An exquisite 26-room luxury boutique hotel in Art Deco style, Balthazar Design Hotel (Balthazar Design Hotel) has a perfect location in Kraków’s superbly-preserved Old Town: a five-minute walk from Wawel Castle, the hilltop castle where Poland’s kings were crowned for centuries, and a seven-minute walk to the main market square, two major attractions in Poland’s second-biggest city.
The pint-sized lobby features beautiful bird, flower, and tree wall and ceiling murals by a local artist, a marble floor in a geometric black-and-white pattern, a lime-green velvet sofa, and books on art, design, food, and drink on metal shelves. It only hints at the delights to come. Rich, saturated colors adorn guest rooms, in a palette of royal blue, mint green, or gold—a welcome contrast to the white-on-white or neutrals I deplore in many hotels.
My room featured royal blue walls and bed coverings, a paisley rust-and-pale blue upholstered headboard, a light-blue velvet sofa, a round table with pale green velvet chairs, a sleek black-manteled gas fireplace topped by a whimsical sculpture of a striped, and a desk next to books on design and food.
A welcome drink of Amaretto with Italian almond biscotti greeted me, placed on the glass coffee table by my sofa. A legend appeared on that coffee table each night: one told the story of a clever man named Krak, who killed a dragon that terrorized locals, who lived in the cave below Wawel, the origin story of the city’s name. The minibar was stocked with Italian red and white wines, French Champagne, Polish vodka, coconut liqueur, beer, fruit juices, nuts, and chocolate, for an extra fee.
The hotel’s award-winning Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, Fiorentina, serves modern European cuisine in an exposed-brick vaulted-ceiling room with a garden. Breakfast offers a choice of pancakes with berries and pine nuts, sausages, eggs Benedict with salmon or bacon, and scrambled eggs, plus breads and pastries, for an extra fee. Dinner (and lunch on weekends) features Steak Florentine (dry-aged for 30 days), duck in smoked plum sauce, wood-fired Dover sole and pasta with zucchini, hazelnuts and black truffles. Tasting menus are available. The list of European wines, whisky, gin, and vodka is extensive.
Oh, and the service was stellar. When my phone charger didn’t work, the staff bought me an adapter. For a beautiful gem of a hotel in a fantastic location with outstanding service, at moderate prices, in Krakow, you can’t do better than Balthazar Design Hotel.
Top Takeaways
Location: Kraków, Poland
Rating: Five-Star.
The vibe: A beautiful, glamorous, and cozy hotel in one of Europe’s best-preserved Old Towns.
Our favorite thing about the hotel: The beauty, elegance, color, location, service, price—impossible to pick one.
Food + Drink: From a generous breakfast to gourmet lunch and dinner, Fiorentina
Amenities: Restaurant, bar, 24-front desk, spa, in-room coffeemaker/teapot, free WiFi, heated bathroom floors, smoke-free, extra-long beds, laundry service, airport transfers (for an extra fee).
What’s nearby? Wawel Castle, the main market square (Rynek Glowny), shops, and restaurants on the hotel’s street.
Any personal neighborhood recommendations? For opulent rooms, art, and a fire-belching dragon statue outside, walk uphill to Wawel Castle. On Rynek Glowny, a huge 13th-century square lined with pastel-colored buildings, Szara Ges restaurant serves gourmet Polish food, while a fascinating underground archeology and history museum, Rynek Underground, lies beneath the square. Poland’s most valuable art collection, which includes a da Vinci, is in the Czartoryski Museum, next to Florian Gate, just inside the city walls.
Rooms: 26 rooms, including one two-bathroom suite.
Pricing: Rates start at $185 per night.
Closest airport: Kraków John Paul II International Airport
