Regarding Warsaw/Kraków/Wrocław: hotel rates are normally relatively cheap so you may want to save your points for other occasions. That being said and if you want to stick to IHG properties, the InterContinental in Warsaw is a great hotel and in a good location as well. If you need any other specific info concerning Warsaw, please shout. Oh, and I would personally ‘swap’ Wrocław for a trip to the north/seaside i.e. Gdańsk/Sopot/Gdynia, but that’s all down to personal ‘taste’ as usual (i.e. others may suggest to stick to Wrocław, which I personally don’t like and find rather ‘grim’, with no offence whatsoever to the locals ;)).

G

All your destinations are relatively cheap, certainly compared to Western Europe and the US. Therefore you might find it better to pay cash for hotels rather than spend points on a poor value redemption.

I was in Prague in January and Budapest in April. They are both no longer 1990s cheap but still good value and my initial post stands IMHO.

In Budapest, one needs to tear one’s self away from Széchenyi Tér and the ‘obvious’ choices to get far better value and more interesting hotels. The Marriott and Intercontinental are very dull.

Easy-peasy: high-speed train (or sort-of, but still better than when it used to take nearly 6 hours...) from Warsaw central station (Warszawa Centralna, it takes about 3 hours) or even plane (there are several daily flights between the two cities and it can often be cheaper than the train for just roughly 40 minutes’ journey). Trust me, it is really worth it: Gdańsk is a gem of a city with plenty to see and do plus of course the added bonus of a nice stroll along the seafront from Jelitkowo (Gdańsk) all the way to Gdynia via Sopot (plenty of bars and restaurant on the way).

G

Your plan is sound however I would tweak it slightly as follows: Kraków to Gdańsk (plane, the airline is LOT and it takes less than an hour); 2 nights in Gdańsk (I would go for a property on the seafront e.g. Marriott or even the Novotel will do nicely, both hotels are a few hundreds yards away from each other) so that you’ve got time not only to enjoy the glorious Baltic coastline away from the chaos of Kraków, Warsaw etc. but to explore the old town as well (truly worth it) and, if you fancy a bit of party atmosphere, Sopot is literally 15/20 minutes walk from either the Marriott or the Novotel (Novotel Marina); Gdańsk to Warsaw (again, LOT Polish Airlines or ~3 hours on the train: if you book first class or pierwsza klasa you will pay a small ‘premium’ but you’ll enjoy 2 free drinks and a decent-ish hot meal, there are normally 3 or even 4 choices on the menu); 2 nights in Warsaw and whatever next to follow.

G