In Krakow, we stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton because it was less than half the price of the Sheraton Grand Krakow. I found the hotel wholly satisfactory and would return.
DoubleTree Hotel Krakow Review
At $69/night, this was a cheap hotel, but a full-service hotel.
Location
After driving in from Warsaw, we arrived and parked the car. The hotel is located in the city center was convenient for our activities over the next couple days. For our evenings in Krakow Old Town, we used the tram–a station was located just outside the hotel. Parking was 50.00zł per night (currently about 11USD).
Check-In
The hotel shares common areas with a Hampton Inn, also owned by Hilton. We arrived late in the afternoon and there was a line to check-in, but it only took a few minutes to complete check-in formalities and receive room keys.
This was my first ever stay at a DoubleTree and I was offered a cookie during check-in, which I understand is a signature of all DoubleTree hotels. I ate it later that night and quite enjoyed it.
Room
This was a last-minute trip and since I booked just a couple days before, all the king rooms were taken and I was assigned a room with two twin beds, 416.
I appreciated the room had a desk and found the green and woodgrain accents were modern and clean. Importantly, the bed was comfortable and plugs were easily within reach no mater where you were sitting.
The bathroom included a bathtub-shower combo and Crabtree & Evelyn body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion.
Executive Lounge
The Executive Lounge offered an impressive spread of food and drink which easily would have been enough for my dinner in my younger years. Food included salty snacks like pretzels and chips, a salad bar, sandwiches, and pierogi ze szpinakiem (dumpling with spinach), which was really the only Polish food I ate during my weekend in Warsaw and Krakow.
Soft drinks, tea, coffee, water, and self-serve liquor (beer, wine, whiskey, gin, rum) were available.
Breakfast In 5th Avenue Restaurant
Breakfast is served in the 5th Avenue Restaurant. As the hotel describes it, “There is no fine-dining pomp or ceremony- just the very best ingredients respectfully handled and served without fuss.” Practically, that means you help yourself to everything and the buffet included a nice assortment of Euroepan, British, and American breakfast favorites. Omeletes and other egg dishes cooked to order were also available.
A sign asked guests to wear gloves when taking food from the buffet, but most ignored it.
Coffee was very disappointing…I was glad to skip it and go over to Wesoła Cafe.
Lounge Bar
Next to 5th Avenue Restaurant is the hotel bar, which actually had a very nice coffee machine, but did not seem to be in use during my visit.
Pool + Wellness Area
The hotel offers a beautiful indoor pool area with two saunas (the “bio” sauna is set at a lower temperature) and a steam room. I spent my morning here ahead of my flight back to Chicago and I find the sauna (plus exercise) a great antidote to jetlag.
Fitness
A 24/7 fitness center featured a wide assortment of cardiovascular and strength training equipment.
CONCLUSION
I loved the value of this hotel: the comfortable room, great breakfast, and full-service amenities like the sauna and steam room. Next time I’m in Krakow I’ll probably try the new Hyatt Place, which opens on October 1, 2022, but the lack of a wellness area at the Hyatt will make it a tough call.
To me this is the sort of destination where you should look into staying at a local hotel – not a thin market, a good proportion of leisure visitors, some rather characterful places around, and keen competition on the rates. Unless you were dying to do a review of a points hotel (unlikely to be an aspirational redemption, we aren’t talking the Maldives), I can’t see why you would limit your choices to the foreign chains.
PM,
I don’t disagree with you, but I was taking a status challenge, hotels in low cost countries like this were good stepping stones. I think I paid $10-20 less per night last year than Matthew did. I wanted to test drive being an elite with Hilton, and I didn’t want to get an Aspire card just yet.
Otherwise, I see this place can be overpriced for non elites without free lounge access and breakfast. This can be said with many other international chain hotels.
I don’t understand the sign in the sauna. Women must be naked and not wear sandals or flip flops?
Yes, like in Germanic countries where clothing is not permitted in saunas.
Why not try the Saski Curio Collection by Hilton? Or the Park Meridien due to open soon-ish?
Actually now that I read about it there are quite a few interesting hotels to open in Krk. Garamond, a Tribute collection and Stradom House, Authograph collection to name two of them…
I know you put a lot of work in to hotel and flight reviews, so thanks and definitely keep them coming, but this caliber of hotel seems like a review that we might see posted on Sunday. Alas, I enjoyed the Poland series.
A good place to stay if you have a car, although it’s out of center, and the closest tram station through the abandoned mall behind was closed last year, so about 10-15min walk to stations on 2 closest lines.
I could see the abandoned mall and its parking lot, it seemed people park their cars for free overnight, at your own risk.
Because of this inconvenient location (there are no stores and restaurants within 10min walk), they know they need to try harder. Executive lounge’s supper is one of the best in this price category, so as breakfast buffet, that come with lower rates than city center. I’ll be happy to stay there again, too.
Following up on Hibiki’s comment, was this trip prior to the tram station at the mall closing, or did you still find it convenient at the next-closest locations? (Which actually don’t look too bad from Google Maps, although certainly adds an extra 5-10 minutes walking)
I have to say, it was tremendously convenient when you could just cut through the mall to the tram. I know that mall closed pre-pandemic, but also think I had read that the mall may be in use for refugee services since the Ukraine conflict so wasn’t sure what the situation was these days.
We just walked across the street, though a hedge, and found a tram station. Is this one now closed?
Matthew,
Did you go through inside the mall building to get to the tram stop? The stop is called Plaza, and the door at the mall was closed last year, so Google Maps directed me to take trams from either Dabie or Bialucha instead, and I just checked and still does.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised the mall would’ve been converted for welcoming refugees, and door to Plaza stop is now open.
Doubletree (and Hampton) was probably developed as a part of shopping and business complex, but it apparently failed. That’s another reason they continue to offer lower rates.
No, we walked to it from the outside only. I didn’t know there was even a mall there.
Interesting, I really do wonder which tram stop you used. I think it was technically possible to access the mall stop without going through the mall (I remember a late night arrival at a time when the mall was closed), so that may in fact have been the one you used — the other two that are recommended by Google Maps now seem a little further than you’re describing.
To Hibiki’s point, I tried looking up the official tram schedule, and it actually identifies Plaza as being an “On-demand stop” — not quite sure how that works in practice (or if you’re trying to depart), but worth noting.
It is too bad the mall complex failed; among other things, it had a supermarket which was useful. That being said, the walk to the other two tram stops doesn’t really seem too much of a burden regardless.
Matthew, when you get out of Doubletree, you turn 180 degrees at entrance, you’d see another big entrance opposite side, that’s the exit for the mall.
You must’ve stayed at the hotel’s parking 5th Avenue Restaurant side. My room was facing the mall (back of the hotel main entrance) and the parking lot. It was pitch dark by night, but quite a few people parked there.
Bob, there was a small bridge from Plaza stop, that led to the door of the mall, which was locked. Google Maps was recommended to use 2 stops that I mentioned in my previous post, but one day I found Plaza stop on map a lot closer, I got off thereto get back to Doubletree. I ended up making a huge detour, so Google Maps was correct. If the door was open, I’d take only a couple of minutes from the hotel, and a good portion go through the mall, so not bad even in bad weather.
I don’t remember if Krakow trams stop on demand like buses or stopped at all stops like regular train.
I was in Krakow for 10 days, so I had a weekly transit pass, but for a group of 2 or larger for a short stay, ordering cars from Bolt, Freenow, etc isn’t much more expensive, and that’s my general recommendation for DT guests.