Lemon Resort Spa — Hotel in gmina Gródek nad Dunajcem

First piece of advice. Do not go to southern Poland in the winter if you care about your lungs. The acrid smog caused by industry, as well as household heating dependent on old furnaces burning coal and wood, is all encompassing. At times it feels like one can taste most of the elements of the periodic table. ||||First Impressions||||When we arrived at the Lemon Resort Spa and stepped out of the car (you definitely need a car to get here and to travel around), we were greeted by the sounds of crashing bowling pins even before we stepped foot into the main lobby. This was slightly surprising as we thought we were booked into a wellness hotel, not an arcade. The reception desk is situated right next to the two bowling alleys and games room. Alas we did not receive bowling shoes to use during our stay. I do not know what substances the architect was using whilst designing the main building but I suspect it was meth.||||With the website not offering many options whilst booking, we asked during check-in whether there was any possibility to change to a Deluxe room category on the lake, but were quickly told that it's not possible. Having read some reviews later, it seems that we dodged a bullet by not staying there. ||||Room||||Before entering the room we spent 5 minutes trying to open the door with the keycard and twisting lock. We never really figured this out throughout our stay. The Premium room is spacious at first glance with ample space to throw around our clothes and other necessary travel accoutrements, but in reality it seems the builders and decorators were instructed to keep the costs as low as possible. The wardrobe must be a prime example of shoddy workmanship, the sliding doors kept getting stuck, and the shelves are in all the wrong places (see photo). The space to hang jackets is only really long enough for a shirt, whilst the longer space next to it was deemed only fit for a towel rack and umbrella. The bed was formed from two single beds pushed together, there was no option to book a double bed. Pillows were lumpy. Plug sockets were hidden behind the bedside table, and the bedside lamps in constant danger of sliding off the table (also see photos). The shutters were a great feature, and the radiator was handy for drying wet items. In keeping with the 'low cost' theme, the light switches had little drawings for stairs, which was a bit puzzling. ||||The underfloor heating in the bathroom was a nice touch, especially given the freezing temperatures outside. However the tiny showerhead was disappointing, despite good water pressure. The shampoo and shower gel dispensers remind me of a community leisure centre. I understand and appreciate the eco credentials of having refillable containers as opposed to single use toiletries, but this just looked and smelled very average. No damper on the toilet seat is also a minus.||||Seeing as the rooms are in separate accommodation blocks scattered along a little peninsula, we were expecting privacy. However staying in the room is a voyeuristic experience as a garden shed has better sound insulation. We could hear our neighbours' conversations, showers as well as flushing toilets. So much for a relaxing stay. As we arrived in the evening after dark, we could only really appreciate the lovely view onto the concrete block house in front of our balcony when we woke the next morning. We could glimpse the lake if we stood on the bed. There was no 'partially obscured view' option on the website, but the receptionist did inform us our view would be limited at check-in.||||Restaurant||||We enjoyed dinner in the restaurant on the first evening, I ate sous vide duck breast which was excellent. Maybe the portion was too small (did not get a full breast) but it was perfectly cooked and very tasty. See, not all negative here! The pistachio tiramisu was also very good. Price wise it wasn't too bad, 61PLN for the duck, but you can check out the full menu yourself on their website. On another occasion we ordered a Vegan pizza with tofu to our room but it came slightly lukewarm and did not taste like much.||||The breakfast buffet was pretty good, lots of choice for the meat eater and vegetarian / vegan alike. Can’t speak much to the quality of the vegan offering as the only foods from the section I tried were peanut butter and vegan chocolate spread (i think it may have had bananas in it). Breakfast started at 8am, so it was frustrating that often by 8:15am the station where you can order omelettes, scrambled eggs etc was still empty, and yet there was a gaggle of staff chatting in other areas. Also poached eggs were translated as 'jajka sadzone', which is in fact fried eggs. Google Translate anyone? The coffee was disgusting; burnt and bitter. Beetroot juice was very nice.