Job Discussion Forums

[Richfilth]

If the office cleaning lady, the postman and the vodka-swigging bums who "redecorated" my apartment can afford to spend a week on the Polish Riviera, either a) they're taking more under-the-table payments than Andrzej Leper or b) those hotel prices are far far faaar wide of the mark.

[sharter]

Naah...not out of line at all.

I have stayed in hotels in Poland regularly over the past 14 years and was stunned the last time I went there in May.

There are deals to be had but often they're way out of town or of shockingly poor quality...ie no hot water etc.

The Merkure in Poznan went from 130 Zl/ night in 2006 to 150 Euros a night in 2008 and that's the cheapest room you'll get there.

My ex-wife and son go to the seaside every year and stay at a friend's place.

Poles have networks that are unavailable to Jonny Foreigner. It's not only that though; hotel room prices are often dictated by sales targets that the receptionists are on and who better to fleece than a Brit, Dane or German. Poles would simply not pay a high price and that's why any budget stuff gets snapped up.

[dynow]

850..........madness.

the best room in the Radisson in Wroclaw (excluding the exec. suite which is about 90 sq. meters), 5 star, costs about 450 zl. per night. I've seen the room personally, spent time in them, they're great.

the hotel I have booked for Swinoujscie, September, is 200 zl. per night, including free breakfast. i've seen photos of the place, it looks perfectly fine.

850 zl., which is about $415 US, gets you a beautiful hotel room in Manhattan.

[Harry from NWE]

Now I've actually been there I can assure you that the Hotel Neptun (the one which is 850zl per night) is probably the biggest rip off in Poland. The room was OK but could have been cleaner (yes it is by the beach but that doesn't mean there should be sandy footprints on the carpet of your room when you arrive) and there wasn't even any mineral water in the room, let alone tea/coffee making facilities. The food was a disgrace and the service was simply shocking (my friend waited ten minutes in the restaurant before asking at the bar for a menu and then waited 30 minutes more before anybody came to take her order). The total for the room, two starters and two desserts, a bottle of wine, two coffees, three drinks and breakfast came to slightly over 1,100zl. If it had cost half that, it still would have been a rip-off.

On the plus side, the best hotel in the next resort down from Leba was less than half the price of the Neptun and more than twice as good.

[sharter]

It's modern Poland...I've been moaning about it for ages.

Pub grub at restaurant prices, fatcat hotels with prices that in no way reflect the service, clothes that cost loads but lose their colour after 3 washes, 300Zl shoes that fall to pieces, a currency that in no way reflects international purchasing power parity, no reciprocal medical sevices for Jonny Foreigner blash blah blah, .......

Once again, all boils down to cheap beer and cheaper women....oh and the fact that you can get a job there with no experience and little or no education. If the above weren't true none of the guys I know would still be there.

[misskaty]

I went to Jaroslawiec with my school. It was ok. Decent beach, a few bars. Not a great deal to do.

[misteradventure]

I got a room in Poznan 6 months ago for under 200zl/night on the advice from chap at the the train station. You folks are wealthy beyond belief.

[sharter]

Hotelik has a 3 bed apartment on the top floor for about 160Zl a night and if you take a right ,(you have to), on the road that leaves the train station and then take the first right again, (it isn't a real road, it goes down to a carpark next to the train tracks), there's what I can only describe as a prefab building that does a room for 120/ night. I stayed there last year for a couple of days. Hotel Wilda is also cheap, but out of the way. Then you've got the hostels, which are ok for a wekend, but not for 2or 3 weeks.

BTW 200Zl is near enough $100.

Any half decent place starts at 70 Euros a night..pretty much.

Eating in restaurants is what does the dosh though, especially if you drink shorts, (that aren't vodka) and are paying for a girlfriend etc.

The BA flight from Gatwick to Poznan has gone up from 45 quid to 75 quid each way in just 3 months.

Poland aint cheap now.

[ratsareeatingmybrain]

I was in Krakow (and elsewhere) after a year's break this summer and it was obvious prices have risen somewhat. But I don't understand the constant need to generalise Poznan's exorbitant prices into Poland as a whole. If Biff wants to come on and denounce 'cheapskates' again, then fair enough, but essentially there are decent prices for those for who are willing to look around, like proper services and standards but don't want to live in luxury.

Sharter, yes shorts are expensive, wine too if you drink it out and about. So drink sumat else, fit in with your surroundings and use the benefits don't just moan about the drawbacks. There's at least as many of the former as there are of the latter. You had a bad shoe experience. Go back to the shop with your receipt and exchange them! If you don't like fat cat hotels, don't stay in them! Cheap women.. please.

Poland is getting more expensive, yes. Deal with it. But, if you don't stay in bloody Poznan, there's no need to get ripped off.

[sharter]

I've been to and fro to Poznan since 95. I've lived in several cities in Poland over the years...been married to a Pole and have a Polish son, who lives in Poznan and that's why I go there.

Biff (aka me), moans about cheapskates (mainly expat efl teachers) ,yes. I also moan about paying lots for very little. I'm not all rosy eyed when talking about Poland and I do think the drawbacks no longer outweigh the gains.

You can find mountains and forests in lots of places.

Fact is, going out in Poland is now expensive and salaries for most efl teachers are poor. I don't think I ever met a bloke there who wasn't there for the wine and women. That's it really.