Life_Platinum

2010 is the 200th year anniversary of Chopin's birth and the 150th year anniversary of Paderewski's birth. My wife and I thought we would go to Poland for the celebrations, staying in four cities where Starwood has hotels, Warsaw, Gdansk (Sopot), Krakow, and Poznan. Has anyone had a recent experience in traveling among these cities in Poland? It looks like the train is the best way to travel between Krakow and Warsaw, but traveling from Krakow to Poznan and Gdansk appears far more difficult.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

whlinder

Yeah I stayed here in May and had no issues. I didn't notice any conflicting info about free internet; I thought all along I was aware that in-room was for a fee but Link was free and had wifi access. I could pull the Link wifi into my room, it was weak but it worked. I was upgraded as a Preferred Plus or whatever (SPG card but not Gold) from cheapest room to a river view. Got a fruit basket upon arrival. Enjoyed the breakfast buffet. The Princess of Thailand was staying there at the same time so maybe the staff were just on their best behaviour.

whlinder

I did Krakow to Warsaw and back on the train this spring and it was simple. A buddy of mine is from Poznan and actually flew Poznan to Krakow. I'd post this in the European Travel forum.

LTN Phobia

I flew between them (mostly via WAW). I'm not saying flying is the most convenient way, but I do not really like trains, so I chose to fly.

Note that Sopot is quite a long way from GDN airport (and in fact a bit of distance from Gdansk city as well) though.

I loved Sopot - it had lots of pretty good restaurants. Krakow was great, and Poznan was compact but very neat and tidy. There are also pretty good eateries and there is a pretty good looking shopping centre (Stary Browar) that often has a pianist playing classical music (excellently) in a 'hall' area with cafes.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Hello. Any recent Platinum upgrade experiences? I see they have a Club. Upgrades to Club? It sounds like one can take the bus or cab in from KRK. A ballpark on cab in US$ appreciated? Are SIM cards readily available in Poland? Should I take a cab to the old center or make the walk? Looks like a serious road to cross. Anyone done a private tour or is that necessary? Looks like a pretty confined area. Any must sees related to Pope John Paul II? Any and all thoughts appreciated. Thanks. Regards

nissan motor

Yes, they are. You can buy them virtually everywhere (e.g. at kiosks)

Hamurabi2008

Stayed in the Sheraton Krakow for 3N recently.

Booked advance rate for 319 Sloty per night (classic room).

As Platinum member I received a deluxe room upgrade. Also received the welcome amenity without prompting and the points were properly credited within 24 hours.

We received access to the Club Lounge. This place was very cool/impressive. Throughout the whole time we were almost always alone. Breakfast was indeed extensive and very nice (incl. Prosecco).

We watched the Olympics in Canada with several beers. Very nice.

The location is quite good. We almost walked to everywhere.

There is a Crakow Tours pickup to Auschwitz and Birkenau every morning. No need to book in advance. approx 9 am - 3:30pm, 120 Sloty.

Wawel was not very busy so we enjoyed our visit a lot. During peak times you need to book the tickets in advance (1 day min) to ensure you can get one of the limited tickets.

We had dinner in the historic city center every day and it was usually very good, service (in English) was fast and effective and the price was reasonable (compared to Western Europe).

The Radisson is a bit nearer to the city center (but next to a busy road). The Novotel maybe the same distance as the Sheraton (also next to the river but next to a busy road). The Sheraton is set next to the River but no major road next to it. There is some construction works in progress outside (not during our weekend though).

The airport transfer of the Sheraton (in Mercedes) costs 80 Sloty. Taxi cost approx 75 Sloty.

I made some pictures and posted them on Flickr.

Would stay there again any time.

Ham

RCyyz

I echo the above post. I was at the Sheraton Krakow for a few days recently and had a nice stay.

I had pre-booked my stay but I was driving around Poland for a bit. I ended up arriving in Krakow a day earlier than I had planned and so tried to check in early at the same rate. The (very nice) lady at the desk told me mournfully that she could only offer me a rate of 800 PLN for the night, but if I didn't mind I could book via the internet using the free computers by the bar and the rate would surely be cheaper. This I did and got a rate for less than half what she quoted me. With great bemusement I returned to the desk brandishing my Blackberry with confirmation email to claim my room keys.

