For my second visit to Poland after Krakow last year we had the pleasure of staying in what I would conclude as another much underestimated hotel in Poland. Star ratings for hotels in Poland seem to be a far removed reflection of what we in Britain measure as a good hotel.
The Felix hotel, rated as two stars on internet and relevant literature references such as the well known Expedia, is in my opinion as a quite experienced European city traveller, way above the standard of two stars for what we consider here. As a quick comparison we stayed in a three star hotel in Italy in the same week and that hotel did not compare at all with the Felix in any of the required formats for my own rating of hotels. The Felix was far superior.
The Felix is not in the city centre but is close enough (ten minutes maximum by tram) to reach, and just over 12 kilometres from the one airport serving the city.
About a twenty minute cab ride from the one airport in
Warsaw it lies on the right side of the river Wista and on the edge of an area called Praga. This area is referred to as the downtown bad area, but the hotel is separated from it by a dual carriageway and a double tram line (two hundred yards away) and not an inconvenience to view or to cause any noise pollution.
Until fairly recently decent city centre or near city centre acceptable cheap accommodation was hard to come by in Warsaw and indeed many European ex communist cities. This is changing rapidly and the Felix is a clear indication of the huge western influence of joining the EEC.
Many hotels in Eastern Europe are changelings from former communist worker accommodation and this is reflected in the Felix hotel layout. Although they have made a massive attempt to disguise it, anyone with knowledge of former communist rule and the drabness that accompanies it, will be well aware of that fact, although in this case the attempt is reflected very positively in the result.
Security seems to be paramount all around Poland and the hotel is no exception. A guarded 'gate secure' entrance greets you as you enter by the side road exiting from the dual carriageway. After a short flight of stairs greeted by a smiling porter and another uniformed security guard in the entrance, the reception area lies directly in front. There is a safety deposit box (free of charge) in reception on request.
Reception was efficient (less than three minutes to check in) and you are on your way up to one of the eight floors to your destination landing, in our case the sixth, accompanied by the porter carrying or pulling your luggage by its wheels.
Entrance security to the room is by metal sliding card into the lock with a usually redundant normal barrel key which the hotel keeps as a back up. We had paid for our room through Expedia previously to arriving, and at £33 per night for two of us including breakfast. (There are more expensive options available.) The menu can only be described as extensive and extremely varied, catering for any taste. Breakfast is served from 7am-10am allowing for early or late risers.
The Felix is part of a chain of hotels called SMART, and has all the usual facilities I would expect for my needs. High speed internet, Restaurant, bar, Wi-Fi, shop, 24hour reception, sauna and massage. Small payment required for the latter. The room is quite spacious and comprises of three rooms with a reception/hallway area leading to the bathroom and sleeping/bedroom. It is carpeted, has a double bed (King size), with a thick quilt, and spare blankets, two armchairs, television, (one English speaking channel and six in Polish or German) en-suite toilet/shower, hairdryer available from reception, (no extra charge), information literature, dressing table, two large mirrors, bedside cabinets, and balcony. Linen was changed daily and the service was very efficient. The room was extremely clean and very amply heated although the heating pipes, no doubt left from the communist era are a little large and unsightly but do not get in the way. In this hotel as many in Poland smokers are not treated as lepers and smoking is still allowed in the rooms if you request a smoking room and in certain other parts of the hotel.
All the staff were friendly, helpful, and efficient and many spoke English albeit sometimes a little broken, but certainly enough to communicate effectively. Four lifts allow you to travel within the hotel easily and quickly. The Restaurant evening food menu seemed a little limited but was international in its content and appeared relatively cheap with the most expensive meal around the £20 per person mark, although we did not use it. The bar is located slightly above the Restaurant with private areas to allow for some intimacy and the prices reflected most alcoholic drinks in Poland, being cheaper than the United Kingdom unless you drink wine, which is more expensive.
Business conference multi-functional facilities are available and the hotel has 234 rooms. There is a beer garden and BBQs in the summer.
The shop catered for simple things such as magazines, sweets, soft drinks, much as you would expect a small tobacconist, kiosk to sell here in England. It was open from 7am, and closed around 10pm.
In conclusion the Felix is a hotel I would recommend for the traveller to Warsaw for cheap, clean, and secure accommodation. Regardless of the supposed reputation for the downtown bad area we went for walks in the evenings and encountered no problems and saw nothing to indicate any danger. Although not luxurious, the hotel will fit most people's needs as an adequate place to stay as a base for exploration of the city. With public transport abundant only a few hundred yards away (Trams, and buses) and the travel very cheap in Poland I feel it is ideally situated.
For the disabled traveller there is a ramp to enter the hotel, and access to the hotel is flat although the rooms showed no special provision for those in that position, although unless severely disabled I would not foresee this as a problem. The hotel also advertises as 'gay friendly'.
For the price and going on the old adage that you "get what you pay for", with the Felix you certainly get that and more.
We went to Krakow once and I remember eating sausage fo a whole week, god knows why, but there didn't seem much else to eat that was nice in the way of food, great review, really enjoyed it a lot, Penny xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
patriciat 08.11.2007 21:33
No plans to visit Warsaw unfortunately. Pat.t x
lobourse 05.11.2007 22:35
Very informative review - I didn't make it to Praga, but I heard it was more of an area for workers. Sounds like a decent option
On the right bank of Vistula River, in the Praga Poudnie district, this high rise hotel is ... more
a 15 minute drive from central Warsaw. Lazienkowska Avenue is the connection to central Warsaw and the Old Town, where guests can visit the Royal Castle, Grand T...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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