Hotel Stary

Hotel Stary occupies a restored 15th-century palace on ulica Szczepanska, a short walk from the Main Market Square. It is a design-led conversion of a very old building, and the mix of stone walls and modern finish is the point. The location, a minute or two from the square, puts you at the centre of the Old Town.

The building keeps its historic bones, with the original stonework left visible in places and a spa dug into the old cellars beneath the house. It reads as a small, upmarket property rather than a large hotel. For current room categories, rates and spa access, check the hotel's official channels rather than any figure you see quoted elsewhere.

Szczepanska runs off Plac Szczepanski, a square on the western edge of the Old Town, and reaches the Main Market Square in a couple of minutes. The Planty gardens are close by, and the whole historic core is on your doorstep. For trams, the airport train and day trips, see the Krakow guide.

This suits travellers who want a central, upper-tier base with a spa and are drawn to the old-building setting. Couples and anyone after comfort within steps of the square will do well here. Budget travellers and larger families will find better value in the hostels and serviced flats nearby.

You are in the middle of the Old Town, so the main sights are minutes away:

• Main Market Square and the Cloth Hall, a short walk east.
• The Planty, the green ring around the Old Town, at the end of the street.
• Sukiennice and the galleries on and around the square.

The spa dug into the cellars is more than a token gesture: on level -1 the hotel keeps a gym, two swimming pools, a sauna and a salt-iodine chamber under the medieval brick vaults. The house holds 78 rooms, and the conversion has left visible fragments of gothic, renaissance, baroque and classicist work rather than a single period look.

Dining is on site through two restaurants, the best known being Trzy Rybki (Three Fish) on the ground floor. The property opened in June 2006 and took the Prix Villegiature prize in 2007 for the best hotel interior architecture in Europe. For spa access, room categories and rates, check the hotel's official channels directly.