Hotel Start

Hotel Start is situated off a main road that leads south west out of Cracow. It can manage large groups, as there are as many as 164 beds on offer. These come in doubles, triples and quadruples. All come with bathroom. There are also two suites which come with kitchen annexes. Two conference rooms are available to business groups. The startling modernist pilgrimage sanctuary of Lagiewniki, which was opened by Pope John Paul II in 2002, is very close by. This centre sees an amazing 2 million visitors a year, so if you're planninng in following in their footsteps, here is a local hotel.

we stayed at this hotel for 5 nights and 6 days on a school trip. The staff were very friendly. Out of the 5 nights I personally got 1 night quiet sleep because we were based at the front of the hotel were a main busy road was, in the rooms the beds had old sheets that had a hospital name on that had pubic hairs on it was a disgrace and the hotel didnt do nothing about this when we complained. But hey what do you expect from a 1 star hotel in poland?

We stayed at the Hotel Start for three nights during early March 2008. I have always had an 'eye for a bargain' and this hotel was very low priced. However, whereas on previous trips low prices have usually resulted in good quality accommodation, I'm afraid the Hotel Start does not fall into this category. On this occasion, we got what we paid for.

The Positives:
1. Staff are very helpful and speak good English.

2. There is a Tesco supermarket next door. This proved invaluable when withdrawing cash!

3. The staff will always call for a taxi for you and organise any trips.

The Negatives:
1. The hotel at night is VERY noisy. Guests did not have consideration for others at 2.30am in the morning. It just wasn't one party of people, it was several!

2. The corridors and our room smelled of cigarette smoke. Remember - you are allowed to smoke in Poland.

3. The website claims the hotel is 1km away from the centre of Krakow. It is not, it is about 3 miles (what's that? 5km?). We are both walkers so this wouldn't usually bother us, but the route is not straight-forward and you would have to walk through some gloomy looking estates.

4. There is nowhere local to exchange your travellers cheques! You can only withdraw from cash machines or a cash only exchange place in Tesco.

5. The bar and restuarant had the charisma of a stale pastry! We poked our heads around the corner and that was enough!

6. We had camp beds, not beds...


To summarise, if you are part of a hen or stag party, or any other group looking for cheap accommodation and will more than likely be coming in the early hours, this is probably the place for you. However, if you are single or travelling as a couple, my advice is to pay a little more and stay somewhere else. You have been advised!

Gdy zobaczy³em fasadê budynku w którym mia³em przenocowaæ, nie by³em zachwycony. W dodatku nie mog³em siê dogadaæ po Polsku z recepcj¹ co do faktury. Jedhnak mimo wszystko za niewygórowan¹ cene dosta³em w sam raz. Hotel start to dobre miejsce gdy podró¿uje siê w interesach