August 15, 2015

Luxurious summer break in Warsaw


My wife and I had originally planned to visit Budapest, Hungary this summer in order to be sure to get some sunny and hot weather. We were looking for great SPA hotels and Budapest is famous for their many SPAs and hot springs. However to my big surprise, my search led me to the luxurious and beautiful Doubletree by Hilton in Warsaw, Poland.
The hotel was perfect...situated in tranquil suburbs of Warsaw, this hotel had it all:
  • Spacious and elegantly decorated rooms
  • Amazing SPA and pool area
  • Great restaurant and Executive Lounge
  • Unbelievably value for money
With the right hotel selected, it suddenly was less important if the weather was 30 degrees celsius or if the city of Warsaw was big enough to spend 12 days in without being exhausted of sites. We had found our base.


We arrived in Warsaw Modlin airport around 10pm so the family were eager to get to the hotel as fast as possible. We had rented a car online, and it was ready for pickup at our arrival. A short 2 min was spent signing a few forms before we were on our way past downtown Warsaw to the southern suburbs. With a little help from our GPS we spotted the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel after a short 35 minute drive on the east side of the Vistula river. We loaded off our suitcase in front of the hotel, and I parked the car in the adjacent parking lot. The hotel has both indoor parking (for a cost) and a complimentary parking lot next to the hotel with plenty of spaces. Throughout our visit we parked in the outdoor lot and there were plenty of luxury cars and no issues, so no reason to spend extra cash to park in their garage.


Passing through the revolving door to the grand reception, we could see the online hotel pictures were not exaggerated. We were welcomed by the friendly staff at check in, and given a freshly baked signature cookie each. A clever gesture that really makes you feel like coming home and at the same the perfect late night snack. We checked in and received our key cards to our King Executive Room on the 3rd floor. We stood outside our door and were excited to see if the room was as spacious and as beautiful as the pictures from the hotel website. When we stepped in we were not disappointed, the room was not only spacious, it was huge. The decor was tasteful, the King-size bed was big enough for three, and the bathroom had a separate bath and shower. All of the furniture was tastefully colormatched with the carpet and drapes, and the room was so clean you had the impression you were the first guests to stay in the room. It didn’t take long before we got in bed and fell asleep to the sound of 40” flat screen mounted in the center of the room. Fortunately it was easy to find out how to switch the polish voiceover off, so the English speaking programs made us even more tired and finally lulled us to sleep.




Next morning we were surprised to see we had slept until 9.30. This is pretty late for us as our daughter is normally an early riser, but in this case it must have been the late bedtime combined with the comfortable bed. We hurried out of bed in order to have breakfast in the Executive Lounge which is available until 10.00am. The executive lounge serves continental breakfast and refreshments

throughout the day so is well worth the upgrade if you are looking for to spend a lot of time on the hotel grounds. The staff are very attentive and ask you if would like some breakfast made to order, for example our daughter loved the waffles with fresh fruit. I was impressed with their scrambled eggs which is hard to serve right in a buffet...not too watery, not too overcooked, just creamy and tasteful. If you are more to the healthy options there is also bountiful choice of muesli, yogurts, fruit and bread. If there is anything that can be improved I would suggest to make their bacon more crispy. Personally I am not a fan of soft bacon, but I guess that is up to the each individual. Besides providing a breakfast for champions the executive lounge is just a nice place to hang out, with access to a large terrace. We often spent some time on the terrace, playing cards while have a drink and snacks. There isn’t a selection of food for lunch, only some cakes and fruits, however the evenings you’ll find some hot dishes, typically either beef and fish, or chicken and fish. We really enjoyed the lounge and it served all our needs from early morning espresso to late night dessert. Oh and I almost forgot, it does also have a business station with both PC and MAC where we were able to print our boarding card prior to our checkout.







After our breakfast we decided to check out the pool and SPA area so we packed our swimwear and went looking for the pool. The SPA has it’s own lounge area and an exclusive entrance on the 1st floor. They offer a wide variety of seasonal and relaxing treatments.

