Cecil by Pearl Continental

We ended up in Cecil after being turned away from our first booked hotel for being foreign so we came in slightly annoyed! Overall this was a lovely hotel to end up in - great building, friendly staff, glorious views across the Murree hills. There were some downsides with the room prep that delayed us leaving to explore Murree: One of the bathrooms we discovered had a nasty leak - the ceiling was bubbling and water was splashing over the toilet seat and on to the floor. We were reallocated a different room where there was a brown sticky substance onn the toilet seat and floor. The sink in the other bathroom was leaking. The kettle did not work and required a change. The staff were prompt at fixing these problems for us and very friendly and helpful but you expect rooms to be up to the standard of staying in especially at one as prestigious as this. Would recommend staying but make sure to ask your rooms are ready!

I recently stayed here for business purpose and totally loved the experience. Their service was too good. Immensely satisfied with my stay. All staff members including Manager Ops and housekeeping, they personally took care of the services throughout the stay. were very courteous and kind. The room was spacious, smelled nice and had beautiful interior. Stay at this place is the revival of Murree city offering comfortable stay with beautiful view. For anyone looking for an amazing experience and enjoy Murree’s serenity should stay here. Would love to come back to this place to stay every time i visit Murree.

The hotel is set in a property that is over 100 years old and they have done everything in their power to give it a restored property feel (in the main wing). If we can ignore the concrete buildings disrupting the view - it’s pretty spectacular. Lastly the drive from Islamabad is pretty decent too, 2 hours with good roads. Now the negatives: - the service is extremely slow and inconsistent. (unless you are celebrity). 3 nights stay in a junior suite and I never got a mini bar in my room. - Room service is not available at night. Given that the location is remote with nothing at a walking distance, this is a pretty big minus. If you get hungry or crave coffee late night or even early morning at like 6/7am you have to wait. - Breakfast (in room or restaurant) does not open before 8am. So early risers have to wait. - housekeeping is slow and even daily room cleaning needs multiple reminders. - menu and food options are pretty limited - and only the desi (local Pakistani) food is good. Everything else from Chinese to Sandwiches were a miss. Better to order on your foodpanda app.