I booked Stalowa 52 thinking it was a boutique hotel in an up and coming neighborhood in Warsaw. It turns out it was a hostel--I've always wanted to try one.
This will be a tale of two different experiences-
My room had 2 twin beds, I guess I could've asked them to push them together but it was ok. I had a balcony which I was told I couldn't smoke on yet there were cigarette butts out there when I checked in and my neighbors on the next balcony smoked on theirs. There was a small kitchen and dinette set. The bathroom had a cool a funky claw foot tub with a telephone for the shower -- yes I got water everywhere when I showered --and an up-cycled sink made from and industrial base with a sink mounted on it. Great room, serviced well. I was very comfortable.
My cousins room was on the top floor with tons of skylights. She had a queen sized bed, sofa, desk, dinette set and a full kitchen. She requested a room with a standup shower -- the bathroom had such a horrifying smell she held her breathe each time she used it.
Good stuff -
Nicole & Carolina (front desk - might not be their names) were very friendly and did their best to help us out.
Free reliable wifi.
1 free wine at the bar - not easy to redeem but it's a nice idea.
Breakfast daily - nice spread ...ask for eggs if you want them.
2 free bottles of water daily.
Not sure if these are hostel issues but I doubt we'd have these issues in a hotel.
Fresh towels every 3 days - now I had no problem getting extra towels but my cousin was told NO! It had not been 3 days when it was actually our 4th day.
They asked us daily of we need the room cleaned. I opted out many times but cleaning only entailed emptying the trash.
No concierge, the girls at the front desk did their best to help us get around but many of our requests where answered with No - I don't know.
Change (breaking large Polish notes) is something I'm use to doing at the front desk. They had no change and when we asked where we should go to break the money they said the bank - FYI the banks don't give change either. read more