised that customers don’t come”, was another opinion.
“Brother, I was in Dubai 2 minutes from the Burj, apartment 90sqm 4 rooms all utilities – 260 per night”, was one of the messages.
Hoteliers, ready to “negotiate”
Others recalled that HoReCA patrons showed their willingness to negotiate prices. Not only is the gesture seen as late, but people are not even willing to sit down for discussions.
“Negotiate? I mean, are they willing to renovate the rooms, educate the staff, improve the service, and then negotiate some decent prices?” someone wrote.
“They have nothing to negotiate, they simply have nothing to offer. As long as a guesthouse is asking you for 1,500 a night and you are not getting anything for that money, something is wrong.” stated another.
“The last time I looked for accommodation in Sinaia, with the pretense that I wanted something with a swimming pool and sauna plus breakfast, I couldn’t find anything under 1,000 RON per night. That’s outside of the Holidays, and I thought it was absurd”someone else said.
Why it would not be good to bankrupt the Romanian hoteliers
Finally, there were some more moderate ones, and someone explained why for Romania and Romanians it would not be desirable for the hospitality industry to go bankrupt.
“The idea is not to go bankrupt, but to offer good services at fair prices. Fair does not mean cheap, depending on what is offered. Bankruptcy means money out of the economy and then we scream that “nothing is being done in Romania”. The state should build infrastructure and the private sector should invest head on. Unfortunately, neither one nor the other is happening. I would like to have the mountain areas developed in the true sense, it would be a very good source for the economy. An example would be Arena Platos in Păltiniș, Sibiu. Private, modern investment, but even there the state barely moved.”someone said.
“I was looking for accommodation in the mountains during this period, but when I saw the prices I calmed down. 1500-1700 RON per Christmas night just because it’s a holiday”was another comment.
One discussion was related to budget workers’ holiday vouchers, after some netizens linked the lack of tourists to the fact that budget workers received less and less holiday vouchers.
How much do holiday vouchers matter?
“You all say that holiday vouchers are to blame, another good thing that the budget holders benefited from and it doesn’t suit you. You are delirious…the patrons of the sea and the mountains were bandits long before, inflating prices and letting mediocre services make a profit. The world has become smarter, it no longer wants services of two lei for the price of a diamond”, someone said.
“Those of you who are talking about vouchers. My wife and I receive, privately, 1450 lei each. So 2900 lei. Are you telling me that exactly this money filled the entire Prahova Valley and Predeal? That last time, a decent hotel, with a swimming pool, breakfast and Christmas dinner included, was about double… I’m not saying that I don’t get this money well, but it’s better to give it in the off-season to some hostel that is neither crowded nor has the prices ridiculous. In the valley, whenever I pass by, ML, Q7, X6, SKlasse, etc. I’m not saying that it doesn’t matter, but I really think that more people don’t come because at those prices you go to Barcelona for 4 days and no, it doesn’t compare…”added another.
“Normally, the vouchers mattered. It’s enough to fill 1/2 of your boarding house, you don’t need 100% or nothing. That’s why 150 gives you a nice “extended weekend” package, you come on Thursday, you leave on Monday morning, and that’s it, or whatever the deck was called“, someone contradicted him.
Some took advantage of the discounts
Others say they have already taken advantage of the fact that hoteliers are forced to cut prices.
“I’m one of those who took advantage of these offers. I found a free place on the 24th on the 25th. I didn’t think I’d find a free place in Valea Prahova. I searched once. Compared to the 1000 lei minimum in previous years, 300 is a bargain. Yes, it’s becoming more frequented even for private individuals without vacation vouchers, premiums, increases, etc. And yes, the prices are more affordable.” wrote a netizen.
“That’s good, they want to negotiate. I propose that they pay me to go and stay there. Otherwise I don’t even accept, you’d be a fool to give them any leu they offer“, it was an irony.
Where did the debate start?
The whole debate started from a post on Reddit of a news story published by News.ro. It is about the low level of occupancy of the hotels and guesthouses in Valea Prahova, for the first time compared to other years.
According to the cited source, there would be dozens of accommodation units in Valea Prahova and in Brașov, which on Christmas Day had free rooms and are still waiting for customers, something hard to imagine a few years ago, when the occupancy rate reported by hoteliers and guesthouse owners in Sinaia, Bușteni, Azuga, Predeal or Poiana Brașov was consistently over 90%.
Not even the low prices – in some cases under 300 lei for a double room per night, in Sinaia, a price at which, once upon a time, tourists did not even dare to dream of Christmas – do not make business go better, adds the mentioned source.
