BELMONTE Hotel Krynica-Zdrój

The room was three floors below reception and felt quite dark. Since it was beside the underground parking, people often left the doors open and a draft came in. We were also on the same floor as the playroom, which wasn’t ideal as we were travelling without children. Still, the atmosphere was lovely, the beds were super comfy, and the snow made everything look beautiful. It was cozy watching the flakes fall from the lobby bar. Breakfast was very nice too, and the veal pierogi from the à la carte restaurant menu were delicious.

The food was one of the best parts of my stay, with plenty of choice and everything tasting great. The hotel was beautiful and very clean, with a fresh smell throughout that made it feel welcoming. There were a couple of frustrations, though. The reception staff didn’t speak basic English, so communication was difficult at times. Smoking wasn’t allowed anywhere in the hotel, including the balcony, and the only designated area was by the parking lot, which was inconvenient. It’s a nice, clean hotel with great food, but communication and guest convenience could be better.

Aneta from the restaurant was the one bright spot in a pretty cold service experience. She was warm and attentive, and really tried to help. That stood out because the rest didn’t. We picked Hotel Belmonte for our first wedding anniversary and told them ahead of time. I arranged and prepaid 500 PLN for the romantic dinner package, so I expected things to run smoothly. Instead, the weekend felt like one small problem after another. At check-in, the receptionist couldn’t confirm our payment or the dinner reservation that I’d arranged through the hotel’s own suggestion. I’d been looking forward to the spa, especially the simultaneous massages in one room that we’d booked for the occasion. My therapist for the bestseller treatment seemed visibly upset, spoke loudly, and made no effort to communicate in English. The welcome was frankly rude. The spa desk also gave us wrong information about the facilities and opening times. When I asked for someone to show me around, I got a vague gesture toward “over there.” That didn’t feel like the five-star standard the hotel suggests. Dinner was another disappointment. The rabbit I ordered on the first evening was lukewarm, bland, and chewy. I didn’t send it back because it was late, the restaurant was nearly empty, and after a long wait we were already hungry. The next night’s romantic dinner was meant to be the trip’s highlight. The chef’s menu began with miso soup, smoked salmon, and undercooked rice, an overpowering mix that was extremely salty, so I sent it back. The steak afterward was good, and the petit gateau worked well. But the strict “1 glass of wine per person” rule hadn’t been explained when I prepaid, and I was refused a Portuguese wine from the menu because, they said, it could only come from an already-open bottle. I paid more and ate worse than I would have by ordering from the regular menu. I’m not writing this to be harsh. Krynica-Zdrój is beautiful and the hotel has real potential. But when guests explain what an occasion means to them, and the hotel sets expectations through its packages and concierge, it has a responsibility to deliver. This stay fell short.

The spa was even more upsetting than the food. My wife, who has worked in the spa industry for 25 years, booked a full-body relaxing massage. She ended up timing it with her own phone while the therapist talked through the session about personal problems and commented on my wife’s weight. My wife is a breast cancer survivor and had come to relax, not counsel someone during a treatment she paid for. We were told the spa manager would get in touch, but nobody followed up. On our first night the restaurant served trout that was raw and unseasoned, which is unacceptable for any hotel, especially one claiming five stars. Lunch the next day wasn’t any better. We went to dinner at another hotel, Dr Irena Eris, and the difference in food quality was substantial. For a property promoting itself as five-star, what we experienced was far below an acceptable standard.