Grand Hotel Starý Smokovec

I do not recommend this hotel in principle due to the fact that our locked room was robbed during our stay in the hotel wellness. We lost a significant amount of cash, which the hotel staff downplayed. The hotel manager burst into tears after the police arrived and we insisted on resolving the situation, and the hotel director indirectly accused us in the morning that we had made it all up. I point out the fact that a criminal complaint was filed on our part, so it is not just about some feelings and impressions, in order to avoid accusations and comments from the director Fujka, who commented on a similar post 3 months ago to a gentleman from Poland, that nothing like that happened in his hotel and that the gentleman had made it up. If you don't want to spend the night, specifically at 02:30, with a police investigator inspecting the crime scene, who is securing clues in your hotel room, and then spend the morning at the High Tatras Police Department, don't choose this hotel! When we solved the situation, we found out that this is not an isolated case and the Police have solved thefts in this hotel several times. However, if you ask the director Mr. Fujka about it, he will answer that "the police go there for coffee." If you value your belongings and want to enjoy your HONESTLY earned money, avoid this hotel!

There were bed bugs present in my room, got a room exchange, however, till the end of my stay could not stop thinking of that, also extremely afraid of transferring them into my house, an absolute extreme is that no compensation nor apology from hotel management offered Izba bola zamorena plosticami, dostal som inu izbu, do konca pobytu som vsak na to nebol schopny prestat mysliet, extremne sa obavam, aby som si plostice nepreniesol do svojho pribytku, za najvacsi extrem povazujem, ze zo strany hoteloveho manazmentu nebolo ponuknute ospravedlnenie alebo kompenzacia

The Grandhotel is lovely, especially if you enjoy historic hotels in their more-or-less original style. Our room with balcony was very comfortable with a good bed, ample space and nice bathroom. The star of the hotel is the newly opened wellness centre, with a beautiful pool, jacuzzi style hottub and saunas. There's no gym, but then there are the ski slopes and places to hike. The ski slope with ground cable car is right behind the hotel. The train station for the Tatras electric train - that takes you to the other settlements - is a short walk away (and highly recommended). Good restaurants abound in Stary Smokovec and there are historic places to see all through town. The Grandhotel is on lovely grounds. We were at the hotel at the half-board rate, meaning we had buffet breakfast and dinner included. This is a good choice -- and excellent deal -- if you don't want to spend time and effort looking for a dinner restaurant. Breakfast was excellent. Dinner consisted of good (not excellent) basics, typically with chicken, fish, beef and pork selections each night, with central European flavours, and less-than-stellar desserts, given what's available in Slovakia and surrounding countries. Restaurant staff were pleasant and polite and most spoke at least some English. This couldn't be said of the front desk staff, who were disinterested and unhelpful, as if we were bothering them. Our door card kept failing (as did our neighbour's) and although staff made attempts to fix it, they showed no concern and just shrugged. Oh well....One person provided incorrect information about taxis - this is surprising, in a 4-star hotel! If you enjoy staying at historic places and don't mind the little aggravations, as well as some dimly-lit areas, and furniture and carpets that are shabby and worn, this is a wonderful hotel in a perfect location. If you like your hotel to be modern and immaculate, with friendly, informed staff ready to please, the Grandhotel Stary Smokovec may not be the place for you.