Hotel Wawel

Sitting on the edge of splurge-worthy EuroCheapo territory, the three-star Hotel Wawel is a cut above most Krakow accommodations: Amenities, location and ambiance all put it ahead of the pack.

The hotel’s 38 rooms are decorated in a genuinely elegant key, full of rusts and browns. Ceiling lights and flat-panel televisions add a dimension of cool. A majority of rooms have air conditioning and all rooms have minibars, safes and free Wi-Fi.

Bathrooms are also quite nice. Earth-tone tiling, mirrored inset shelving, bathtubs and attractive detail work all make bathrooms so pleasant you could be forgiven for entertaining the prospect of spending some serious time in them.

In addition to the refined style of the reception and the recently renovated rooms, there are lots of kitsch touches at Hotel Wawel. To wit: the theatrical smoke emanating from a fountain in the hotel's rear courtyard. Backlit with alternating bright colors, it's the sort of design detail that wouldn't be out of place at a 1986 Poison concert.

And unlike some of our other favorite hotels in Krakow, Hotel Wawel is a hotel whose grandeur is current, not faded. This fact is all the more impressive given that the property Hotel Wawel inhabits has served as a hotel since the early 19th century.

Breakfast is included.