Transylvanian style at Bratescu Manor

Today we continue with our manor tour and we’ll tell you a bit more about Bratescu Manor in Bran. It is a small 4* boutique-hotel, with just 9 rooms and its own restaurant, opened in 2014. Its name comes from Mr. Emil Bratescu, a Romanian language professor who used to host his writer friends at his vacation home in Moeciu, thus remaining in the collective memory as “Bratescu’s Manor”. One of the main reasons we recommend it is its proximity to Bran Castle, just 500 meters away. Its exterior is imposing, a typical Transylvanian manorial style, with influences from the Austrian architecture with the wooden beams. The hosts are very friendly and they make you feel welcomed, offering you a traditional alcoholic beverage upon arrival.

None of the rooms look the same and that’s another reason to come back and feel like you’re having a new experience. In a way, the manor tells a story and you are a part of it. Since you walk through the door you feel transported to another world. The design is fantastic and the attention to details was worth it. Most of the furniture is antique or restored and adapted to each room. We stayed in the Romania Rhapsody room and fell in love with it. After a few hours spent in the car on a rainy day, we entered a room full of light. They managed to combine the modern with the retro-traditional style in a beautiful way. Even though it’s a traditional decorated room, with rustic carpets, wooden nightstands, an old sewing machine and parts of Romanian national costumes on the beds’ tapestry, it still feels like a modern room. This room is in the attic, which was pretty cool because they could play around with the design and incorporate a wooden structure in the middle of the room and the beams on the ceiling.

We recently became fans of this modern-traditional mix of style so we quickly went into the rest of the available rooms to see how they were each decorated. We found a retro room called Romantic Blue, inspired by the rooms in the Bran Castle, decorated in the ’20 by the Royal House architect. There are beams on the ceiling with hardwood furniture. We went into Imperial Suite, a room out of a fairytale with antique furniture. Romantic Luxury and Family Suite are bigger spacious rooms, perfect for families with children. Family Suite also has a small bookshelf and you can enjoy a moment of relaxation. Charming Vista may be the most rustic room of them all, with painted furniture with traditional Transylvanian motifs. Some of the rooms also have balconies with a magnificent view to Bran. What more can you ask than waking up in the morning and be surrounded by nature?

You have free breakfast and there’s everything and for every taste. There are a lot of fresh traditional dishes, homemade jam and all sorts of cheeses and butter. If you want eggs, just ask and they’ll have them ready for you. Same with the coffee, just as you like it. They’ll also surprise you with some dessert. They gave us crepes with an amazing strawberries jam. We recommend you the table near the piano, the view will make your morning a little better. If you don’t want to eat out in the nearby mountain resorts or in Brasov, they have their own restaurant. We only had lunch on the day we arrived and a hot chicken soup was all we needed on that chilly day.

We had a great time here, we thought that it was a tastefully designed manor, all to the tiniest details. We loved the huge chandelier hanging from the attic, the small relaxation space on the first floor and the traditional Romanian costumes. They also have a games room if you come with a group of friends. You can play ping pong, foosball, darts or video games, plus the traditional cards and board games. We hope to come back soon, winter seems like a good choice since we saw that they have a fireplace and it would be cool to stay with your loved ones.