GinnyJo

I am planning a trip for May 2016, and would arrive and depart Warsaw by train in the middle of a 3-week trip. I am leaning toward 3 nights based on what I want to see – arrival on Friday around noon and departure on Monday.

We usually don’t stay near train stations or airports, but the train station in Warsaw appears rather close to the main action, and there is a huge appeal to me of simply walking to a hotel and dropping off the luggage, and then easily being on our way to enjoy Warsaw. It seems we would be able to maximize our time this way, including when we depart (not having to allow time for traffic, getting taxi, etc).

Any thoughts on the pros and cons of this strategy in Warsaw?

We usually look for accommodations that are locally owned, but in this case I am leaning toward a larger hotel so I can get some reliable features: wifi, non-smoking, a bathtub, luggage storage. On booking.com today here are some cancelable options for 3 nights. Would appreciate any input on location, quality, price, etc. I don’t much care whether breakfast is included but I list it here for price comparison:

Novotel Centrum 850 zl, no breakfast
Marriott 1,094 zl includes breakfast
Westin 1,036 zl, no breakfast (non-refundable rate is 2/3 of this price)
Rialto 1, 257 zl, no breakfast

Thanks for your input!

sandralist

For what it's worth, i've planning a trip to Warsaw and chose the Marriott -- for many of the same reasons you are thinking. I will also add that you consider which hotel might be the most useful to you in the future by joining their loyalty/points program. Not only can it save you money if you sometimes need a night at an airport hotel, some of the chains have well-located hotels in wonderful destinations/cities, and again, a free night or two in Rome or Munich or Vienna or Amsterdam is nice.

tonfromleiden

Don't underestimate the Polish hotels! I've had a row of them and they all had the same mod cons as those anonymous international hotels.

Pegontheroad

I stayed at the Polonia Palace near the train station, and I liked it. It seems to me it was about $120 per night.

I was pleased with all my hotels in Poland.

kja

I stayed in that area when I visited Warsaw FAR too long ago to comment on any specific hotels. Whether you find it easy to walk to the major sites in Warsaw depends on your definition of walk-ability -- I like walking, so that's what I did, but that included walks of up to 2 miles. Or maybe you just meant to walk to / from the train station? Perfectly reasonable, IMO.

GinnyJo

I appreciate your replies.

After continuing to search, I am leaning toward the Westin's nonrefundable rate. The standard double I listed is now gone, so I might snag one of their corner rooms for a few more zl.

Good point about the loyalty programs, Sandralist; I am a member of most and enjoy the free newspapers or wifi, or whatever they are offering. I never seem to earn enough points for it to amount to a free room though.

Tomfromleiden - any specific suggestions?

Peg, I remember your trip report and had investigated the Polonia. It was a bit more money than the others for my dates. I'll check your TR too for Krakow and Gdansk hotels, although I'm thinking of AirB&B for Krakow.

warsaw_tours

We recommend ApartmentsApart (Old Town or Nowy Świat)
check this https://www.facebook.com/Warsaw-Tours-1526211731006209/
We can help find accomodation, arrange tours.

And here are apartments: https://www.facebook.com/Royal-Route...72990/?fref=ts

Have great time in Poland

Pegontheroad

I'll return to Warsaw in June, but the Polonia Palace is now a bit more than I want to pay, about $140, without breakfast.

This time I'll be staying at the Hampton by Hilton, for $108 per night, including breakfast.

I had the non-refundable rate for the Hilton in Gdansk and loved it! I don't know what the rate will be now, but it wasn't unreasonable last June.

Have fun in Poland!

GinnyJo

Thanks, Peg. We ended up with the non-cancelable rate at the Westin, which is about $80/night excluding breakfast. It's relatively close to the train station, which we will be using both coming and going.

I hope you have fun on your upcoming vacation too! Too bad we will not overlap.

limmy

GinnyJo - Just stopping by to thank you for pointing me to Anna with Ourbudapest. We began our Budapest leg with Anna's communism tour and I can't think of a better way to get our trip started off, she was great, the tour was perfect and it gave us the frame of reference we needed for the rest of our days there. Big thanks. We loved Poland so much, I'm envious up your upcoming trip, enjoy!

GinnyJo

So, so glad, Limmy, to hear that you also had a great experience with Anna and Ourbudapest. She really is the best and a perfect introduction to Budapest. It is the only place (of 36 countries and 49 states so far) to which we have plans to return.

noe847

It looks like we will be in Warsaw in June also, Peg - when are you there? - nancyo