Hotel Maraton

A fair hotel a little outside the city centre, with very good value for the price. It also has a few services you'd expect at a higher-range hotel, like a gym and business services, plus an excellent breakfast.

I planned to stay four nights and ended up adding ten more, which says plenty. The room was spacious, modern and very clean, with a good bathroom, and I liked how easy it was to drive into Bydgoszcz's center. Breakfast was good, and the gym was simple but useful. The hotel is comfortable, close to the center and has free parking, with nothing that felt lacking compared with pricier hotels. There's no air conditioning, though the nights in Bydgoszcz aren't hot. If you sleep late, shut the windows: traffic starts early on this street, and you may hear distant train sirens and, sometimes, ambulances from the nearby hospital.

The main drawback is the price. For a refurbished, perfectly decent hotel with guest parking and the usual European three-star standard, it costs a lot compared with others in the same class. That's why I gave it three stars.

Hotel Maraton really impressed me, and so did Bydgoszcz. The breakfast was absolutely delicious, the staff were lovely, and the place felt modern, clean and quiet. Compared with similar North American chains like Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and Holiday Inn, this hotel is much better. I'd highly recommend visiting Bydgoszcz and staying at Hotel Maraton. To me, it feels like a four-star hotel.