Sand Hotel Spa

There are a lot of pros and cons to this place. Let’s start with the positives: staff - a huge advantage of this hotel is its employees - from the ladies at the reception (Edyta from the reception was exceptional, she helped us so much!) through the restaurant staff to cleaning crew - very polite, helpful and attending. Rooms are very comfortable - we were lucky to get a larger one. Location - for those who like a lively, buzzing area around the pier, but want to escape into a quiet room afterwards - this hotel is perfect. Food - one day it was great, resulting in our whole family literally ‚rolling out’ of the restaurant as we were so full of yummy local specialities, another - we had to go and get fish and chips which was absolutely ok as there are plenty of restaurants nearby. There is a cute cafe next door as well, called Nostalgia, awesome place where you can enjoy coffee, beer, wine, spirits and magnificent desserts. You must spend an afternoon there - whether you are a people-watcher or a hide-away book reader. Oh and one more thing - to add items to your room you need to open a ‘hotel credit’ where you pay some cash in advance and use it throughout your stay rather then sign for items and pay the total owed at check out. I’m very neutral and indifferent about this - clearly the hotel management had their reasons to change the rules. Overall, I would definitely come back to Sand and highly recommend this place for a tech-free holiday, in a charming Polish coastal town, but I would email the hotel with any specific requests and requirements before confirming my stay.

As for the negatives: hotel pictures available through booking.com need updating with a little more instructions and information to avoid any stress or confusion at check in. More information should be added about the particular rooms, for example: a note saying which types of rooms have stairs as there are not enough incline from the photos (Superior Apartment is apparently available with both however the option on booking doesn’t state it). Wifi is appalling - there are two options - free 2mb and 5mb that costs about 10zl per day. It is understandable that the hotel might not prioritise this over other features because not everybody desperately needs it if you have charismatic Baltic sea, sandy beach and other attractions around the corner. This place is mainly occupied by older couples who rightfully prefer strolling along the beach, and couples with 2+ kids, who did not look like they had plenty of time to 'surf the net’ anyway. However if you, who is reading this review, are someone who likes a little bit of browsing or online activity during your holiday, you may find the wifi here frustrating - it is slow, drops off very often, and is not always available (!) - data roaming and ‚Gs’ will have to come to your rescue. There are other little things that could be improved such as pillows' quality - old, hard and uncomfortable will encourage you to book a back, neck and shoulder massage at the local spa during your stay (ka-ching!).