Blue Mandarin Island

After a week, the rubbish we were told to leave inside the apartment had started to smell, making the place unpleasant and unhygienic. The apartment was messy and clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly before we arrived, and it looked very different from the listing photos. When we asked for clean towels after a few days, we were told two would cost an extra £20, which is unreasonable. We were also asked to pay a tourist tax that hadn’t been clearly disclosed during booking. Most concerning, they said we wouldn’t receive the access code to the house unless we paid. It was a stressful, disappointing experience. I wouldn’t recommend the property, and future guests should be cautious.

The view from the window is the only good thing about this horrible place. You can’t sleep or work here. The internet is terrible, and construction crews started drilling, knocking and shouting in the hallway at 6 a.m., continuing until dusk. I called the number from the booking to report it and got no response. A woman who introduced herself as the assistant manager couldn’t do anything. She said she would call and tell them they couldn’t start at 6, then blamed me and said it had nothing to do with them. She didn’t know what was in the room or anything about the guest’s room. There’s no way to reach the manager. I called repeatedly about the awful noise every morning, but they didn’t answer or call me back to check if things were okay. I travel around Poland for work a lot, and I’ve never had service this bad. I don’t recommend this place to anyone.

It’s a great base for exploring Gdańsk, with restaurants nearby for breakfast or dinner and the Old Town about a 10-minute walk away. Parking is the one drawback, especially late at night.

We rented three apartments, and every one was spotless and beautifully decorated. Each had a bottle of champagne waiting for us when we arrived. The staff were friendly and helpful.