 Poster: A snowHead
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All,
Planning a 4 day trip to ski in Krakow,
Any relative info much appreciated,
Which town/hotel is recommended ?
best ski area for beginners/intermediate skiing
Thanks
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The best place by miles is Bialka Tatzranska:
https://bialkatatrzanska.pl/en/plan-of-the-resort
However the most 'Alpine Like' area is Kasprowy Wierch:
https://www.pkl.pl/kasprowy-wierch/trasy-narciarskie.html
Its all a bit disjointed in reality as there are tons of little slopes, with 1 or 2 lifts and short runs (300m - 2k type length), so it depends whether the two above offer enough or whether you want to move around a bit (there is a free Ski bus, but its easier by car of course).
The main town in the area is Zakopane, which has a ton of hotels, but the closest you'll get to ski in / ski out is Hotel Bania in Bialka:
https://hotelbania.pl/en/
4 days is probably a good length, as there's enough to do in that time. Go with an open mind and don't expect France/Switzerland/Austria etc.
If you are going with kids who have never skiied before consider Nosal, but you'll be bored within minutes as its all 300m - 600m length slopes (the World Cup slope has been out of commission for a few years and no one exactly knows when it will be back in operation)!
That's probably enough to start with, let me know any questions and I'll try to answer (we go there most years, so hopefully I can help)!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks
It's 4/5 men going no kids, 2 have not skied before, we all like a pint as well 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Okay, firstly in Poland it doesn't matter where you go, you'll never be short of a pint, so you're okay there 
But your first decision is whether you'd rather be in town (where as you can imagine, most of the action happens) or by the slopes (as a rough guide, there are some small slopes about 10 mins in a cab from the centre of Zakopane and Bialka is about 20-40 mins depending on traffic).
Krupowki Street is the liveliest bit of Zakopane and is pretty much setup for bar crawls, with a few micro brewery pubs too (and tons of late night places).
If its a mixture of people who have and haven't skiied, then I'd be inclined to suggest you head to Bialka for skiing (there is a magic carpet and a drag lift right at the bottom for beginners / lessons) and a variety of shortish (by Alpine standards) red and blue runs, so thats probably your best bet.
Bialka as a town however is fairly small, there's not really much of a bar scene, so you're limited to either the bars right at the bottom of the slopes and in the hotels, or getting a taxi and exploring the various restaurants nearby.
Bania does have 3 restaurants and a large bar as well as a club downstairs, with a few pool tables etc too, so that might work as a base if you'd prefer to roll out of bed and onto the slopes, then maybe head more centrally for a couple of nights.
In terms of restaurants there's pretty much everything, although my favourite is Stek (in central Zakopane: http://stekzakopane.pl/), which doesn't take bookings, but I think is miles better than anything London has to offer at a much lower price point.
Be warned however that Bania has a bit of a monopoly in Bialka so by Polish standards its pretty pricey, although obviously still cheaper for food and drink than the UK and I think twin rooms are probably about £80 - £150 a night (depending on single / double occupancy, exact dates etc).
Some of the more Central Zakopane hotels, like Aires, Stamary are pretty nice (there's a new Radisson Blu too, although not been there yet), but again expensive for Poland.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks vjmehra, I'm sure I will have more Q's to follow.
I'll share your info with the group.
SkiBumz
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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No probs at all, happy to (try and) help. If you need any more info let me know!
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Hi
Group has pretty much agreed on staying in Zakopane,
so hotel/chalet recommendations please for 5 adults
possibly 2 rooms triple bed, and twin bed.
Thanks
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If you throw in apartments too you have quite a few options if that would work?
What sort of budget?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Apartments will be fine as well.
Budget £100- £150 each per night
Thanks
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Cool, with that budget in Poland you should have plenty of choice, will come up with a few suggestions for you based on where we’ve stayed / been before.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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amendment
£80 p/n max to include breakfast per person
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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That changes things quite a lot as it rules out all the self catering options and maybe the central hotels.
Still doable, but it will be a smaller pool to choose from.
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I agree, but got to go with the lowest price people in group want to pay
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You know it makes sense.
