I have been to this hotel several times (last time beginning of May 2009) and I know already why it's not part of the Kempinski Hotels anymore. As the other people have mentioned in their reviews the hotel looks great from outside, but nothing than average inside and average only if we speak about semi-lux numbers and higher standard (see the attached photos)! The window/terrace view from some of the rooms is really fantastic - you can see how beautiful the Black sea is. The prices are really too high for the quality offered, the breakfast is not bad - it's included in the price and you can have it from 7:00 till 11:00 am in the Black Pearl restaurant, but if you come after 10:00 you will see a lot of empty plates and the personnel is not bothering to fill them up.
What I found really interesting is that it was advertised that the fitness center and the swimming pool are free for guests of the hotel, but it turned out that meanwhile someone is renting them already and you have to pay for using them... Parking for guests is also paid, you better ask at the reception in advance, because you will pay more at the spot later when leaving.

Just like the previous reviewer said, the hotel looks great from the outside, but once you are in the room and look around, your happiness turns to gloom. It was my second time to stay there and the room just like the previous time was not very clean, especially the bathroom. They appear to not know how to rid the area around a tub of black mold stains. Also, the rooms can be noisy as just like other hotels you can hear your neighbors doing everything from shouting to having sex! And the worst of it was no ability to control the temperature and a poor ventilation system as yes, I had difficulty breathing! There is no such thing as a non-smoking floor especially if the hotel is very busy! And if you opened up the window you were very distracted from loud party boat people to drunks and the loud clanging of ships unloading from down the dock. I would definitely recommend possibly a hotel rated better in the city center or possibly an apartment, but beware of those too, since attention to detail is often non-existent in the cleaning area, such as many shower curtains are filthy, and a mattress would never be new!

And one more thing about this hotel, the breakfast is always the same with soggy eggs and sliced meats(no bacon) and the same desserts(not that good). The only thing I liked was there was some pretty women that worked there, except that one wanted to charge another American for a broken closet hanger that he said was already broken! Beware here!

Also, bring your own shampoo, and toilet paper if able, as they hate to give up(paper) unless they have to, and it is nearly as poor as card board.

This hotel looks great from the outside and is in a very prominent position in the harbour. It all looks very new but the standard rooms are distinctly average, the wallpaper is peeling of the walls in the bedroom and the walls are marked. Apart from that the rooms were clean, however, just dreary.

The telephones in the rooms sometimes didnt work and if you require room service, forget it! It is a feat just to get a menu (they did not have them in the rooms when I stayed). After about 3 requests to reception I finally got a menu brought up. Then when you phone the room service number they either hang up or claim not to speak any English.

The lobby area is ok, as is the bar, but the service was deemed to be slow.... with a couple of exceptions the staff are very surly...

This hotel could do so much better.... it has the facilities and the position to do so. If you like ship-watching (huge ships!), this is the place.... i woke up one day to find a huge ship loading on one side of me, and a massive cruise liner on the other.......

This hotel advertises itself as a four-stars property but in fact it is barely on a par with a two-stars standards. They charge prices on the same level as best hotels in Paris or London do (won't get a room cheaper than USD200) but they deliver nothing in return. The worst part is staff - they just could not care less. The hotel is located in the sea port and one night the underground passage to the port was closed so guests could not get to the hotel. We phoned the hotel and asked them to fix it to which we got a reply that they don't care and it's not their problem. So, guests are not able to get to the property and it's not their problem??? I think that even though it was not their fault a proper duty manager should have been on the phone with the port authorities trying to figure out what is going on.
The rooms are dated, and even though each room has an air-condiotioner and a control unit, it is all centrally controlled for some reason (like a proper Soviet style hotel they don't trust the guests to operate any devices). Bathrooms are ill-equipped, and towels are of the worst quality I have ever seen. Our requests for additional pillows were ignored. Breakfast was the worst part. Same we-just-could-not-care-less staff, table clothes are changed once a week rather than after each guests, you have to ask for clean galsses or knives or any other tableware. Waste of money - our room rate was 350USD and I still am trying to figure out what we paid for. It is ridiculously expensive for what they deliver. There a few good hotels in Odesa so avoid this one!