Sanatorium Rownica

Great.

The receptionist laughed and said, "Oops, you have a problem because your tires are bad," then told me, "Go somewhere else." I have Pirelli winter tires costing almost 5,000 złoty, truly niche tires. This is great marketing, and Równica is the worst health resort in the area for parking and staff manners. The winter situation there is a mockery of sick people. The lot is only superficially cleared, with no proper spaces, and you have to drive into 50cm snowdrifts. Parking is paid, but below the barriers there’s an ice rink. Security just sits there and doesn’t care, since they won’t even throw sand. I said I’d drive to Kubalonka, but I won’t.

The physiotherapists are excellent, the treatments are professional, and the equipment is great. Medical care gets 5 stars. Dr. L., the attending physician, gets no comment from me because I want to avoid a civil lawsuit. We changed doctors at the first opportunity. It was a disaster, a throwback to the communist era, to put it mildly. For a ZUS stay, you need to be healthy: 22 days, 140 treatments. A commercial stay costs 65, and there’s time for everything. With ZUS, you’re running around with your mouth hanging open between locations, rooms, wards, floors, and buildings. After a week, most people were "down" as much as possible. Rounds start at 9:00 PM, and you have to be in your room. They check on you, and anyone who doesn’t comply faces sanctions :). The food is the "hospital" option. We had to find something to do in the city, though in the end we came for treatment, not to overeat. It was tasty and healthy. Parking costs 350 PLN and isn’t cheap. The renovated rooms on the 6th floor are elegant, clean, and comfortable, with views of the city and Czantoria. Other rooms? Patients were sitting at reception from 2:00 PM to get the single room they wanted at midnight, which is ridiculous in the 21st century. There was vegetation on the couch. The place is huge, and the round trip from your room to the Institute for treatments and exercises is 1.5km. Sometimes you have to do it two or three times a day. If you can change your "assignment," do so. The schedule seems algorithm-driven, with dinner at 1:00 PM and mat exercises at 1:20 PM. That’s a nightmare. The "Stay Together" arrangement is another nightmare: my wife is covered by ZUS (Social Insurance Institution), and I’m self-employed. Literally nothing can be arranged before arrival. A shared room may only be available the next day, after the so-called "no commute," and even that isn’t guaranteed. You can have breakfast together.

The grounds around the building are large, green, beautiful, and well maintained. The spa sits in a lovely area beside a picturesque park, and parking on site is paid. My husband and I came on a National Health Fund (NFZ) referral. The treatment and pool area connect to the living area by an indoor passage, so there’s no need to go outside, and the spa offers a wide range of treatments. We had varied, quite tasty meals in generous portions. Our balcony gave us a beautiful mountain view, although the room itself was basic and probably dates from the communist era, so it wasn’t very attractive. The building has eight floors, with National Health Fund (NFZ) patients on the fourth. I posted this review over a year ago, but it was removed with a note saying the space no longer exists, so I’m posting again. I don’t know what the situation is now or whether anything has changed.