Where? How much? That kind of stuff. Plus Bolts, obviously.
In Kraków I stayed one night at the B&B Hotel, situated just across the river from Wawel and the Old Town. Location was part of the attraction. I was to spend less than 24 hours in the city, so being close to the parts I wanted to explore suited me well. I have stayed in that chain’s hotels in Poland before, so I knew what to expect.
The cost was 335 zł (£67) for a double room (single occupancy) including their buffet breakfast. It was exactly what I hoped for. Ideal start.
When thinking about where to stay for my one night in Warsaw I had to decide if I wanted to stay in the same area as for my previous visits in the 1990s – the old Holiday Inn on Złota. I opted for something completely different and again, just across the river (the same river, in fact) from the main part of the city. It was the Moxy, in Praga. I know that brand too, and again it turned out to be just what I had expected.
It cost me 515 zł (£103) for the double room, again inclusive of breakfast for one. The location is an easy walk to/from the city’s Wschodnia railway station.
My best “find” for somewhere to eat in that part of the city was Piu Pizzeria at Zabkowska 3. Great pizza and great service.
Malbork is too small and too close to Gdańsk to be of interest to international hotel chains, and I was happy to find a small place through Booking.com which looked the part. It was. I skipped their breakfast because I was running (Parkrun) at 9am and went out to McDonald’s at 7am. It is a two minute walk.
The Centrum https://hotelmalbork.pl set me back 279 zł (£56) for a huge double room (minus breakfast, obviously). The evening I arrived I ate in a cafeteria style place in the shopping centre next to the hotel. Delicious, cheap and friendly staff.
For my four nights in Gdańsk I returned to the Ibis in Stare Miasto. I liked it when I was there in 2024, and again the location near Gdańsk Główny railway station attracted me. That part of the city centre is a mix of residential and industrial/commercial and has much less tourism activity than the Główne Miasto area.
I paid 297 zł (£60) per night inclusive of its buffet breakfast.
My eating place of choice close to the hotel was the Montownia Food Hall – a choice of many different cuisines and I loved it.
Without really meaning to I ended up using four very different styles of hotel, and was fortunate that I enjoyed them all. Ah yes, the Bolts will have to wait until the next blog post.
ⓒ iain taylor, 2025
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