Hotel Arcade — Hotel in Banská Bystrica

My stay at Arcade has been one of my most disappointing hotel stays in a long while, and I'm a frequent traveler as my husband works in film, and we find ourselves in a lot of unexpected places. Let's start with the cons, because I honestly would not stay here again because the staff really makes a place for me, and they were so unpleasant.

Cons: -Rude Staff exhibit a: I was traveling with my pomeranian (more of a squirrel than a dog), and am used to sometimes paying pet fees for him. At check in, the first receptionist was definitely not friendly, definitely saw my dog, and didn't charge me a pet fee for him. I didn't think anything of it, but the next morning a new receptionist was downstairs when I walked my dog around 6:30AM. I greeted her in Slovak, she didn't respond. I came back in from my walk, and she stops me in a very aggressive tone saying, "What room are you in?" I tell her my room number, and she again aggressively says, "We didn't know you had a dog, and you didn't pay your pet fee." I tell her that I checked in with my dog, the other receptionist 100% saw him, and she didn't charge me, but I didn't mind paying the fee. She continued to berate me about the fee at 6:30 AM before coffee after I've already said we would pay the fee. It was a really intense interaction all over 20€. -There is no Air conditioner. I've stayed in a lot of places, but I haven't stayed at a hotel without AC in so long that I didn't even think to add it to a search filter on booking.com. It was hot. I will not make that mistake again! -The rooms are not nearly as nice as the photos. The photos look lovely, and this looked so much more hip than other places in town, but the rooms look a bit run down and have 80s carpet. -There is no elevator. Again, my fault for not checking, but I just want to warn anyone that has a hard time getting up and down stairs with heavy bags. This is made worse by not having AC after you have summited two flights of stairs with a pomeranian and heavy bag. -It was quite a bit more expensive than other hotels in the area, and for that price I prefer to be yelled at by the staff after having coffee.

Pros: -The location is great -The bed...

We visited BB after a week hiking in the High Tatras. We travelled by train from Poprad which was comfy, cheap and very scenic.|Hotel is 10 ish mins walk into town from 'BB Mestro' station we discovered later so we left BB from there after our stay. We walked to Arcade from the main BB station when we arrived, that took 25 mins partly because we were not sure where to go (no maps at the station and we do not use smart phones) locals were v helpful.|Hotel is easy to find once on the beautiful NP square it is next to the big fountain with a cafe in front. Next door to the museum and the tourist office.|Enter down the side or through the back of the hotel's own cafe which has tables on the square.|Easy check in, massive room with lots of floor space, storage & hanging space and a fridge. Tea and coffee and a kettle.|We had a huge firm really comfy bed. Good reading lights on either side - essential!|Great shower, good toiletries and towels which were replaced / changed daily. Hair dryer provided. Huge TV which we did not use! |Room quiet and got nice morning sun. Warm enough and easy to open windows for cool fresh air. 206. There was a fan but we did not need it.|Stairs may be a challenge if you struggle with mobility or have a suitcase the size of a 4wd but they are very wide and not steep at all, with a good banister to hold on to.|Breakfast was excellent. Huge choice of the usual cereals, fruit fresh and dried, cooked stuff, cheeses and cold meats, croissants, a selection of breads, lots of teas, juices, water. Fresh coffee of whatever style you prefer. If this selection is not enough for anyone I think there must be something wrong with them!|Excellent traditional Slovak pub/restaurant right next door you can eat in the garden at lunchtime we enjoyed yummy garlic soup outside and we ate downstairs in their cellar restaurant at night highly recommended as well (separate outfit from Arcade)|All this for half the cost of a comparable...

Staff – The hotel should sent us a clear instruction with map and arrows through email to tell us where to park, what to do, but not leave us wandering around without being able to find the hotel.

Also I booked the hotel 3 months prior to our arrival. And the hotel gave us 2 rooms on the 2nd floor. No lift !

Facilities - No lift, In the year 2017, there are still hotels in Europe that do not has a lift. Yes, I know 3 star hotels in Europe are likely to not have a lift, but this is the year 2017, and IMO it is absolutely unacceptable. It is an unwelcoming experience. As you cannot feel a bit of modernity. So what is the point of keeping all these old buildings and not to make an improvement on living quality? Don’t tell me it is because Europeans cannot afford a lift …… | Very few electric socket in the room. Luckily there Is a plug panel fixed under the bed. So I have to turn the half of my bed into a desk to use the laptop. | No Satellite TV. No English channel, which makes English speaking guest feel unwelcomed here.

Cleanliness – Everything Is very old. Soap and shampoo is a pain.

Comfort – You won’t expect much comfort from a 3 stars hotel. Again, no modernity, no internationalization, and you have to leave before 10 am, which is very rude.

Value for Money – This hotel is actually more expensive than InPoint Apartment in Krakow, Poland, but quality is no more than 1/10 of it.

Location – Hotel is extremely hard to find. And the parking is confusing as well. I am not sure how does this Banska Bysterica town works, and cannot feel their...