Hotel Bania Thermal & Ski

PROS: - the atmosphere of the hotel itself, the thermal baths, and Kotelnica, - a wide range of attractions — there’s something to do every day of the week (pools, fitness, yoga, game and VR room, bowling, skiing, snowboarding, biking, excursions, concerts, highlander-style bonfire, and much more), - the fitness room, although small and without a personal trainer service, is equipped with top-class workout machines, - the option to purchase half-board dinners during the stay, - good transport connections with Zakopane (minibuses, buses, Flixbus, Uber, Bolt), making it easy to explore attractions throughout the region, - GravityPark and BaniaSki with bike and ski rentals and interesting downhill routes, - a shopping promenade (tiny, but a shopping center is currently under construction) - despite a complete smoking ban in the hotel, there is a smoking room in the lobby, - a smartband instead of a room key card, which also lets you forget about your wallet during your stay CONS: - the hotel and thermal baths are family-oriented, which means that guests seeking peace and quiet may not be able to fully relax, - during future expansions, in our opinion, one hotel wing should be designated for guests without children, and the Relaxation Zone in the thermal baths should be properly separated from the Fun Zone, - in the hotel-guest-only pool area, there is none of hydromassage features, and the salt grotto with graduation tower is not soundproofed (you can hear people outside and the fan itself), although this is somewhat compensated by the saunas and Fizjo&Med services, - charging hotel guests for parking is scandalous these days (especially since the guest will already be spending money at the AutoSpa) - no table on the balcony

A great overpriced disappointment! We are four couples and booked four rooms at Hotel Bania at what turned out to be a disproportionately high rate. When we arrived at the hotel, we found ourselves in the midst of a massive building site and a part of the hotel which had been demolished had contained an Italian restaurant which had been highly recommended by our daughter who had been there earlier in the year (before the demolition and building site!). Despite the glowing restaurant descriptions on the hotel’s website (at the time of our booking) there was, in use, only one evening restaurant, with limited menu, which we had no alternative but to use every evening during our stay. This was an important part of our stay and we booked this hotel because it offered options, including a choice of restaurants, which did not materialise. If we had been advised when we booked, months before, that there was going to be a huge building site with reduced facilities we would NOT in any circumstances have booked this hotel but once there we were stuck. Looking for alternative last minute accommodation was impossible because we were a group of eight. We’ve complained to the hotel and suggested that they compensate us for a very expensive stay which we would never have opted for had they been completely honest about the situation. This has fallen on deaf ears and the implication is that we should simply ‘suck it up’. When there, one of the reception staff told us that the hotel was informing some guests of the situation at the time of their booking but she said that because we booked online so weren’t told. Unsurprisingly, the hotel was virtually empty so very little atmosphere too. Never again! Photos of the building site attached plus a plan of the large demolished wing of the building containing the restaurant mentioned above.

The check in process was wonderful. We received warm greetings from the front desk staff and it was helpful that she was proficient with speaking English. The thermal pools and the breakfast buffet were the best parts of our stay. I highly recommend staying here and we will be back again!

Amazing hotel and termal pools Amazing termal pools, indoor and outdoor; hot water (aprox 37 degrees); Excellent food and drinks in all areas and restaurants; Very helpfull staff

An enormous hotel complex, like a mini city. Perfect for ski-in, ski-out skiing. Great slopes, good for beginners and intermediates. Very efficiently run and lots to do in addition to skiing (bowling, table pool, thermal pool, etc etc). Choices of restaurants and places to sit and have coffee/drinks. Lots of Polish entertainment. However, this is a 4* hotel (as opposed to 5), the food is good but not exceptional, as are the rooms. But the price isn’t aligned to this. Our daily rate over Christmas was sky-high and therefore I don’t consider this hotel offers value for money.

You could check in at Hotel Bania and not step off the grounds until your checkout date. It has restaurants, bars, activities, entertainment, a spa, swimming, and probably more we didn't see. Because it's so big, you'll find yourself in crowds at times - for example, breakfast is in a huge hall with hundreds of seats. There's a lot to do, but since it is a family resort, you'll likely hear children running the halls, so if you want someplace very quiet, you might want to think about this. The staff was friendly and helpful and the food and drinks were good.