Hotel Wawel

“Fabulous stay at the Hotel Wawel”

Hotel Wawel is a lovely place to stay, right in the centre of Krakow old town. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable with modern bathrooms, though it retains a traditional feel. Breakfast is a continental buffet with lots of hot and cold options, eaten in the attached Black Duck restaurant … more

Hotel Wawel is a lovely place to stay, right in the centre of Krakow old town. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable with modern bathrooms, though it retains a traditional feel. Breakfast is a continental buffet with lots of hot and cold options, eaten in the attached Black Duck restaurant (which is a great choice for dinner). The staff are really helpful, they will arrange airport transfers and transport to the Auschwitz museum. There’s even a small lounge open 24 hours with a self service coffee machine. Really great value base for a city break.

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“Wonderful hotel”

Wonderful gem in Krakow. A small hotel with the personal touch. Everyone was so helpful and professional. Rooms beautiful. Breakfast excellent. Simply cannot give enough praise. Thank you for making our recent trip so memorable

“Wawel Hotel--Great location, Meh experience.”

Hi. It's me again. I am a former avid Tripadvisor reviewer, but I went through quite a lull during Covid, and now I am back--back travelling, and back reviewing. Full disclosure first: Most of my trips are planned by my partner who is a Rick Steves cultist, so most of what I review will be hotel… more

Hi. It's me again. I am a former avid Tripadvisor reviewer, but I went through quite a lull during Covid, and now I am back--back travelling, and back reviewing. Full disclosure first: Most of my trips are planned by my partner who is a Rick Steves cultist, so most of what I review will be hotels and restaurants recommended by Rick Steves. As a point of interest, let me say that Rick Steves missed the mark on much of Central Europe in terms of his recommendations, and I don't know exactly why. Anyway, here goes nothing with my review of Wawel Hotel. First, location: Perfect location close to Wawel castle. The beauty of the location is not just its proximity to the castle, but its situation--which is around the corner from the main square in Krakow, thus highly convenient to walk there, but also quietly tucked away so sheltered from the evening revelers, young pub crawlers, etc. This hotel was quite well appointed. Careful attention has been paid to the lobby which is not just clean and tidy, but offers marble flooring, some rich accents, and a beautiful little breakfast room conveniently located close to the entrance of the lobby which makes for good flow. The breakfast room, incidentally, is part of the Black Duck restaurant (a fact we didn't know beforehand). The Black Duck is recommended highly by Rick Steves (RS), but we ended up not trying the restaurant mainly because the breakfast was only so so. The room at Wawel is unlike the lobby--a little worn, a little worse for wear. Old fixtures, cheap wood, a bathroom in severe need of updating, and an unusual smell in the hallways of the residence floors are a bit of a turnoff. We had a nice room, but the lobby and the room do not match in terms of rich detail and cleanliness. Final note: We found this throughout Krakow: the people in service positions lack charisma. They are not practiced at smiling or making conversation, and while this may reflect a cultural difference and therefore be something one could see as "charming"--it does not grease the wheels, shall we say, of customer interactions. Those who work in tourism in Krakow would do well to try to connect with customers and clients by smiling, making eye contact, and acting as if they wish to be where they were. Time and again we found retailers who seemed put out by having to engage with a customer looking for a souvenir, restauranteurs who couldn't care less about taking our order, and in the case of Wawel, a front desk staff with an exceedingly dour attitude (save for one young gentleman who seemed to have gotten it down--make eye contact, smile, be helpful). All in all, I. would recommend the Wawel for location, but it isn't anything to rave about.

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“Well located hotel with some flaws”

We stayed at the hotel for a 4 night stay in December 2025. The hotel is well located for central Krakow, but has a number of things that let it down. The room we stayed in was very dark with little natural light. When we requested a room change, this could not be accommodated. Service in the hote… more

We stayed at the hotel for a 4 night stay in December 2025. The hotel is well located for central Krakow, but has a number of things that let it down. The room we stayed in was very dark with little natural light. When we requested a room change, this could not be accommodated. Service in the hotel was not great, no real warmth or interaction from any of the staff, and no conversation when we checked out. If you are looking for a reasonably priced and well located hotel, without too may frills this may suit you.

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