Krakow - hotels, best location

Old Jan 29th, 2014, 10:24 AM
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Krakow - hotels, best location

Hi

I went to Krakow over 10 years ago and will shortly be returning. Then I stayed in a hotel just minutes from the Market Square and found it to be a fantastic location.

There seem to be some good hotels which are near to the Castle and also the Jewish District and I was just wondering in choosing a hotel where you would say the best location is.

Also how easy is it to buy tram tickets and how frequent are they.

Thanks in advance.

Jo
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Old Jan 29th, 2014, 10:28 AM
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The Castle is only a few minutes from Rynek Glowny. Any hotel between the Florian Gate and the Castle would be a good location in Krakow. I loved being close to the main square for an evening night cap and entertainment.

>

It's very easy to buy tram tickets. The tram frequency depends on where you're going to, where you're starting from, what time of day, weekend or week day. There's no definite answer to this question.
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Old Jan 29th, 2014, 10:46 AM
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We stayed at the Hotel Saski, and enjoyed it very much. It is about 1/2 block from Rynek Glowny. Perfect location. We walked everywhere. this was about 9 years ago. At that time, the price was reasonable and included a delicious full breakfat with hot and cold dishes.
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Old Jan 29th, 2014, 12:18 PM
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Hotel Wentzl on Market Square - around the corner from Szambelan (the vodka store!) and all rooms look onto the square. But it's a walkup - no elevator.
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Old Jan 29th, 2014, 12:41 PM
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I guess the best idea is a personal choice. I also prefer being near the main square for convenience. If you've been there, you should at least know where the castle is--that's too far away for me.

I've stayed in two great hotels in Krakow, the Pod Roza and the Hotel Grodek. I loved both of them. While the Pod Roza was more old world and much larger room, I think the bed was a bit hard.

I didn't find public transportation that easy myself. The problem was just getting information on it. I think I went to the tourist office and they couldn't even provide me with a map of the lines or info on how to buy tickets. So if you know all that, it's probably easy. I don't think it occurs to them tourists will want to do that or something. I did use one to go to the Kazamierz area and back so something figured something out (or the bus). The Grodek hotel wasn't too far from a tram line, actually, I liked that about it. Of course, they are on the edges, anyway, they don't run right through the main center. They have an odd ticket system, it's timed but if you are just going someplace, it doesn't matter that much, I guess.

I think this gives the basics http://www.inyourpocket.com/poland/k...ansport_34466v
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Old Jan 29th, 2014, 01:24 PM
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This past summer we purposely stayed outside the Planty because we were traveling in July and were worried about partying crowds in the center. We liked our hotel, the Pugetow, and its location, about halfway between Rynek Glowny and Kazimierz. At least in the summer I don't think I'd want to stay directly on or immediately off Rynek Glowny, but that's just me. I prefer to be a little off the beaten path.

The Pugetow is a sister hotel to the Grodek, mentioned by Christina above. We did go for a drink at the Grodek and I liked its location: central but somewhat hidden down a side street.

We walked everywhere so never took a tram, sorry.
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 01:14 AM
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Joannax, we used this site to figure out buses and trams while in Krakow in October:

http://krakow.jakdojade.pl/

We bought our tickets at the kiosk at one of the stops near our hotel. It's a fairly user-friendly device, and you can select English as your language option. Be sure to stamp your ticket the moment you board.

We stayed at Cracowdays, which is about a 12 minute walk from the Rynek. It's a quirky place: quite comfortable, wonderful staff, reasonably quiet, with unreliable wireless. I suspect their internet problems stem from very thick stone walls. But they make up for that with a computer in the reception area. The hotel may, however, be a bit further out than you wish.

(Hi Leely!!)
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 01:15 AM
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Forgot the link, of course:

http://cracowdays.com/eng/welcome.html
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 05:20 AM
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Hotel Floryan (the Y is important, Hotel Florjan is in the boonies)
http://floryan.com.pl/en/index.php

Hotel Jan on Grodzka
http://www.hotel-jan.com.pl/

Both highly recommended by my brother.

Mark
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 06:19 AM
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We stayed at the Hotel Europejski last October and LOVED it. http://www.hoteleuropejskikrakow.com/
Charming romms,GREAT breakfast,helpful staff. The hotel restaurant is also excellent and the prices are resonable.We had dinner there a couple times. The location is very good.
It's not far from the train station and a 5 minute walk to the Main Market Square. Have a great trip!
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 10:19 AM
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Oops, here is the link to hotel Pugetow:

http://www.donimirski.com/en/hotel-pugetow

I took a few photos of our room. Sorry about the mess. We had a triple, though we were just two friends.
http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/image/151755658
http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/image/153171819

Hi, Anselm! When did you visit Poland? I really enjoyed my trip. Also thought the food was incredibly delicious.
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Old Jan 30th, 2014, 12:49 PM
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Thanks so much for all your quick responses.

I've just booked the Hotel Wit Stwosz which is 2 mins away from the main market square.

Thanks too for the advice on trams.

Joanna
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Old Jan 31st, 2014, 06:22 AM
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Joanna, sorry for taking your thread off-topic for a second, but I just wanted to reply to Leely.

Leely, we (I was with my fiancée; there is love and joy again after the loss) were there in October. Jeane (or Janina, as her family calls her in Poland) was born in a tiny farming village between Krakow and Warsaw. I met a lot of her family, and thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. The food was indeed wonderful. And copious. Her cousin Ewa, with whom we stayed for a week, said, "We like to kill our guests with food." She nearly succeeded.
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Old Jan 31st, 2014, 01:17 PM
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Joanna, the Wit Stwosz looks very nice. Enjoy your return to Krakow.

[Anselm, that's wonderful news. Do widzenia!]
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Old Jan 31st, 2014, 01:38 PM
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"We stayed at Cracowdays, which is about a 12 minute walk from the Rynek….."

That's where we stayed five years ago. Good to know they are still getting stellar reviews. We really liked this place, and the staff was terrific.

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