Hilton Gdansk, Poland

We had a red eye flight from Poznan to Gdanks and arrived early on Good Friday.

The taxi ride cost 65 PLN (ca. 16.25 Euro or ca. 20.50 USD) and took aproximately 45 minutes.

The lady at check in was friendly and efficient. She couldn't hand over the keys immediately, because our room wasn't ready yet. We were asked to take a seat at the comfy sofa area in the center of the lobby. We didn't have to wait long and were given the keys.

The hotel is very well integrated, located at the edge of the Old Town and a stone throw away from the sea.
The Hilton is modern and has an atrium, decorated with hundreds of glass butterflies.
The reception is to the left of the lobby. There is also an ATM. In the center is the before mentioned sofa area and the elevators.
On the right are the bar F32 and restaurant Mercato.
There is a floor beside the elevators, which leads to the business center and the meeting rooms.
The hotel also has underground parking for a fee.
Another bar called High Five and the spa with fitness center, sauna, steam room and swimming pool are located on the top floor.

Our room was located on the highest floor. It was large with a lot of storage space, a large bath room, writing desk, king sized bed, two sitting areas, a large LCD screen TV with local and international channels. To our surprise the room was a duplex, with a winding stair case leading up another floor (impossible you might think) to a small space with a chair and stunning views over the city. It's not suitable, if you're claustrophobic or have vertigo.
The bathroom had the much beloved Peter Thomas Roth amenities, a sink, bath tub and separate shower.
Overall the room was very comfortable.
What we found slightly odd was the in room dining menu. In other hotels it either was in it's own folder or presented like in a restaurant. In this case it was a DIN 4 page, not even laminated, and placed in the magazine stand on the writing desk. The kid's menu on the other side was in a folder with general information about the hotel.
In his opinion the menu was too small, and he found it difficult to find something suitable for him.
Since I can eat a wider range of food - my better half has some food intolerances and allergies - it was easier for me.
All the dishes were very good. Our favorites were salmon, all the pasta dishes, Philadelphia Cheese Cake with grapes and the Polish Garden sorbets. The apple pie was also very nice. The meals cost generally between 140 PLN and 200 PLN (ca. 35 Euro to 50 Euro or 44 USD to 62.50 USD), depending what we chose. The most expensive was the dinner including cocktails at High Five. The bar is cosy and shares a terrace with the spa. Both have out door seating.

Since we were Hilton Honors Diamonds we received free breakfast in the restaurant every morning. Internet is for all guests free. Unfortunately there is no Executive Club.
The breakfast buffet is huge and offers a varied range of bread, cakes, fruits, cold cuts, cornflakes, yogurt, cheese and fish. There was also German sparkling wine and a selection of free and chargeable a la carte hot dishes available. For example the pancakes were free, but Eggs Royal weren't. If I remember the price range correctly, it cost betwen 26 PLN and 32 PLN (ca. 6.50 Euro and 8 Euro or 8.20 USD and 10 USD).

I used the swimming pool and steam room. During my visits I didn't have the pool alone for me. There were some couples and children, but they didn't disturb me and swimming wasn't a problem.
I think the loungers at the pool area are too few. Sometimes I had problems locating one for me, since they were occupied or reserved with towels and/or bath robes. It might be better in summer, when guests can use the out door terrace too, but it was April and still cold.
I also didn't like the changing room. It was small and had no hair dryer - only on request from the reception), no free combs or a  basket, where you could leave your used towel and bath robe. A basket is outside in the reception area, when leaving the spa, but it isn't made obvious.
What I liked, though, were the foot desinfectant and that each locker had a safe for valuables.

Another surprise was waiting for us on Saturday of the Easter weekend. Not only was our room made on our return, but there were also chocolate Easter eggs and a card from the hotel management.

We used the the laundry facilities too. Originially we were told since it was Easter our laundry would be returned on Tuesday instead of Monday. We were a little bit concerned, because he had to leave in the morning for our flight to Krakow. What happened if we didn't get our laundry on time? The person, who advised about it, asked if it was okay. We said as long as we had it back before 10 a.m. everything was fine.
We were again pleasantly surprised, when there was a knock on Sunday at our door and house keeping brought back our freshly laundered clothing. In this case the hotel did go above and beyond.

All the staff encountered are friendly, efficient, knowledgable and speak very good English.

Would we stay at the hotel again? Yes, we would.




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