Our stay here formed part of a 10 night trip around North/North Eastern Poland.
We spent 2 nights in Olsztyn in Villa Pallas.
Our holiday was in the peak season (mid/late August) and this, combined with the fact that Olsztyn is not really a "tourist" destination in the way that say Krakow is, meant that accommodation choices were a little thin on the ground.
There were a lot of very low priced hotels/hostels with shared bathrooms and a few higher prices hotels but not really a lot to choose from in the "middle ground".
In the end, I chose Villa Pallas despite a few mixed reviews on Booking.com which suggested that the hotel was perhaps past its glory days.
The cost for two nights was around the £62 mark.
We arrived into Olsztyn from Gdansk via train and found that the hotel was pretty much an L-shaped walk from the main railway station. It took about 15-20 minutes. There are plenty of trams and buses which run along this route and serve the hotel well.
Check in was a little tricky as the receptionist spoke barely any English. She seemed to be speaking almost a combination of Polish and German. Presenting my ID and booking confirmation meant that we got there in the end.
I requested a room with a double bed using the Special Requests option on Booking.com (special requests are of course subject to availability). Unfortunately, we were...Our stay here formed part of a 10 night trip around North/North Eastern Poland.
We spent 2 nights in Olsztyn in Villa Pallas.
Our holiday was in the peak season (mid/late August) and this, combined with the fact that Olsztyn is not really a "tourist" destination in the way that say Krakow is, meant that accommodation choices were a little thin on the ground.
There were a lot of very low priced hotels/hostels with shared bathrooms and a few higher prices hotels but not really a lot to choose from in the "middle ground".
In the end, I chose Villa Pallas despite a few mixed reviews on Booking.com which suggested that the hotel was perhaps past its glory days.
The cost for two nights was around the £62 mark.
We arrived into Olsztyn from Gdansk via train and found that the hotel was pretty much an L-shaped walk from the main railway station. It took about 15-20 minutes. There are plenty of trams and buses which run along this route and serve the hotel well.
Check in was a little tricky as the receptionist spoke barely any English. She seemed to be speaking almost a combination of Polish and German. Presenting my ID and booking confirmation meant that we got there in the end.
I requested a room with a double bed using the Special Requests option on Booking.com (special requests are of course subject to availability). Unfortunately, we were given two single beds and due to the design of the beds in heavy wooden frames, along with the long, thin design of the bedrooms, it would not have been possible to push them together. This wasn't a big deal.
The room was very simple but very clean. Bed linen was spotless and the two single beds were cosy! Two bottles of mineral water are provided which is a nice touch (one with gas, one without). There is free wifi which works well. Good, clean bathroom with a decent hot shower, the toilet flush was a little weak but perfectly functional. Nice white towels.
The hotel is a fairly pleasant 5-10 minute walk into the Old Town, featuring a really charming cobbled square with a good selection of bars, restaurants, cafes and a really nice vibe.
It's also possible to walk to some of Olsztyn's famous beautiful lakes but once again, these are well serviced by many local bus routes.
On check out, I was quite surprised to be asked for payment as I'd booked a non-refundable rate and was told by Booking.com that my payment could be taken "any time after booking". This meant a slight delay on checking out as I had to check my online banking to make sure I wasn't being charged twice.
All in all, I would have absolutely no hesitation in staying at Villa Pallas again.More
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