||||Leisure Complex||||The leisure complex comprises an indoor and outdoor pool, jacuzzi, squash courts, gym, and wellness area. It is located in the lower ground floor of the main building, where the restaurant and above mentioned bowling alley are. In order to get there you have to walk through the main entrance. We knew this when booking, so cannot have any reservations, but I would be reluctant to go to another hotel with such a configuration in the future. It's a bit annoying having to get fully dressed in your warm winter jacket, just to walk a minute to get into the spa area and have to change back again, and then repeat on the way out.||||I didn't use the squash courts or gym equipment, but there were quite a lot of free weights, bars and racks, along with the standard cardio fare of treadmill and bike. Much better than a standard hotel gym. Also did not go into the indoor pool or jacuzzi as most times it was busy with kids. The views from the indoor pool area were really good, especially at sunset. We did have a quick dip in the outdoor infinity pool, which is not heated in the winter. No chance to swim in the lake as it was completely frozen over, but not sure we would want to given the amount of rubbish we saw stuck in the ice.||||First impressions of the wellness area were generally positive. The separate male/female changing rooms lead to a small corridor that has a door to the indoor pool area, and another to the wellness area. There is an antechamber with a water fountain and cups along with some seating. One door leads to a Teznia Solna (graduation tower in English, but this does not really describe what this really is). Think of a wooden salt cave with some deckchairs in it. Quite relaxing. ||||The main wellness area has one steam room at 65C, a 45C herbal sauna, infrared sauna, 80C dry sauna and a 95C dry sauna. There is also one shower with a bucket for cooling off, as well as another with just a normal showerhead. Two stone lounge chairs, a stone table / sitting area, as well as two sinks with faucets for feet complete the set up. Everything is well made to a high standard. The saunas / steam room are big enough and at a good consistent temperature. Perhaps it would have been a good option to have buckets and ladles with water to throw onto the sauna rocks as most people were using cups, from which it is easy to get burnt by the steam. There is a 'no swimming costume rule' (wrap yourself in a towel), but this is written in small print in the antechamber. As a result more than half kept their swimming costumes on. Didn't know Poles were so prudish, I thought it was only Anglo Saxons. There was usually only one person tending to the spa, and I think most of the time they spent in the little reception area outside. As a result there were towels and empty cups strewn everywhere. Kids were running around, despite a no under 14's rule. As opposed to the room, being in the wellness area allowed one to explore their exhibitionist tendencies, given the proclivity of smartphone usage inside by the guests. One day the shower drains in the wellness area were blocked and there was ankle deep standing water - yuck. We opted against the overpriced spa treatments as the rates were similar to London. We did however get an ice ball with essential oils for the sauna. Highly recommend this, as the eucalyptus and citrus really cleared our sinuses. ||||Conclusion||The Lemon Resort Spa hooks you in with a snazzy website but we were left really wanting after our stay. From the website: "Lemon Resort Spa is a combination of design and modern architecture integrated into the picturesque landscape of Lake Rożnów. The boutique character of the place creates a comfortable and cosy atmosphere." Yes, the lake is picturesque, but an idiot must have led the design as the whole complex was neither comfortable nor cosy. We slept poorly every night. The room was something I might expect from a cheap Airbnb, not a wellness resort that claims to have 4 stars. ||||I doubt the staff know much about the concept of customer service. It seems the requirement to get a job is the ability to carry a plate. I would put the blame squarely on the management and lack of adequate training and hiring practices. There never seemed to be any staff over the age of 21. For a hotel that was full for the New Year holiday period you would expect some senior staff at hand.||||I imagine the town and surrounding areas come alive more in the summer, especially with activities on the lake. If you want to go to a restaurant other than at Lemon then you have to drive, same goes for any other activities. Also a lot of the nearby 'resort' towns are run down shells, decades past their glory days. It is possible to find decent food for a good price, but you really need to look hard. The hikes and views can be magnificent, but again spoiled by the...

