Hotel Perla in Krakow

I travel a lot, but this was probably my worst hotel experience in the past 5–10 years. It started with parking—when booking, it was advertised as free with no reservation needed. Upon arrival, the parking was full, forcing us to spend 10–15 minutes searching for a spot nearby.

Check-in was a disaster. The receptionist seemed confused about our reservation, making us wait while he ran back and forth between rooms. At one point, I genuinely thought we might have to sleep in our car. After a long delay, we were finally given a room key—only to be met with an absolute mess.

The room was tiny, with furniture randomly placed—the wardrobe blocked the entrance, a misplaced lamp stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, and the beds (which were supposed to be a double) were two singles, badly positioned. A wooden panel on the wall was broken, and the dust everywhere made it clear the room hadn’t been properly cleaned. After laughing in disbelief at this disaster, I returned to the receptionist with photos. To his credit, he at least attempted to communicate in English.

We were given a second room, but it wasn’t much better. The door handle was broken, the window didn’t close properly (leading to a sleepless, cold night) and we could hear every noise from the road outside. The only decent part was the bathroom—though even showering was a challenge since adjusting the water temperature took over 10 minutes.

Breakfast was another disappointment. It was labeled as "perfect breakfast" when booking, yet we found cold eggs and sausages, tasteless pancakes, and cakes surrounded by flies. The only passable thing was the coffee.

Considering we paid the same price as for hotels in the old town—and even more than a two-bedroom flat in Slovakia—this was beyond unacceptable. I have no idea how this hotel is rated over 8 on booking.com or how it even qualifies as a 3-star hotel.

Mistakes happen—overbookings, mix-ups, etc.—but the way the staff handled it was terrible. Instead of transparently informing us, they ran around pretending they didn’t know what was happening. Unprofessional and unacceptable.

If you have the option, avoid this hotel. If you must stay here, I truly hope your experience is better than ours.