Poland Travel Guide
Tags: WTF Hotel News / Hotel Pools / Hotel News / → All Tags
Mother Claims Hotel Pool Got Her Daughter Pregnant
Oh noes. A mother in Poland is suing a hotel in Egypt. Why? Because she thinks her 13-year-old daughter got pregnant from swimming in the hotel's pool. Seriously.
According to the Daily Mail:
Magdalena Kwiatkowska says the 13-year-old conceived after coming into contact with 'stray sperm' in the water of an Egyptian resort.
'The mother is adamant that her daughter didn't meet any boys while she was there,' a travel industry source said. 'She is determined to go ahead with the case.'
You know, little things like this serve as a reminder that the world is a lot different than we all like to think it is.
You know what else? We know for sure that stray sperm in a hotel pool can't get anyone preggers. If that were possible, everyone who has ever attended Sunday Rehab at the Hard Rock (the hot mess pictured above) would be knocked up. Zing!
[Photo: TedMurphy]
Tags: Odd Hotels / Hotel Technology / Futuristic Hotels / Poland Hotels / → All Tags
Ground Control To Major Tom: A Cool Tin Can In Poland
A candidate for our Geek Hotels 2010 list.
It makes sense that a luxury hotel decked out in electronic art would be located somewhere between Berlin and Krakow. (Or, for that matter, floating round a tin can far above the moon). Blow Up Hall 50 50 opened up last month in Poznan, Poland and it has taken interactive art to inhabitable levels.
Guests figuratively should take their protein pills and put their helmets on before entering the black-walled foyer flanked with a video installation created by Tate museum display artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Think meta-meta: 2,400 CCTV scrambled images of the hotel's guests doing whatever they do in the hotel lobby recorded for art's sake. Thankfully, this does not include footage from inside the guestrooms or bathroom use.
Too bad, though — as the bathrooms are niftily hidden behind closet doors and have disorienting mirrors strategically mounted for bizarre levels of voyeurism. (Actually, we're very glad there aren't cameras in the bathrooms).
Tags: Cubicle Dreamin' / Poland Hotel Reviews / Hotel Pools / → All Tags
Cubicle Dreamin': Old and Luxurious in Krakow
Cubicle Dreamin' is a feature in which we ask the hotel mavens to take some time out of their busy work day, surf the Internet, and tell us what hotel they wish they could beam themselves to right that very second--all on the slave driving companies dime, of course. Oh, like these people aren't surfing aimlessly anyway--at least now their purposeless clicking will be cobbled together into useful hotel stories--we hope. Have a destination hotel you are just dying to leave your cube for? Send the story our way.
In this episode, Hotel Maven Amanda K jaunts to Krakow. Enjoy.
Krakow in southern Poland is becoming a new travel hotspot, with low cost carriers like SkyEurope creating hubs there that make it both easy and cheap to get to. I first visited Krakow about four years ago and ever since I've been dying to get back there--it's such a pretty place with enough history and culture to last me for weeks. While my last trip saw me sharing a fairly dingy hostel room, I've got my eye on the accommodation for my next Krakow jaunt: the Hotel Stary, a boutique hotel just off the beautiful main square of Krakow.
Hotel Stary translates to "Old Hotel", and it is, built probably during the 15th century. It's been renovated since then, but sounds like it's retained that old world charm, which makes it the perfect fit for a stay in Krakow. Along with 42 rooms and 11 suites, there is also the restaurant Trzy Rybki which specializes in Polish cuisine.
But the part I can't wait to experience is the swimming area, with a larger swimming pool attached to a smaller one, all inside old stone walls--they look like my idea of heaven, and the small pool comes equipped with a massaging fountain to relax your muscles after a hard day of sightseeing.
[Photo: mickko]
Related Stories:
· Hotel Stary Evokes Krakow's Past [Travel Weekly]
· SkyEurope Has Routes, Deals and Denim [Jaunted]
Tags: Warsaw Hotels / Hotel Deals / Poland Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Diamond Deals at Warsaw's Le Regina
We went looking for a place to stay in the Polish capital, Warsaw, and we think that Le Regina will suit us pretty well. Apart from coming up at numero uno on the TripAdvisor ratings, Le Regina just looks cool. It was even named the most prestigious hotel in Poland by Forbes magazine.
It could be a little on the pretentious side, but Le Regina is housed in a gorgeoous Old Town building in central touristy Warsaw, and it's got everything you need from free wireless internet to a pool and sauna. It's nearly too much and there's a chance you'll stay inside instead of exploring Warsaw.
Le Regina is small--just 61 rooms--but still has a plethora of package deals to drag in the customers. We like the Warsaw Diamonds Package which gives you extra-luxury during your stay, including limousine pick-up and special dinner; but it's only valid for stays of 2 nights or longer and you have to arrive on Friday or Saturday. The Diamonds deal will set you back 265 Euro for a double.