Breakfast cost 85 PLN. Not exactly a deal but less than the 99 PLN I was charged at the Westin Warsaw.

The design of the hotel is quite pleasing - the rooms are along the outside but the centre of the hotel is a 4-storey atrium. The restaurant / bar is in the middle and the hallways to the rooms are exposed to the atrium.

The rooms themselves are unremarkable. It's everything you expect from a Sheraton - nothing more, nothing less. Oddlly they still use CRT televisions but VOIP telephones. The phones were cool - Cisco IP phones with large touch screens. I found it useful being able to check the weather forecast from my room phone. It was also nice that my phone would always display"Room xxx" and "Welcome Mr. RCyyz". Voice quality on the phone was exceptionally good - better than the Avaya and Polycom sets we use here at the office.

The Sheraton is located right on the river. Across the street is a bit of a park / riverbank. It's a pity though that there's some construction / roadworks going on right now so the view was somewhat marred. I suspect the roadworks will be completed by end of summer 2010 though.

It's just a short walk to the Wawel Castle and the old town. As stated previously in this thread, the Radisson is just a touch closer but unless it's pouring rain it really doesn't make a difference in terms of distance.

Parking at the hotel was 75 PLN per 24 hours. Note that 24h means 24h. My parking expired at 21h30 so when I tried to leave at 09h00 I was forced to pay another 24h.

In-room internet was quite expensive. I think I paid 80 PLN for 24h of access. Speed was acceptable and definitely much faster than using the free stuff at the bar.

I only ducked into the lounge briefly but it was nicely appointed and I was the only one in there. The usual assortment of snacks / drinks were available.

I quite liked Krakow and surrounding area (did a day trip to Zakopane even). If I go back, I'll return to the Sheraton.

RCyyz

Poland is so completely not ready for this event. The Chopin Museum in Warsaw is still under construction. The Chopin birth house in nearby Zelazola Wola is similarly seeing massive construction of a museum. I think the Zelazola Wola site should be rather nice in another 2 - 3 years once the plants have had a chance to a) be planted and b) grow a bit. Heck - I drove right past Zelazola Wola because they didn't even put up a "Chopin was here" sign. You just see construction and a parking lot but you can't even see his house from the road.

Unlike Salzburg where Mozart is an industry, Poland has barely kept ties with Chopin alive. It's much easier to find souvenirs featuring the late John Paul II throughout Poland than it is Chopin.

whlinder

Anyone staying this weekend?

With the state funeral going on (Obama will be there) I imagine it is going to be pretty crazy.

When I stayed here last May the royal princess of Thailand or something similar stayed here. Didn't cause too much of a fuss except for when she was entering/exiting the hotel.

Starwood Lurker II

I understand from an email received 2 days ago that the funeral at the Krakow Cathedral has not been confirmed.

But I would strongly advise members who have plans to book the property for a stay this coming Sunday to avoid doing so.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

Life_Platinum

As promised, we spent 15 nights in Poland, staying at all 6 SPG properties, traveling between the hotels by train, and taking in Chopin concerts every chance we had. We chose Poland and the early October time frame as it was the time when the Chopin Competition occurred and our quest for tickets began early. We had an offer of the entire series of concerts/competitions for about $2500/person, but we were more interested in seeing the competition on one or two nights, so we passed on the offers. We had emailed the hotels for help, and upon arriving asked the concierge at a couple of properties to try to find tickets, but they were all sold out. Later we did talk with another music lover who bought a ticket an evening at the competition on the black market for about $700.

The new Chopin museum in Warsaw had finally opened, and tickets also were at a premium. Tickets were available only for two days hence, and because of our advanced planning, we were able to snag a pair of tickets.

One of the concerns for those traveling between the various SPG hotels is what is the best and most efficient way to travel. We concluded after taking the train and talking to other travelers to all hotels that the train is the most efficient and fastest way to travel between Krakow and Warsaw, Warsaw and Poznan, and Poznan and Sopot. We also concluded that flying is the best way to travel from Warsaw to Sopot, as our 5 hour train trip took over 7 hours with all the construction on the rails in preparation for the European Soccer Championships in 2012.

