We wanted to stay in this spa town (Rajecké Teplice) just a few miles away from my newly-found relatives. The Aphrodite is a beautiful spa, however they would not book a weekend stay more than two weeks in advance, as they encourage longer stays and spa treatments. The Velka Fatra is attached to the Aphrodite via a walkway and advertises itself as a three star hotel, so I thought we'd be OK. Wrong!

Our first impression was a dark, dirty lobby in need of serious vacuuming. The stark, Soviet-style decor is the least of its problems. Then we got to our spartan room, again the carpet was filthy. The bathroom had been updated and was fairly clean though there was mildew in the corner of the shower. I can handle austere conditions as long as the room is clean and this was not. The window treatments consisted of thin, cloth vertical blinds which couldn't provide privacy at night nor light blocking in the morning. No thermostat in the room; spider webs hang from the tall ceiling. The... more