Chata u Jelena

Families and groups should find the facilities they need here, and there’s half board, a multi-use playground with artificial turf, plus a pub serving beer. It’s a pleasant, no-fuss guesthouse, though the furnishings aren’t especially modern.

The staff were genuinely friendly and helpful, and the beer was decent. There’s a small, pleasant play area by the cottage, with a bigger one farther off, and plenty of open meadows and beech woods around it. Space at the campsite felt limited from a manager’s perspective. The food was fine and you could ask for more, though it was sometimes too greasy. The rooms felt more luxurious than a camp really needed, but there wasn’t much choice, and they had air conditioning and a TV like a hotel.

The food was pretty good, especially dinner with its tasty soup, and breakfast had a decent range of fresh items. The staff were friendly too. But the cottage itself is really only for people who aren’t fussy. It’s poorly looked after, and the discount-site photos didn’t reflect what we found. Room 1’s bathroom had thankfully been renovated recently and was decent. There was clutter around the cottage, cobwebs in the windows, a poorly ventilated shared hallway and no curtains. In the room, some furniture was damaged, the shower door was broken, a light by the bed kept flashing, and some floorboards were damaged. The playground advertised next to the cottage was actually about 100 meters away. The sauna included with our voucher couldn’t be used, and there was no compensation. Wi-Fi didn’t work in the rooms, even though a repair had been promised. The outdoor seating needed to be thrown out, and the cottage’s woodwork was very shoddy.

The meals were excellent. The cook makes traditional Czech dishes and does them really well, and the staff were helpful. Our rooms were nice and we had everything we needed for an enjoyable stay. Chata u Jelena is being renovated bit by bit, and the owners are making an effort to improve it. Hraběšice, with 167 residents, is a peaceful place. There’s a municipal playground nearby, as well as a ski slope with refreshments and a small pool. The area also has lots of places to visit, including the museum in Šumperk, the witch trials exhibition, Velké Losiny Chateau, Praděd and many others. If you’re arriving from the Šumperk direction, keep going as far as the municipal office, where the one-way street to the cottage begins. I recommend it!