[Photo: Tershes]
Related Stories:
· Warsaw is No Prague [HotelChatter]
Tags: Amazing Race / Warsaw Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Amazing Race 11 Hotel Update: Warsaw
Click Here To Go Straight To Chasing Racers Map
Last night's Amazing Race All-Star episode was a two-hour spectacular that we didn't have to sit through. Luckily, our sibling Jaunted did and wrote down everything that happened. (Unfortch, we still have to sit through Tori and Dean's ridiculous reality show)
In the first challenge, the Racers landed in Warsaw, Poland where they had to choose between either "tuning pianos or hauling and x-raying mannequins." (i.e. running out of challenge ideas.)
The hipppest place to stay is probably the Hotel Rialto which is the city's first boutique hotel. But if you're looking for a more mainstream stop to relax (hauling mannequins gets tiring) and a place that has ironing boards, the Westin Warsaw in the city's business district is a reasonable stop.
You'll be able to use your SPG points here, as well as expect all the comforts of a Westin Hotel and you'll even learn about Polish pierogies as part of the hotel's unwind program.
Room rates average around $175 and gets pretty kickass reviews. The one thing it might not be good for is an "amazing honeymoon." Then again, who would go to Warsaw for a honeymoon?
Related Stories:
· Westin Warsaw reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Chasing Racers: The TAR map [Jaunted]
Tags: HotelChatter Flickr Pool / Poland Hotel Reviews / → All Tags
Where 'The Horny' Lay Their Head in Poland
We are getting new pictures everyday into our HotelChatter Flickr Pool which, let's face it, is awesome. As promised, we will publishing our group member's new photos for the next few days, so if you have hankering to see your photo on our site, submit them today.
Flickr member PatrickGoff dropped in a few pictures of the Hotel Noma Residence in Poland, a 19th century former hunting lodge for the aristocracy.
Today it has seven rooms in the main house, another two in the "Hunting House" and three dining rooms for the hotel's one restaurant.
However, if you are a card-carrying member of PETA this is not the place for you as most rooms are decorated with animal heads and other types of hunting trophies.
This bedroom however is the perfect place, PatrickGoff says, "for the horny."
Related Stories:
· Hotel Noma review [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Miscellaneous / → All Tags
Flickr Photo: Tub at the Rialto
Hotel bathtubs are all the rage these days so here is a shot of the tub at Hotel Rialto in Warsaw, Poland.
Bradomir's photo stream has some more candid shots of the hotel if you are interested in staying there. Or if you are picky about what toiletries the hotel offers its guests.
Related Stories:
· Brandomir's Photo Stream [Flickr]
· Hotel Rialto reviews [TripAdvisor]
· Rub a Dub Dub, Hotels Get into Tubs [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotels / → All Tags
Another Notch In Hilton's Bedpost
The Hiltonization of the world continues in Poland. The Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Convention Center will be the first Hilton in the country, and is slated to open in Autumn of 2006.
Along with a convention center, there will also be a spa, health club, and casino. All 314 rooms come equipped with all the bells and whistles: flat screen TV, with satellite cable, high speed internet, individually controlled air-conditioning.
Now, we just need to find out who's traveling to Poland.
Related Stories:
· Hilton In Warsaw [Warsaw Voice]
· Hilton Continues Expansion In Eastern Europe: Hilton Warsaw Hotel And Convention Centre To Open In Autumn 2006 [Hospitality Net]
· Poland Hotels [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Rialto Photo Review
Remember Hotel Rialto in Warsaw?
Well, Flickr member brandomir of Vagablond.com did a little photo review on the place.
Here is his summary in words:
· Bed in the room at Hotel Rialto. Mattress was nice. Linens a bit thin but of good quality.
· Flat panel LCD television with full tv package. DVD player, CD player, radio.
· 8" rain shower head. Feels good.
Yeah, the words alone make it sound a like a caveman reviewed this place. Do yourself a favor and check out all his Rialto photos and commentary.
Related Stories:
· Hot Off The Bloc [HotelChatter]
· Hotel Rialto Reviews [TripAdvisor]
Tags: Hotels / → All Tags
Warsaw Is No Prague
Whatever you do, don't call Warsaw "the new Prague." The city does not want to cash in by marketing themselves as a cheap Eastern European alternative for parsimonious westerners, instead, Warsaw is aiming to become a true cultural capital.
Ya know if you wanna be a cultural capital you gots to have a hot boutique hotel, right? The 44 room Hotel Rialto is Warsaw's first boutique hotel. The property doesn't skimp on amenities--flat-screen tvs, cd players, heated towel racks, marble floor, and spacious stone baths all make the Rialto a top notch Warsaw crash pad.
What else? You can snag a room for around $120 US dollars, and the Rialto has a young, eager to please staff, plus the property is the only boutique game in town.
So what is missing? An ironing board in the rooms. Then again, who has time for ironing while touring through Eastern Europe?
Related Stories:
· Hot Off The Bloc [Travel & Leisure]
· Hotel Rialto Reviews [TripAdvisor]
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