Carlsbad Plaza Medical Spa & Wellness Hotel — Hotel in okres Karlovy Vary

Big variations in the quality of service and knowledge across the staff in just a one night stay since all the facilities are distinct businesses (hotel, spa and wellness, and the restaurant). For such a high-end presenting hotel, I was really dissatisfied and disappointed by the hotel service in particular, with hardly any staff being able to communicate in English and not able to accommodate basic requests, and responding very rudely.

Upon check-in, we provided our information, passports which were scanned, and paid our bill. We were told we could request complementary new robes and slippers anytime at the front desk so we went to the front desk to ask for them after dinner around 9-9:30pm (because the dinner service took a very long time, almost an hour for our main dish!). We were startled and disappointed by the incredibly rude response we got from the evening desk staff, who was running the front desk. From the moment we went up to the desk, he was rude to us. We asked if we could get new robes and slippers since ours were wet from the spa and wellness center visit that afternoon. He refused to accommodate our request in an aggressive way with no explanation other than that our room was receiving service now and that we could request them in the morning. We explained that we were to check out in the morning so we were hoping to have them that night and we’re already in our room since we received turndown service in our room without these commentary amenities. He then accused us of not providing our passport information upon check-in and demanded we provide them right away. We explained that we did and that’s not our error, but he said it did not matter. We had to go back to our rooms to get them (having to take multiple lifts there and back) and even after that, he only said that maybe his colleague forgot to save the information, no apology and still aggressive. He made us feel uncomfortable and unsafe. And said that room service would bring both slippers and robes. We the only received slippers, which were slow to arrive. On top of that, the woman that provided them to our door didn’t speak English so I couldn’t communicate that we also asked for robes, which she didn’t bring. We never received the robes and explained the whole situation at the front desk upon checkout the next morning. We had much better service then, but only received an apology and no concrete offer to make up for the multi-layered poor service such as a discount or refund for some services. And received a similar, but more thorough and thoughtful explanation from the manager, who came up to us as we waited for a taxi. He explained that there was probably a language barrier and that requesting slippers and robes is difficult after 10pm because of rotation of cleaning and service. I said that’d be fine if that had been communicated to us, but it wasn’t. And all of this doesn’t excuse the startling rudeness. As he even noted himself, an apology after the fact doesn’t really help and we weren’t offered anything else.

And other additional issues included that the spa facilities weren’t able to accommodate our request in advance to have massages at the same time and informed us upon arrival so we had to reorganize our schedule on the spot. And at breakfast, I was rudely addressed to not wear the hotel provided slippers, which I barely had the opportunity to wear because they were provided to us so late. This person also didn’t really speak English, which made it difficult and uncomfortable to communicate.

Unless you speak Czech, Russian, or German and don’t mind rude and slow service, do not recommend and strongly advise you to stay at a more internationally friendly hotel. Not worth the...

Overall a nice experience and a relaxing long weekend. Luxurious and clean, with friendly staff throughout (often not the case in CZ), which makes a huge difference :-)

A few things were disappointing and I will write them below as constructive criticism that I hope might be listened to by the hotel.

Spa: Lady already opening sauna doors at 2045 (closes at 9), which just makes you feel rushed and uncomfortable. Reception told us they might do that because it's nearly closing time. Not good enough!

The '5 pools' advertised claim is a bit cheeky, because there is only 1 pool but various small things eg. Foot massage stone bath, jacuzzi.

The jacuzzi is on for 15 minutes and then off for 10 minutes. No button to turn it back on. Just leave it on!

There was a fun water jet in the pool but was never switched on. Just leave it on!

Stillhof (quiet room): Very loud. Doors propped open.

There is no very cold 'plunge pool' for after the sauna. There is also no very warm bath (the one with the lion statue and warm mineral water is nice but could be much hotter like I've seen in other spas).

By opening time in the morning the pools were still quite cold, and saunas still warming up.

Some of the hourglass sauna timers are not working.

Would be nice to have a clock in the changing rooms.

Room: Door is slightly broken and could be pushed open a little bit. Did not feel so secure.

Room was 25° and as far as I could tell, the temperature not adjustable.

Nice daily gestures where some small chocolates or water appears in the room - but this is done even when the Do Not Disturb button is activated...

Light switches were a bit confusing. Had to go to the switches at the main door for some lights.

Electrical sockets by the bed were convenient but very loose. Two of my plugs were falling out of the socket.

Hairdryer not very strong.

Breakfast: We were asked to leave breakfast at 10:30 (ending time). Most hotels begin clearing away the buffet at this time and allow guests to stay as long as they want, to drink their coffee etc. (great coffee by the way). Would not expect this behaviour at such a hotel. The remaining dirty tables can be cleaned later! I read the hotel's responses to similar Google reviews about the same behaviour at the evening restaurant on the ground floor - answer was 'closing time is clearly stated'. This is unacceptable for a 5* hotel (but unfortunately very Czech).

Slightly strange layout of buffet - nuts, fruits, porridge, jam in confusing places. Meats next to fruit etc.

Gluten free options: not nice bread. Allergy info: not displayed directly on tickets next to the food - would be nice to have this.

Parking for 600kc per night and pets for 1500kc per night is...

We started our stay at the Carlsbad Plaza the day the hotel reopened following and 18-month closure on the back of Covid-19 and I was wary of how rusty things would be. There was no need for the wariness though; the hotel was spotless and service was immaculate, from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. Everyone did their best to make us feel relaxed the entire time.

We had researched the hotels in Karlovy Vary extensively and ultimately landed on the Carlsbad Plaza because most of the other 5* hotels had reviews criticizing the apparent lucky dip when it comes to room allocation, particularly in hotels that have a modern section and original section. From what we saw during our stay, the Carlsbad Plaza doesn't struggle in this regard, with the rooms in the modern section meeting the same standards as those in the original section of the building (and other reviews seem to back that up).

Our own room was in the original section and was very comfortable and generous in size. Some upholstery did feel a little dated (not worn or low quality) but I guess was in-keeping era of the hotel. The bathrooms could do with a revamp to really elevate the experience but they were perfectly adequate.

At around 660kr per person (it memory serves me right), the buffet breakfast was overpriced and mediocre. Bottles of prosecco and a chef ready to cook fresh eggs were it's saving grace, but I found you could get much better options and value for money in one of the many restaurants just a stone's throw away from the hotel's entrance.

We visited the spa twice and on both occasions found it quiet. However, with the number of jacuzzis, steam rooms and saunas, you'll likely easily find your own quiet area even on the busiest days. On the second visit we arrived early in the morning and found most of the rooms were quite cool, so my advice to management would be to switch on everything a little earlier, ahead of the spa opening...