If you're looking for a really modern, clean hotel for a decent price in Warsaw, definitely consider the Hotel Hetman. I think it's probably a bit above the 3-star rating, and great value. Maybe it's been opened quite recently because everything looks new and clean. It doesn't have the pretensions of the really swish chains in the centre, but it's a great little base in a quite area. And the bathrooms / shower-rooms are splendid.

The complimentary breakfast (not always free in Warsaw hotels) was really good - plenty of choice. I used the restaurant once and had a decent dinner and a beer for under £8. Warsaw is cheap as chips by English standards, and this seemed really good value.

The staff were OK. I think generally in Poland, people seem to be quite reserved. So don't expect to find staff anywhere fawning over you and saying 'have a nice day'. Most spoke English and were helpful in booking taxis which always seemed to arrive within a few minutes.

If I was being picky, the location wasn't perfect. The area was fine but it is about a 20-25 minute walk into town. Doing this once a day is OK - it's actually a nice walk past the church and over the bridge with brilliant views into town and along the Wisla river. But you'll probably want to use the taxis sometimes - the good news is that these only cost about £1.50 into town. They cost about £6 to the airport. There are also trams and buses.

So all in all, the Hotel Hetman is very good and well worth staying in.

A couple of things about Warsaw in generally which might help:

1. English is quite widely spoken, but far from universal. You can usually get by with some pointing and the following:
- 'hello' is 'djien dobry' (pronounced 'jin dob-ray')
- 'ok / yes' seems to be 'tak'
- 'no' is 'nie'
- 'please' is 'prosze' (pronounced 'projsh')
- 'thankyou' is pronounced like 'jen-qu-ay'

2. If you're there on a Monday, lots of things like museums and shops are shut.

3. The whole of the Old Town was rebuilt after the war, meticulously copied from old photos and plans. It's an amazing feat in itself, but if you're looking for real authenticity, Cracow might be more for you.

4. There is a midges problem! I was there in June and got nibbled a lot. I was starting to get paranoid when I came across a road sign saying 'beware midges' by the river ... I kid you not.

i stayed in this hotel in june. the hotel was very nice, very roomy, lovely big bathrooms. but the area was very poor, it was quiet, there was nowhere to go in the evenings, the staff were very reluctunt to give people a drink in the evenings. if this hotel was in the city it would be fine as there would be somewhere to go, but as this was in the praga area you couldnt walk anywhere in the evenings.

We stayed in August 2004 at the Hotel Hetman and it was lovely! The hotel is on the other side of the river from the old and new city, but it is just 5 minutes by bus - and busses come regularly and according to schedule. The hotel is in a quiet side street off a main road (no noise to disturb sleep), bus stops are very close by, as well as a huge shopping mall (with a Carrefour inside). Not much to do at night around the hotel, but that was ok, since we spend all day walking around Warsaw and just wanted to get back to bed at night (most restaurants close quite early it seems, anyway). There are busses till about midnight and then you can take a night bus. In any case, we felt very safe when going home, not any feeling of danger or anything.
The hotel room had been probably recently renovated (bathroom very nice, hot water all around, lots of space in closets and for hanging up clothes), it was very clean, we had a television (with some German and English channels) and complimentary mineral water, the staff was very polite and extremely helpful (only the night staff did not speak English), lots of tourist info material at the reception, breakfast was plentiful.
All in all - the hotel is very very good value for money and if I went to Warsaw again, I would definitely stay there again!

We have just returned from a weekend trip to Warsaw, Poland and we stayed at the Hotel Hetman, a new 3 star hotel, for just over 40 (GBP) per room per night, including a huge hot and cold buffet breakfast each morning, which is a tremendous bargain. The Hotel is furnished to a high standard and has a bar, lounge, restaurant and even a jacuzzi. The hotel bedrooms are fairly large, all have colour TV, fully double glazed windows, beautiful marble tiled en-suite bathrooms and are very comfortable. The hotel is spotlessly clean, the staff are very pleasant, polite, helpful and efficient and most speak English. Don't be put off by it's position on the opposite bank of the River Vistula from the city centre. The area is becoming fashionable, is very safe and it is only a 15 to 20 minute walk, or a 5 minute taxi ride costing 10 zloty's (about 1.75 GBP) across the bridge to the centre of the beautifully restored Old Town. I would thoroughly recommend the Hotel Hetman to anyone visiting Warsaw.