Life_Platinum

We finished a 4 night stay at this property and of the 6 Starwood hotels in Poland, we ranked this hotel on the bottom of the list. Of all the Starwood properties in Poland, we our expectations were highest for this property based on what we had read and what friends who had stayed at this hotel told us. Like all 5 other Polish hotels, staff worked hard in looking out after us, and some provided special services for us, but the shortcomings occurred despite the staff's hard work.
The location is first rate as it overlooks the river and The Wawel, and is a short walk to the Old Town and the Main Market Square. Of the 6 hotels, the room we were upgraded to was small and a non-suite, and the front desk person told me that they were sold out for a couple of days later in the week, so that we were unable to be housed in a suite. The hotel is scalene triangle shaped (all angles different and all 3 sides of different lengths) with the center of the triangle containing the lobby that extends 6 floors to a roof with glass panels (more on this later). There is a lounge on the second floor that overlooks and extends out into the open six-floored lobby, so that we could easy watch breakfast being served in the lobby when we were in the lounge having breakfast. Happy hour extended for 2 hours where a number of different snacks were available to accompany the red and white wine that was complimentary. There were no other choices for wine, nor was there any liquor or vodka, but the wine was made available 24x 7, as it was stored in refrigerators below the counter. We had a fine breakfast in the lounge on two of the mornings we were at the hotel, and ate at the first floor lobby dining room on the two other mornings. We spent considerable time in the lounge and appreciated the perk.
The concierge suggested that we needed to book the concerts that were in small churches and landmarked buildings in the old town, and it was fortunate that we asked her to book The Royal Chamber Orchestra in St. Adalbert's church, and the Chopin Concert in a small hotel on the square, as both concerts were sold out and we were fortunate to get seats. We obtained solid advice about the restaurants from the concierge, and she was right in insisting that we make reservations one day in advance for some of the best restaurants in town, as they too, sold out on the days we had dinner.
Unfortunately, we had a minor glitch when we went to the ATM at DeutcheBank in the old town at 10 PM, where my Chase card was processed, and I was issued a receipt for a 1000 Zloty withdrawl, but no money came out of the ATM. I returned to the hotel and mentioned this to the desk clerk who then began calling the bank in Krakow and in Warsaw to report my plight. In the early AM when the bank opened, I went in and told them what had happened, but they said they could not do anything, as the ATM machine is not operated by them and the machine was restocked every three days. I had contacted Chase, and they were able to refund by 1000 Zloty withdrawl and processing fees. Key to obtaining my refund was that I had a receipt.

What did we not like about he hotel? There were a few things and they all were detected within the first two days we were there. The glass covered lobby of six floors is certainly eye catching, but the warm air from the lobby cools when it rises to the glass, releasing the moisture in the form of drops of water which then fall on patrons sitting below. For example, drops of water fell on to the table where we were sitting for breakfast. These drops of water falling every minute spoiled our breakfast--we were told that this problem has occurred since the hotel was built, and management had been informed a number of times. Another annoyance was that the TV in the lounge was programmed to a channel that hotel personnel decided that all needed to watch, and guests or hotel personnel were not able to turn the TV off, change the channel, or change the sound. I complained to one of the hotel lounge personnel about the TV, and was told that the TV was operated according to a hotel rule. Later when one of the management personnel came to the lounge to supervise some minor repairs, I told him that I did not like watching what the hotel management wanted me to watch--he smiled and said that someone high up in management had decided this and it couldn't be changed! Also when problems occurred, occasionally hotel personnel were not able to fix the problem without a reminder. For example, I could not extinguish the flashing red message light on our phones, and called for help. The facilities person could not fix the problem, so he simply disconnected the phones. However the next evening when I wanted a wake up call, both phones remained disconnected, and I called again to have them connected. Of course they had been able to fix the flashing message lights, but forgot to reconnect the phones.

Interestingly, of all the six Polish Starwood properties, this was the most expensive by far, and yet we found it on the bottom of our satisfaction list. However, we would return to this property as it appeared to be the best non-botique hotel in town, and we hoped that mentioning our problems to the hotel staff resulted in their correction.

SkyTeam777

What's the cheapest way to get to this hotel from the airport public transportation-wise these days?

craz

+1 also does anyone know if theres a tram or bus from the Train station where the trains from WAW arrive

taking the train from Warsau since the Marriott is a short walk from it , but gonna fly KRK-WAW since Im leaving WAW the next morn and staying at the CY @ WAW