Mercure Szekesfehervar Magyar Kiraly

I have been staying at the Novotel in Szekesfehervar for many, many years and seen it slowly age. I was happy to hear that Accor had sold the Novotel building and took over the Magyar Kiraly - assuming they would refurbish and make it a modern Mercure in an elegant building with great potential in the center of town. I had stayed in the Magyar once maybe 15 yrs or more ago, as it was still an old Eastern European hotel, not really catering to foreigners - I never went back. Now I have tried again, but was disappointed that all that changed was "the name", and the fact that they now have more modern staff, speaking English, forms are in English - so a bit easier. But the rooms and the corridors are still the old carpeted old style, the bar still under developed, gloomy at places, gym a bit scary - it was all clean, quiet - but so hopelessly old fashioned... why is Accor not investing to make this a wonderful place to stay?

The old stately hotel changed into an Accor Mercure and created some expectations that in my view it doesn't meet yet. Little was done to upgrade the hotel it looks like. The room is clean and has all basic needs, but the room has a moldy smell. The air exchange is not very good and despite my airing morning and evening there is condensation on the windows that nobody removes. The bed is good, but the room still has carpet that has been there for a while. No power socket next to the bed, a lamp that is blinding above it. The hotel itself has a lot of space, but it gives it a very "cold" feeling. "The bar" seems it was placed in the corridor by mistake and is very uninviting - not to mention the decision to close it at 21:00, the time when most people in the hotel come back from the restaurant and may want to have a drink before going to bed. The hotel claims "a gym" which turned out to be a dark "dimly lit" windowless room under the roof with some rusted 60's machines in there.... Mercure??? Hope some things will change soon.