The DoubleTree Krakow Hotel & Convention Center was my home for three weeks in Krakow. I can’t recommend it highly enough as long as its location and a couple of minor quirks work with your travel needs or style.
The hotel is situated east of Krakow’s prime tourist areas, which can be a positive or a negative depending on the reason for your trip and your personal preferences.
The hotel is about five kilometers from the Stare Miasto (Old Town), the Wawel Castle, the Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter), and the former Jewish Ghetto, four of the city’s prime visitor destinations. All these areas can be reached easily by using the city’s tram system, though the closest stops for trams (1, 14 and 22, and 4,9, 52, 70 and 72) are each about 700 meters from the hotel’s front door in opposite directions. Each is about a 15-minute walk. However, even visitors with vehicles may want to use the tram or take a taxi, as parking at these popular destinations can be a challenge.
Rooms are lovely and well-appointed with modern, higher-end finishes. The sleeping area of my room was 16.5 feet by 12 feet, and nine-foot ceilings contributed to the room’s spacious feel. It included a king bed, loveseat, desk/workstation with a proper task chair, coffee and tea service, an empty minibar that can be stocked at the guest’s request, a safe, and floor-to-ceiling curtains that overlap to keep the sun out until you’re ready for it (no small feat in the summer, when sunrise at Krakow’s 50-degree north latitude comes early).
HiltonHonors Diamond members also receive a welcome gift of two 187-ml bottles of Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon and two plates with three chocolate candies on each.
The 9 x 6.5 foot bathroom had a large walk-in shower (though no tub), a heated mirror, robes and slippers, a hair dryer, high-end amenities, and a magnifying mirror that becomes increasingly useful as we age.
Wireless and wired internet access were available, though speeds were hotel-typical. Upload and download speeds on both services were 4.9 Mbps, as measured by SpeakEasy.net/speedtest.
The property also has an indoor pool with hot tub, wet and dry saunas, a spa, and a fitness room.
Rooms on the Executive Floor (5th floor) include access to the Executive Lounge, which offers basic breakfast and dinner buffets; all-day access for meeting, relaxing, grabbing a quick snack or catching up on world news; and complimentary alcoholic beverages from 17:00 to its 20:00 closing.
The on-site 5th Avenue Restaurant offers a more extensive buffet breakfast, including eggs, bacon and sausage for those who prefer Western fare to cold cuts, marinated herring, salmon, muesli, fruits and cheeses that constitute a more typical European breakfast. Delicious no matter which you choose! In the evenings, the restaurant’s menu features of combination of Polish and French cuisine.
There is also an on-site bar offering adult beverage service most of the day and into the evening, and room service is also available until 22:00.
The hotel is also adjacent to a Hampton Inn which also has a bar and restaurant and can provide a change for longer-term guests who want a bit of variety.
DoubleTree personnel were uniformly gracious, offering a Dzien dobry! ("Good day"), asking if I needed directions or other assistance, and generally making me feel like a welcome guest. To me, that is the essence of hospitality.
The potential drawbacks are the distance from the tourist sites (though many travelers, including me, like to visit but don’t want to stay in the craziness); the distance to public transport for those who are relying on it; the distance to any off-property shops, bars or restaurants; that the lobby and other common areas can become fairly busy when conventions or large meetings are held; and that the location is next to a disused shopping mall which is slated for demolition starting in mid-September 2022.
The hotel is situated east of Krakow’s prime tourist areas, which can be a positive or a negative depending on the reason for your trip and your personal preferences.
The hotel is about five kilometers from the Stare Miasto (Old Town), the Wawel Castle, the Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter), and the former Jewish Ghetto, four of the city’s prime visitor destinations. All these areas can be reached easily by using the city’s tram system, though the closest stops for trams (1, 14 and 22, and 4,9, 52, 70 and 72) are each about 700 meters from the hotel’s front door in opposite directions. Each is about a 15-minute walk. However, even visitors with vehicles may want to use the tram or take a taxi, as parking at these popular destinations can be a challenge.
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| Hotel entrance |
Rooms are lovely and well-appointed with modern, higher-end finishes. The sleeping area of my room was 16.5 feet by 12 feet, and nine-foot ceilings contributed to the room’s spacious feel. It included a king bed, loveseat, desk/workstation with a proper task chair, coffee and tea service, an empty minibar that can be stocked at the guest’s request, a safe, and floor-to-ceiling curtains that overlap to keep the sun out until you’re ready for it (no small feat in the summer, when sunrise at Krakow’s 50-degree north latitude comes early).
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| 5th Floor Guest Room |
HiltonHonors Diamond members also receive a welcome gift of two 187-ml bottles of Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon and two plates with three chocolate candies on each.
The 9 x 6.5 foot bathroom had a large walk-in shower (though no tub), a heated mirror, robes and slippers, a hair dryer, high-end amenities, and a magnifying mirror that becomes increasingly useful as we age.
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| High-end bath amenities |
Wireless and wired internet access were available, though speeds were hotel-typical. Upload and download speeds on both services were 4.9 Mbps, as measured by SpeakEasy.net/speedtest.
The property also has an indoor pool with hot tub, wet and dry saunas, a spa, and a fitness room.
Rooms on the Executive Floor (5th floor) include access to the Executive Lounge, which offers basic breakfast and dinner buffets; all-day access for meeting, relaxing, grabbing a quick snack or catching up on world news; and complimentary alcoholic beverages from 17:00 to its 20:00 closing.
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| Entrance to Executive Lounge |
There is also an on-site bar offering adult beverage service most of the day and into the evening, and room service is also available until 22:00.
The hotel is also adjacent to a Hampton Inn which also has a bar and restaurant and can provide a change for longer-term guests who want a bit of variety.
DoubleTree personnel were uniformly gracious, offering a Dzien dobry! ("Good day"), asking if I needed directions or other assistance, and generally making me feel like a welcome guest. To me, that is the essence of hospitality.
The potential drawbacks are the distance from the tourist sites (though many travelers, including me, like to visit but don’t want to stay in the craziness); the distance to public transport for those who are relying on it; the distance to any off-property shops, bars or restaurants; that the lobby and other common areas can become fairly busy when conventions or large meetings are held; and that the location is next to a disused shopping mall which is slated for demolition starting in mid-September 2022.
If those few quirks work with your travel needs/style, the DoubleTree Hotel & Convention Center will not disappoint.
Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.
Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger images
Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.
Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger images
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