Slovakia Hotel Tips by Paul2001

The Hotel Kyjev in Bratislava: The Worst Hotel I Have Ever Spent the Night!

I have stayed in over 200 hotels in my adult life, so I think I know what qualities I look for in good accommodation. Then on the other hand I know a dump when I have stayed in one. Of all the hotels I have visited, the Hotel Kyjev wins the prize for the worse value for my dollar that I have ever spent the night in. The Hotel Kyjev is an old communist hotel probably built during the 1970's. This place is serious need of renovation. Perhaps even demolition. Firstly the elevators kept breaking down and were terribly slow. I was even entrapped in one for 15 minutes. Then again there was not enough of them for building this size. The walls of the elevators and corridors were covered with carved graffiti. The toilet in my bathroom kept running despite the token appearance of a maintenance man to repair it. The furniture in my suite was old and worn. The hotel bar was ugly and grossly overpriced. The staff here was obtuse. When I asked for a 6:15 wake up call, I got it at 6:35. When I complained all I got was "Uh sorry". On my way out I complained about the maintenance problems and I got blank stares. For 54 Euros a night, I expect better. These days the hotel seems to catter to loutish Englishmen on drunken bachelor parties who could not afford to go to Budapest or Prague.
Well some good news about this hotel! It is temporarily closed as October 2011 for badly needed renovations. They are being conducted by a British company and I hope they do it right! Then again being a British company, the rooms will probably be reduced to the size of a shoe box and rates rates will double. We will have to see what happens here.

Unique Qualities: It was reasonably clean and the breakfast was good.
The hotel seems to be popular to English lads on bachelor weekends hence it is full of drunken morons.

Address: Rajská 2

Comparison: about average

Directions: East of the old town

Phone: +421 2 5296 1082

Price: US$40-80

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.kyjev-hotel.sk

The Hotel Arkada: A Very Nice Small Hotel in Levoca

This was not a hotel I expected to stay well spending my two nights in Levoca. The hotel that I had intended to stay in the Pension U Leva was actually full so I tried the hotel next door since it looked nice from the outside. It was actually nice in the inside also and cheap too. This serves to remind the traveller not to remain wedded to the travel books when looking for a hotel when you are visiting strange cities and towns. The Hotel Arkada is not mentioned in either LP or RG and is a very acceptable place to stay in. The location could not be better and the building has quite a bit of atmospheric charm. (It must have received a paint job since I visited since on the website the facade is yellow instead of pink).

Unique Qualities: The hotel room was larger than I expected. I was surprised because the hotel clerk suspected that it might not be up to my standards but for one who has traveled over much of Europe I felt that room was large when I compared it to some of the rooms I have stayed in elsewhere. It was also well maintained and had cable TV. A major plus for this hotel is the restaurant in cellar. It is very popular, especially with tour groups and is quite worth checking out.

Address: Námestie Majstra Pavla 26,

Comparison: about average

Directions: The hotel is located on the southeast side of the main square, Majstra Pavla.

Phone: 00421/53/451 23 72,00421/53 22 5

Price: US$40-80

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.arkada.sk

The Hotel Smokovec: A Very Fine Hotel to stay while in the Tatras Mts.

The Hotel Smokovec is located Stary Smokovec. After staying in the grossly overpriced Hotel Kyjev in Bratislavia, I apprehensive about what other horrors might be found by way of Slovak accommodation. I glad to say that the Hotel Smokovec was a dramatic improvement. For certain, I got my value for my dollar here. The rooms were large clean and modern with satelitte TV and balconies.

Unique Qualities: The staff here was pleasant and spoke excellent English. The restaurant was good and probably the best I ate in during my stay in the Tatras. There is a charming cafe here too that serves very good cakes. As there is not much to do after dark around the hotel, it probably could have used a bar.

Address: 062 01 Stary Smokovec 25

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: The Hotel Smokovec is located just 100m up from the train station.

Phone: +421-(0)52-4425191 - 3

Price: US$40-80

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.hotelsmokovec.sk