Hotel Kristály Ajka — Hotel in Ajkai járás

Doesn't quite reflect how it looks online and it could do with some improvements.

My feeling is: the hotel profits mainly from the conferences it holds. It does not focus on providing a great experience for the "general" guests.

My partner and I booked through a common booking platform - upon arrival we checked in and the receptionist was friendly, speaking to us in Hungarian/English. They gave us the last available wellness card (seems strange they ran out, they should have more).

When we got to the room, we realized it was not the type we had booked online (double vs twin). We went back to explain and the receptionist tried to convince us it was our fault and that we need to call up/explain what type of room we want in the notes of the booking. In some cases this may be true, but we double checked the room included a double bed and the name of the booking was "double". She could only offer to push the beds together.

We took some time to consider our options and when we went back, the manager had returned from their break. She was friendly and understood the situation. She bumped us up a room into a junior suite - apparently at the expense of someone arriving tomorrow...

Regardless - the wellness area was small, with only one pool. The cold dip and the jacuzzi were not working. You have to request to turn on the sauna, which takes 30-60 minutes. The manager came to do it, and actually forgot to press a button. So in the end, it took a lot longer. They seem to have a good selection (infra, finnish, steam, salt room) but only some work.

The restaurant offered a good selection and the staff were friendly. It's very nice to sit on the terrace.

The area is quiet, and we weren't able to find anything like basketball, tennis courts. You can get to Lake Balaton in 30-40 minutes though.

The bar downstairs is pretty standard, but the bowling was a lot of fun. It works out about 8 euros per hour for a lane (there are four lanes).

The breakfast was avergae/below average and the staff didn't seem that interested in providing a good service, leaving food on the floor and not clearing tables away.

Overall, it was a mixed experience. Some nice moments (upgrade, restaurant) but a lot still left...

The hotel has been recently renovated. Service was in general kind - but far from professional. Beds are very good. In our room, water was stinky (possibly due to the pause during the pandemic). There was no blind curtain in the shower and since the showed is connected to the sleeping part via transparent sliding door, the sun woke us quite early, this was quite annoying. Dinner was a mixed experience, service good, main dish excellent (deer steak). Breakfast quite bad - except the egg dish made in the kitchen. Wellness area is quite nice with new saunas, small pools and jacuzzi. This place could be much better with some care from the management. The mountains around Ajka are a great place for hikes, the area is definitely...

Hotel Kristály is a wonderful place for relaxing.||+ Beds are extremely comfortable.||+ Room was clean, spacious with an almost new bathroom.||+ Spa area is clean, well equipped with different types of saunas & rooms.||+ Breakfast was very good with big variety and fresh ingredients. Also like bundáskenyér, tejbegríz as not so typical breakfast choice in other restaurants.||+ Parking space is free of charge.||+ Bonus, I loved the pine aroma of the room due to the lots of wood used during decoration....