City & Snow in Poland

Hi Michael

Dear Daina,

Only just back Sunday, and then work... .

Poland was lovely - really interesting, varied and stimulating.  The hotels made fine bases in both Zakopane and Krakow, and we thoroughly enjoyed both places - for very different reasons. 

Hotel Aries was very good indeed, and yet just quirky enough not to make one feel 'processed'; the spa and related facilities were among the best I've ever been to (and I used to travel a lot in the UK) - in fact only equalled by those of the Hotel Stary, which were magnificent, especially given their setting - under 16th century vaulted brickwork.  Service was lovely in both places, and though we had to hunt a little in Zakopane for ethnically interesting restaurants that weren't too loud or packed (end of Polish holidays?), the ones we found were delightful - live folk music, and good hearty, yet sometimes subtly prepared Polish cuisine.  Krakow was pricier than I expected, but still cheaper than England, and a cultural gem.  The decor throughout Stary was astoundingly good (even though occasionally lighting got a little lost in the exquisite play of contemporary style and history)!

The transfers were fine, and drivers courteous in the extreme - though one driver seemed to express all of his inner angst on giving us a particularly scary white knuckle ride (perhaps he thought we were in a rush/)!

All in all, we were very pleased - thank you.

Robert

Hi there

We had a great time. Holiday was beautifully organised and there were lots of interesting things for Archie and myself to see and do in both locations. People in Poland were great. Helpful and very honest. The hotel in Krakow was excellent and I would definitely stay there again. Transfers and trips were handled very smoothly. The tour guide on the Krakow tour was a lovely lady but not good at bringing history to life. Bit dry in her delivery.

Hotel in zakopane had a lot of positives in terms of amenities. Housekeeping however was not good and needs to be addressed. They failed to do room on one day which I really wouldn't be bothered about normally but we had run out of loo roll. I went to reception three times with no success so ended up searching the hotel myself for a storage cupboard with loo roll. Thankfully my perseverance paid off!

Overall however it was fab and I would happily do it all again

Thank you for a great holiday. We would definitely travel with you again.

Louisa and Archie

Hello Inga,

Since I have only just done the washing from our Poland trip, I can now say a big thank you for all the organisational work you put in to make our trip so easy and thoroughly enjoyable.  We absolutely loved Poland and will certainly be visting again. Beata, our guide in Krakow was particularly great! 

Thanks again,

Rachel G

Dear Inga,

I have just returned from our holiday in Poland and wanted to write to thank you and also to give some feedback.

The holiday was superb and not having been to Poland before I found the country really interesting and beautiful.

The driver you provided was extremely courteous and helpful and both of the tour guides, Marta and Martinique were extremely knowledgeable and really gave us a superb tour of the city of Krakow and of Auswitch. Please pass on our thanks to them all, they really made our time in Krakow most enjoyable.

There were a couple of things which would have made our holiday smoother which you may want to take on board:

We transferred from Krakow to Zakopane on the 4th day leaving the city at 9:30 am and arriving at Zakopane later that morning. We were unable to check in until 4pm and while the hotel were happy to hold our luggage changing in a cupboard to go skiing was not really an option! This did mean we had a wasted day and so it might be good to offer a later time of transfer which would enable further exploration and enjoyment of Krakow.

I also struggled to identify skiing areas when we arrived in Zakopane and staff at the hotel were not able to give clear guidelines on what was available for different levels. The tourist information were helpful but I had not anticipated the need to travel 30km to get to the best ski area or to book tickets in advance to avoid the 2 hour queue. It would be very helpful if you could provide a list of ski areas and the level of challenge each gives with details of how to get there and how to book. This would really have improved our ability to plan and enjoy good skiing in Zakopane.

However we did have a fantastic week and hope to return to Poland. I certainly would like to be able to spend more time exploring Krakow and the Highland region of Lesser Poland. So thank you for your help in putting the trip together for us.

Kind wishes
linda