Bachleda Residence Zakopane

I often stay in high-end hotels, and this visit unfortunately didn’t meet my expectations for a 5-star resort. The interiors and furniture were beautiful and high quality, and issues were dealt with quickly: the shower heads were replaced and the AC checked. Breakfast was decent, around 4-star level, but there was no porridge or fresh juice. There were synthetic pillows and blankets, and housekeeping was poor: the carpets were left with stones and weren’t vacuumed on the second day. Reception and breakfast staff were unfriendly. Guests from the 5-star and 3-star hotels share breakfast and wellness facilities, which makes the price difference hard to justify. The wellness area is small, the pool is cold, and there are only two saunas. One was closed and the other was poorly controlled. The wall-mounted hairdryer was outdated and had a very short cord. The design is impressive, but the service, wellness facilities, and 5-star concept need work to justify the price.

The rooms are spacious, beautifully designed to match the building’s exterior and Zakopane style, and ours had a large balcony where we could sit and enjoy views of the city and mountains. Breakfast offered a good variety for different tastes. The hotel is set back from the main street, so it stays quiet, yet it’s a short walk to the centre and commercial outlets. It’s a great place to stay while visiting beautiful Zakopane. The only minor issues were relatively slow Wi-Fi and AC that may not have worked well on hotter days.

The hotel looks nicely designed, but I don’t think it deserves a 5-star rating, especially given the staff and service. Our room was very small. Guests from the 3-star hotel share the restaurant and wellness area, which is unacceptable for a 5-star property. The staff were unsmiling and disrespectful, sometimes downright unpleasant. The wellness area had no staff supervising hygiene, order, or guest safety, which is alarming for a hotel claiming this standard. The food was good, but breakfast was nowhere near 5-star quality. The worst incident was at reception. A woman with glasses told me to clean up a small puddle my 2-kg dog had left. She specifically said to go to the restroom, get paper towels, and clean it myself. That was completely unacceptable. This is a pet-friendly hotel, and I paid an extra fee for my dog, yet I was expected to clean the entrance mat at the main door, where hundreds of guests pass every day. That service was insulting and unprofessional. The hotel may present itself as luxury, but the service felt much closer to a low-category hotel. I’d strongly advise future guests not to be misled by the star rating.

We stayed at Bachleda Resort Zakopane over New Year’s Eve, so the price was understandably high. The rooms were modern, clean, well maintained, and very well soundproofed. The interiors looked beautiful and genuinely luxurious, and staff were generally friendly and polite. The spa facilities, including the pool, steam room, and sauna, looked nice but felt very small for a resort. The gym was especially disappointing, with very limited equipment and an awkward position overlooking the pool that made it uncomfortable to use. For a hotel presenting itself as 5-star, service also fell short. We had an early 5am departure on our last morning, with the airport transfer arranged through the hotel. Staff knew when we were leaving, but didn’t mention or offer breakfast boxes. When we asked the evening before, the request was refused because we’d missed an internal notification deadline by just over an hour. No one had told us about that deadline. The lack of flexibility was disappointing, especially over a major holiday and at a hotel of this level. We also asked for help getting to nearby attractions and were given only two taxi company phone numbers. When we called, the companies didn’t speak English and hung up. No other transport option or help was offered, which made a simple request frustrating. The most disappointing part was the New Year’s Eve dinner. We’d booked months ahead and clearly stated that we were vegetarian. Meat dishes were served to us at first. When we pointed this out, staff got defensive and asked when we had told the restaurant. After that, vegetarian dishes kept arriving much later than the rest of the table, with odd comments like “we promise it’s vegetarian,” which made us feel uncomfortable and less trusting. With the prices, 5-star branding, and Michelin-listed dining, the service didn’t meet expectations. The hotel is beautiful and comfortable, but the lack of flexibility, limited support, and poor handling of our dietary needs really affected the stay.