It was my 4th or 5th visit but first after 5 years. I got to admit it was the worst experience till now and price-quality ratio was unacceptable. I cannot imagine paying 300 Eur (1200 zloty) for 1 night again (600 Euro in total)with faulty hairdryer and noisy fridge which sounds like dishwasher. Lady at reception told me i could call, but my wife washed her hair before going to sleep and it was 11 pm and at that time you really do not looking fotward to see anyone else. Really never again. I used apartment with hope for comfortable stay. This apartment has 2 bedrooms with double bed wide 140 cm. I can not imagine 2 people could sleep there comfortable with 1 mattress. Second double bed was creaking. I do not know who took care of my apartment but i would fire him immediately along with man who was reaponsible for pricing. Ok and overall "culture" of guests was also i bit questionable. Usually it is not allowed to bring drinks near the pool. I actually saw 3 women which were blocking the entrance into outdoor pool with their aperols... Do you think it is normal? It was nice that hotel build a new child pool with water slide. Unfortunately during my 30 minutes stay in pool at least 10 times child jumped into pool, altough thete is a signing mark, that it is prohibited!!! Really nobody did not care... But what they took care, when you go swimming you can not order anything from beachbar on your hotel room. So you need to take a purse or credit card or cash. That is actually only thing that the hotel cares.... Yeah and the pools Temperature of outside pool was pretty Cold many guest struggles to get into. On the other hand, there is also and indoor pool, where the temperature was Also low, but the air temperature was even hotter what makes actually unpleasant temperature difference. And even if I tried to go into indoor pool, 1 women with 3 little children with ages like 2,4,6 was in jacuzzi, what is actually prohibited for little children as well and again nobody from hotel cared.

Only tíme when staff tries to be a helpful, was when they recommend us to make a reservation for dinner next day (we came on saturday) because it can be full. Unfortunately restaurant was full also during lunch and also with people which were actually not hotel guests, so we were forced to go outside because there was no Room for us. What a comfort worth 300 euro per night! We made also reservation for dinner that day Restaurant was empty during dinner, so i am very grateful for that kinfld of advice.

What i see, the mindset of hotel is following: Pay us money and do whatever you want. We do not care, as long as you are paying. We also do not think about anything. Just give us money.

Funny part is: I previously planned to stay at hotel only for 1 night but the hotel conditions were that those "Comfortable apartment" may be ordered at least for 2 nights.so i actually paid the hotel extra 300 euro or 1200 zloty to find out for them, that their hairdryer is faulty and fridge is noisy I would say from hotel perspective it was a great business. Usually when someone checks and equipment used to get paid, and is definitely not paying 300...

This year we (me & my family) decided to spend Christmas at Lemon Resort Spa instead of spending them at home and we definitely don't regret it. Christmas offer was very good in general. Delicious food was served by waiters on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus for children. During the rest of stay there was buffet with live cooking for breakfast. Things that can be improved include cakes (the choice was not spectacular and cakes were the only thing that didn't taste so well), staffing (not enough waiters) and there should definitely be some decorations in restaurant and rooms for Christmas.||||As for the accommodation itself, extremely comfortable apartments (with washing machine, dishwasher, fridge and all necessary equipment) with air conditioning, floor heating and beautiful views. Apartments are located at the lakeside. All rooms have dedicated entrance. Accommodation is separated from restaurant and wellness center which means that you need to put your clothes on to go from your room to spa, especially in winter. Another minus is that we've noticed two apartments are not equipped uniformly so you can pay the same price and get slightly different standard (in one of apartments furniture was older than in the other, one apartment had dishwasher while the other one no etc.).||||Unfortunately, there was small misunderstanding in regards to our booking (although we had email confirmation) but after some discussions everything ended up well. Everything depends on who you will talk to at reception desk. In my opinion when you pay for a service (any service, in general) and there is some problem that needs to be solved then staff should act in a polite manner instead of being rude. Only then I'd rate Lemon Resort Spa 5 stars.||||All in all, I'd definitely recommend to spend a couple of days in this...