After having booked the Romance package at Chateau Zabreh we started to have doubts - why were we going to Ostrava? Will it be as nice as it looks? Is the beer bath just a gimmick? Was it worth the price?

While we can't say much about Ostrava (the Chateau is out of the central area which we never got to - it's in the south-west of the city) our stay at Zamek Zabreh was wonderful. Our room - Renaissance - was beautiful - with high wood beamed ceilings, one of the nicest wood-ceiling beds we've ever enjoyed, wonderful antique furniture, and nice paintings. The entire building was filled with period furniture - extremely well presented. The bathroom was large and bright, with a very large comfortable tub. The only thing missing was a nice view - the windows were large but overlooked what appeared to be a school playground - nothing bad but nothing memorable. In room Internet service was reliable and free parking is available on site.

We booked the Romance package, including a three-course beer or wine themed dinner and a beer or wine bath with massage. For 5,100 Czech Krowns this turned out to be a fantastic package/deal. The dinner was wonderful, duck as an appetizer and pheasant for my main course and a great fresh pasta dish for my wife (a vegetarian), each course accompanied by either beer or wine.

After a nice breakfast the next morning we enjoyed our beer bath (the whole bath is not entirely beer; a few pitchers are added to the water). How cool to be sitting in a bath with a beer tap right by your side - followed by our massages. Perfect.

Brewing was first recorded here in 1574. The Chateau is now the home of the PIKARD microbrewery. In addition to the restaurant, located in the vaults of the oldest part of the chateau, there is a cozy brewpub, and a large outdoor area, where one can enjoy traditional beer brewed on site.

Service was top notch, both at dinner and throughout the reservation process and at reception (thank you so much Zaneta).

If you find yourself in the Ostrava area, particularly on the weekend when you can take advantage of the Romance package and want to treat yourself a bit do yourself a favour and book into Zamek-Zabreh. We are very glad we did.