Lodging Review: Hilton Garden Inn Krakow
If the Hilton Warsaw touched my heart with its luxury, the Hilton Garden Inn Krakow spoke to my mind with its practicality. I stayed here because it was an amazing value to redeem HHonors points for a free stay. The hotel is HHonors Category 2 (12,500 points / night), the same level as, say, the Hampton Inn Lima, Ohio. The nightly room rate is around $150, making the points redemption "worth it." With an award stay, you also get full flexibility - I changed my dates twice before arriving in Poland, and at check in I changed my dates a third time because I needed to shorten my stay one night - all done without penalty or fees.
The room was a bit tight for American standards, but I thought it was well designed. I particularly liked the plethora of power outlets at arm level - one of the benefits of modern chain hotels. This room in fact, had four empty outlets above the desk, and one more above the night table, between the two beds. That is such a smart place to put a power outlet! I often plug in my cell phone at night, but want to keep it close to me, and there often isn't an outlet next to the bed!
Other practical features of the hotel included two sets of washing machines and dryers. For free. Well, the hotel probably was counting on people buying single-load laundry detergent tablets from their lobby convenience store for 15 PLN, or US$5 to make up the cost. But the hotel I stayed at in Kassel, Germany, randomly gave out free single-use samples of a Henkel laundry detergent, which I then carried with me through 2 more cities in Germany, 2 cities in France, and Warsaw. I finally got my chance to use them! (Tip for other travelers: you can buy 4-load boxes of laundry detergent in some of the smaller stores around town, for much less than $5; just avoid buying the no-name detergent tablets in the lobby.)
I also loved the "microwave room." Microwaves and mini-fridges are actually supposed to be in every guest room of Hilton Garden Inns, but this one only had a mini-fridge in the guest room (a very nice, quiet one at that). The local management probably thought it strange or unnecessary to put a microwave in each person's room - in fact I have never used a microwave in a hotel room before, even though I've stayed at a few that had them, including other Hilton Garden Inns. This microwave room was on the ground floor, off of the lobby. Besides two microwaves, it offered ceramic plates and bowls, plastic utensils and napkins, and even bowls of condiments like ketchup and mustard! So I was able to reheat my cabbage rolls and spinach pancakes, and also my zapiekanki. I even added ketchup on top of my zapiekanki, which is supposed to be the way to eat it!
The website promised views of Wawel Castle, and I did get a room with a view. You kind of have to stand right at the window and look left to see it though. And getting a view of the castle also means that you're kind of on the "wrong" side of the river when it comes to sightseeing. It's a good 10 minute walk along this 8-lane major thoroughfare, just to get to the bridge that takes you across the river to the castle, which is at the southern tip of the old town tourist district.
Breakfast was excellent - even better than the Hilton Warsaw even though it's less extensive and elaborate. It did have a made-to-order egg station, and a variety of cut and whole fruits, baked goods, etc. It's all self-service, down to coffee and tea.
What I liked the most were the salads, like the tuna salad with corn in it and the egg salad, as well as all of the delicious meats. I really think Polish cold cuts and sausages are the best on the planet. They're so savory yet are much less salty than what I find anywhere else. I can eat the slices of ham plain, without feeling the need for some bread to chase the sodium down.
A final small, practical feature of the hotel is that in the rooms with a shower stall only (it appears some have shower stalls, others have bathtubs), the temperature and water pressure controls are located away from the shower head. So you can turn on the water and adjust the temperature without standing underneath the stream of water, where the water is invariably too cold when it first starts up. How come this is the first time I've seen this kind of design?
Service was generally friendly and efficient, and they were very nice to give me a late checkout of 1pm on my final day in town, even though it was a full house. And no, this was not dependent on my HHonors status, as they didn't even ask my room number before offering late checkout. This allowed me to do one last bit of sightseeing before heading to the train station.