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£80 p/n max to include breakfast per person
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I take it that is per room not per person
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Option 1)
Okay, so the Mercure was (I believe) one of the first hotels built after the fall of communism (or possibly even during)...anyway, its had a bit of a refurb (possibly some of the rooms are still a bit dated), but it does meet your criteria and also is on the side of the Szymoszkowa ski slope (a small 2 charlift + 1 magic carpet mini ski centre, great for teh beginners in your group, http://szymoszkowa.pl/).
It should come in well under budget and has a pool, bar, restaurant etc.
https://www.kasprowy.pl/
Option 2)
Nosalowy Dwor we've stayed in a few times, there are actually 3 options on site, 1 more budget accommodation, 1 apartment style block and 1 more luxurious hotel style block. However you can use the facilities regardless of where you stay, so it sort of doesn't matter (although breakfast will be in different locations depending on which block you stay in).
They have a couple of bars, one with really good views of Nosał mountain and a pool table downstairs too, oh and a swimming pool.
Its opposite the Nosał ski centre (http://nosal.pl/en/), which is okay for anyone that has never skiied before, but pointless if you have as its just a series of short drag lifts and nothing else (lessons are super cheap though, private instructors are something like £15 per hour).
https://www.nosalowy-dwor.eu/
Option 3)
Hotel Aires (https://www.hotelaries.pl/) is one I really like, it has a few bars inside and looks fairly plush, it has a pool too and is more central than the others I've mentioned, just a couple of roads away from the main Krupowki street.
Unlike the 2 above, its not next to a ski centre, but frankly I'd imagine you'd want to get cabs to better skiing options anyway, so thats probably not an issue.
Option 4)
Grand Hotel Stamary (https://stamary.pl/) has a really nice restaurant with decent wine (a bit of a rarity in Poland, although any hotel has drinkable stuff...just don't bother with off licences...for beer or vodka you're good anywhere)!
It has a pool and a pool table too and is a bit more oldy worldy looking than the others, a fractionally longer walk than Aires to the main street, but reasonably located for staying central and heading into town without having to worry about getting cabs everywhere (other than for skiing).
Option 5)
The Radisson Blu (https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-zakopane?cid=a%3Ase%20b%3Agmb%20c%3Aemea%20i%3Alocal%20e%3Ardb%20d%3Acese%20h%3AKRKZR&checkInDate=2019-10-23&checkOutDate=2019-10-24&adults%5B%5D=1&children%5B%5D=0&searchType=lowest&promotionCode=) is new and I haven't actually been there yet, but I thought I'd throw it in as they are normally decent and given its new, it should hopefully be good!
As with options 3 & 4 its about a 10-15 minute walk to the main street (plenty of bars en-route) and has a pool etc.
All the above have boot rooms and so on (may not have waxing rooms though if you need that).
From what I see £80 per person, per night is actually a healthy budget, so you should be fine, the Radisson is pretty much bang on and the rest should come in under budget, depending on when you go (as you'd expect Christmas and half term will be tricky and Easter is too late this year to worry about for skiing in Poland)!
Hopefully that starts you off!
Oh and how are you getting there from the airport?
As a rough guide we normally get a taxi from Krakow airport, which costs approx 400zl (although that's with a native speaker, you might find you get charged a bit of tourist tax on top) and takes approx 90-100 mins (the roads are improving which is good and bad, as it might mean its a bit quicker...but if there's roadworks, it could be longer).
Don't be tempted to get the train from Krakow, whatever you do, although it seems counter intuitive, the bus is actually quicker (the train can take around 4 hours, which is completely insane).
If you do go by public transport, then you'll need to get the fast train from inside the airport directly to Krakow Główny, then head out to the bus station (its joined to the train station luckily) and there are a ton of buses to Zakopane (I can't remember the cost though, haven't done that in a while).
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thank you so much for this information, I'll digest & share with group.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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can you recommend a hire shop in Zakopane ?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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They have a large Inter sport, but we normally just hire with whoever the hotel has a discounted offer with in all honesty.
The first two hotels have hire shops virtually next door (actually I think it’s literally inside the hotel for the first one).
For the latter 3, your choice is the large Inter Sport in the centre, a few of the smaller shops in the centre or somewhere near the pistes.
If you go to Bialka then we generally hire from Walus Ski: https://www.walus.com.pl/sport/wypozyczalnia_nart/Cennik
Be warned though, although hire prices are dirt cheap, the shops near the pistes can get super busy as they aren’t that big and the stock won’t be as modern or varied as you might be used to in France etc.
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