Penzión Belvia

There’s a well-equipped shared kitchen and lounge, plus a garden, and the location is great. The service is friendly and everything is clean. Penzión Belvia has a homely feel and makes a peaceful base near the Tatra Mountains for families, couples, friends, or anyone who enjoys outdoor activities.

The owners really try to make sure we enjoy our stay. Shops and the church are close by in the town center, and the cable car is around a 10-minute walk away. The downside was the poor-quality beds, which creaked.

The garden and the view of the mountains make the location especially nice. There’s also a barbecue area where you can cook with your own charcoal. Our first-floor room was cozy, with lots of shelves and cupboards for our things. The villa is spacious, cool, and quiet, and it was very clean, partly because everyone takes off their shoes. The hosts were friendly and gave us a hairdryer and salt when we asked. The shared kitchen was quite basic, with two electric burners and no oven, but it had the utensils we needed. The hosts have a separate kitchen. Sometimes there was a queue to cook because there were many residents and not everyone ate at different times, but there was plenty of room in the villa and yard, so we managed. We really liked our stay. For a reasonable price, the conditions were comfortable and the atmosphere very friendly.

The best part was the nice view of the Tatras, but the stay felt like an ordinary guesthouse priced like a luxury hotel. We were told at booking that we’d have a private bathroom. It was private, but outside the room, down the corridor, and that hadn’t been made clear beforehand. Breakfast was meant to be available for an extra charge, but wasn’t; the owner suggested a hotel elsewhere in the village, where it cost 10 euros per person. There’s a kitchenette, but it’s tiny and shared by all the guests. You also can’t pay by card.