Hotel Galicya

For a three-star hotel, it was satisfactory. Reception and housekeeping staff were willing to help, breakfast had a decent range of international options, and the dinner dishes we tried were excellent with plenty of choice. The room was clean and reasonably comfortable. The hotel is convenient for a simple stay, close to the center, with tram lines 8 & 18 nearby. It’s a seven-minute ride to Wawel Castle and ten minutes to the shopping center. The restaurant staff were the problem. The two young women in the morning and the burly evening employee seemed indifferent and bored, as if they only wanted to get through the job. When we returned wanting to sit and have a beer, the waiter nearly kicked us out. He said he needed to clean the tables and wouldn’t let the women in our group sit down. He spoke harshly and intensely. It felt completely unprofessional, as if we’d dirty the place again if we sat down before he finished. When we bought drinks from outside because he wouldn’t serve us at the bar, he sent us to sit on the reception sofa or the stairs. The receptionist on duty didn’t react. By contrast, the young blonde evening employee was helpful, willing and always smiling.

The room was very basic, breakfast was decent, and communication with reception was okay. The rating is low because of the cleaning: the toilet paper roll was half used, with a “signature” on the side; there was hair in the kettle; the shower gel dispenser was empty or broken; and the shower head leaked from about three spots. It was also very loud at night.

The room stayed cosy with the temperature well controlled, and we didn’t need to use the heater. The shower had strong pressure and plenty of hot water. Staff were polite and friendly, and breakfast offered a good variety, though there aren’t many tables, so it’s best to eat early before it gets busy. The tram stop nearby made it easy to reach the old town. The room was cleaned each day, and the sheets were changed on the third day of our stay.

A decent budget option with friendly, informative service and a nice, varied breakfast. It’s outside the city center, but a cheap, frequent tram runs from a stop two minutes away, or one if you walk briskly, and takes you in. The room was a letdown. It was clean, had plenty of tea and coffee, and the bathroom, WiFi and AC worked well. But there was no soundproofing, so you’ll need good neighbors. I think I now know every word of the Sto Lat song, though the singing was somewhat discordant. The bed was two singles pushed together with mattresses at slightly different heights, so be ready for a restless night and the crack of doom between them. As a solo traveler, I’d have preferred the beds left apart. The TV had only one English-language channel, Euronews, with a center-left leaning slant and the same one-hour loop. Galicya was good, but there’s room to improve.