After my train ride, I traipsed through the old town of Krakow and it’s narrow streets all the way to the river front to check in at the Sheraton Grand Kraków for one night.
The Sheraton Grand Kraków is located in a non-descript white building by the riverfront, near by the Wawel Castle. For a long time, I thought it was an apartment building, with some luckly locals living this close to the old town. But on this trip, I discovered that it actually is not. And the best part is that it’s within walking distance of the old town, which I loved.
Check in was a breeze, with very polite service at reception. The gentleman described to me where I need to go in order to find the outdoor bar, and the indoor lounge that I had access to due to booking a suite–really called the ‘Club Room.’
I made a beeline for my suite in order to drop off my bag so that I could wander about the city without worrying about my clothes and items. I wanted to scope out a few locations for some photos before I got up early the next day to shoot. To my surprise, the suite was spacious, and open with a bed, a couch, and a lovely designed desk space, where I could immediately sit down and work on my blog entries if I wanted to. I had a view of the river, and could see people walking or running down the lane just by the river.
Additionally, room service, as part of the Club Room package, left me a plate of fresh fruits to eat at my leisure, just by the couch, which was perfect as I was slightly tired from my journey and hungry. A few bites of the fruits satiated my hunger, and in the meantime, I was able to figure out my next steps.
First order of business was to check out the club lounge, which actually was really confusing. The gentleman at the concierge did explain where it was, but I didn’t hear him well (my fault because I didn’t wear my hearing aids), and had to spend a good 15 minutes looking for it. As a result, I checked out the rooftop access lounge/bar, which was cool for its open air feel and the view of the Wawel castle.
It turned out that the Club lounge is on the second floor, overlooking the main restaurant area. It is only accessible with a corresponding keycard for a Club Room, and it is generally empty. Because of that, it’s quiet; however, since it overlooks the restaurant area with railings, the way a terrace overlooks a street, it tends to get noisy when there are people in the restaurant area. The way that the building is constructed–with a huge open center, while the hotels are on the sides, in a circular fashion–it echos often; therefore, overall, this hotel is not hard-of-hearing friendly for those who wish to have conversations with their friends.
That said, when the area is quiet, the club lounge is quiet. On top of that, it has free food. It’s not exactly a meal, but rather, just bites and appetizers that you can fill yourself up with if you take a lot of them. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner during certain hours, and in-between those hours, you get snacks. In my opinion, it’s not exactly the best food on the planet–I would rather eat out in Krakow’s numerous restaurants–but it is still good for when you’re in a pinch, and need a quick bite.
Overall, I was impressed with the service of this hotel, the room, and the features that come with the room. Considering that I am not one who lives in a hotel room all day–as I prefer to spend most of my days out exploring the city–the room served it’s purpose. Furthermore, I wasn’t bothered by the echo in the interior chamber of the hotel as much as I thought I would be. Lastly, I believed it’s location was perfect. Based on this, I would definitely consider staying at this hotel in the near future if I return to Kraków.
The Girl with The Red Backpack 