Coliving in Alun, Hunedoara, Romania

Dacica Winter Workation is a remote-work offer from Pensiunea Dacica, a guesthouse in the village of Alun in Romania’s Hunedoara County, inside the Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina Natural Park. From 1 November to 28 February, the guesthouse takes remote workers for stays of 7, 14 or 30 nights. In its own words, the offer is for people “looking for something increasingly difficult to find: space, silence, nature and reliable internet.”

What It Is

Pensiunea Dacica opened in 2014 and, by its own account, is the only tourist facility in Romania that operates alongside a research institution. This winter it opens its eight rooms to remote workers at weekly and monthly rates. Stays are rolling, with no cohort or group start dates. Prices are per room for one or two people: €280 for a week, €500 for two weeks and €840 for 30 nights, with heating and utilities included.

The Experience

There’s no programme to follow. You work in the library, the fireside lounge or the dining room, cook in the shared kitchen, and walk out the door onto forest trails. Piatra Roșie, one of the UNESCO-listed Dacian fortresses, is less than a kilometre away. The house has bikes for hire, board games, Netflix and Disney+, more than 4,000 books, and twelve cats and a dog.

The Space

There are eight private double or twin rooms, each with its own bathroom and heating. One on the ground floor is adapted for wheelchair users. The library is the main space for focused work, with large shared tables, and it doubles as a 30-seat meeting room with a projector and flipchart. In the kitchen, guests get their own fridge and pantry space. Parking is free.

Who It Is For

It suits remote workers who want a quiet winter in the mountains and don’t mind being far from town. The road in is partly unpaved and can be blocked after heavy snow until it’s cleared, and only one mobile network works, so you need to be happy relying on Starlink. A guest review on the guesthouse’s homepage puts it simply: “Bit hard to get to, but worth it!”

Location Highlights

Alun is inside the Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina Natural Park, close to the Piatra Roșie fortress. Călan is the closest town, around half an hour’s drive away. Further out, Corvin Castle in Hunedoara is about 45 minutes by car, Deva about an hour, and Bolii Cave about an hour and a half.