The entrance to the pool and gym are located on the ground floor. The entrance to the pool and gym is serviced by a receptionist who hands out a locker room key and towels. The changing rooms are just as beautiful and clean as the hotel rooms. Nice touch with individual shower cabins for those who appreciate their privacy. The pool area consists of a baby pool, large main pool and jacuzzi hot pool in a separate dark room. There are 2 saunas, 2 steam rooms (aromatherapy), as well cold showers, crushed ice sink, and a overhanging bucket that fills with cold water which was our daughter’s favorite. Perfect for trying out her own “ALS Ice Bucket” challenge. 












The pools have direct access to the terrace and garden area where there are plenty of sunbeds, perfect for those hot summer days. They also offer refreshments from the hotel bar, and let me tell you that a Strawberry Daiquiri has rarely tasted as good. It was served in a proper margarita cocktail glass with sugarcoated rim. Our daughter enjoyed a virgin cocktail, strawberry milkshake. Yummy!



We spent many days just hanging out by the pool, swimming and relaxing. It was perfect for our need, so when we needed a scenery change we took our rental car into downtown Warsaw and went for a walk. The whole town was more or less demolished during 2nd World War, making it an interesting mix of modern high-rise buildings and old town charm. The town has plenty to see for tourists and kids a like. Below is list of recommended things to do or see:


1. Museum of the Polish Army (www.muzeumwp.pl)



Next to the “National Museum in Warsaw” you’ll find the Museum of the Polish Army. Indoor you’ll find a collection that illustrates a thousand years of Polish military history - from the 10th century to the Second World War. But the real treasure for kids and war history fans is the outdoor collection  of planes, tanks, cannons, vehicles. Here you can get up close to the vehicles and even get inside some of them. The outdoor collection is free of charge when accessing from the street - just remember the Museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  

2. Copernicus Science Center (www.kopernik.org.pl)

This is an interactive museum with 450 exhibits that enable visitors to carry out experiments and discover the laws of science whether you are interested in chemistry, biology or robotics. If science of this world is not enough they even have a planetarium for those interested in the solar system. This museum is great for small kids and teens as well. Just be sure to plan enough time to see it all.

3. Warsaw Uprising Museum (www.1944.pl)

This museum displays the history of the Uprising, and the history and possessions of the Polish Underground Movement. It collects and maintains hundreds of artifacts, ranging from weapons used by the insurgents to love letters, in order to present a full picture of the people involved. An interesting  museum which can also be visited with children. 

4. PM Shooter Indoor Gun Range (www.pmshooter.pl)

One of the great things of travelling is experiencing things you can’t try at home. In this case a gun range with a wide variety of weapons to try in a professional and safe environment. I tried something like this during a trip to Budapest, but my wife had never tried shooting any type of firearm so this looked like the perfect opportunity. We just went to the shop and were advised they could take her in 30 min. In the meantime we were handed a menu card filled with weapons and prices. Try your fun with anything from pistols, revolvers, submachine guns, assault rifles to shotguns. You just pay for the gun range and the bullets so in theory you pick and choose whatever you’d like to try, which makes it a cool concept. We chose the preselected package of weapons below for my wife so she could try a bit of everything. However not really being a gun enthusiast she let me take over when it was time for the AK47 assault rifle. Even though this is good fun it admittedly is not for young kids. You do get proper safety instructions and guidance throughout the shooting so we didn’t feel anxious at any time.
I can really recommend this place as they are very professional and friendly (and good at English).

Tip: Book a time in advance so you don’t go only to find out it is fully booked.  


Weapons Package 1

10 shots - CZ 75 kadet pistol
15 shots - Glock 17 pistol
10 shots - AK 47 assault rifle
5 shots - XDM 0.45 ACP pistol
5 shots - shotgun 

Cost per person: 135 pln