My friends and I just visited Zakopane midweek, in the off season, so we had the chance to actually look at a range of options and locations before we choose our lodging. We picked the Carlton. I would give it three stars and a halo although it is only listed as two stars. It was built in 1927 with attention to detail, high ceilings, good light, and understated elegance.
If you prefer wall to wall carpet and soap in a plastic wall dispenser, this is not the place for you. If you are loud and noisy, this is not the place for you. If you can smile at quirky things that have found a long term home here and appreciate the care that has gone into creating and maintaining a light, cozy, family business, you have found your home base in Zakopane. It is located on a side street, a five minute walk from the main shopping/eating street, breakfast is included, coffee and tea are always available, there is a sitting room (with fireplace, piano and plants) and a conversation space on each floor. There seems to be a wide variety of room configurations, many with a smaller, European scale, room size. All of the public areas are spacious and everything was very clean and well maintained.
This is my first ever review which I feel compelled to write since I said at least three time “I love this place!”. We struggled to describe the Carlton and finally settled on “Old World charm”, a little trite but true.
