Marriott Bonvoy Marriott International Warsaw Westin

Review Westin Warsaw $73 night

a spiral staircase with a man standing on it

Originally I planned to stay at InterContinental Warsaw for an overnight stay as we traveled by bus from Krakow to Warsaw to Torun. Then a promotional offer in May from Marriott for Europe discount rates revealed a price drop at The Westin Warsaw from 369 PLN for room only advance purchase rate to 259 PLN for room and breakfast for two. Add another 20.72 PLN for taxes and our July hotel night at Westin Warsaw with breakfast cost 279.72 PLN or $73.35 on an advance purchase rate I paid in early May.

Arrival: We arrived in Warsaw by Flixbus after a four hour ride from Krakow. I spent the time on the bus streaming the first three episodes of  ‘The Man in the High Castle‘. There was something surreal about traveling through the Polish countryside to Warsaw watching a movie about an alternate history where the Nazis and Japanese win World War II and divide the USA lands between the two empires. Memories and memorials of World War II are omnipresent when traveling around Poland.

a tall building with a glass tower
Westin Warsaw, Marriott website photo. Corner windows are elevator view northeast over city.

Many of the major chain hotels in Warsaw are skyscrapers located in the business district around the Central Railway Station and The Palace of Science and Culture. Old Town is about 2.5 to 3.0 kilometers from many of the major chain hotels.

a city street with tall buildings
Warsaw Westin view

We walked about 20 minutes from Warszawa Śródmieście metro station to the Westin Warsaw hotel. Room 1201 of the hotel gave us sufficient time on the elevator to view through glass at the modern city surroundings.

a view of a city from a window
Westin Warsaw view
Westin Warsaw Lobby

The hotel had more of a business traveler vibe than leisure traveler atmosphere on a Monday evening at 7pm. Plenty of people were seated around the bar in the lobby.

a spiral staircase in a building
Westin Warsaw lobby stairs
a room with chairs and tables
Westin Warsaw lobby corner window nook

There is seating near the restaurant and more seating between the corner window and a wooden panel near the elevators.

a glass tunnel with windows
Warsaw Westin elevator
a glass roof with a glass ceiling
Westin Warsaw elevator

The elevator design is one of the outstanding features of the hotel with glass windows allowing a view of the city as you ride up and down the 20 floors of the hotel.

 

Westin Warsaw Room 1201
warsaw-westin-1201
Warsaw Westin 1201

Room 1201 closest to bank of elevators

warsaw-westin-hotel-bed
Westin Warsaw bed
a room with a couch and a table
Westin Warsaw 1201 room
a room with a television and a table
Westin Warsaw 1201 desk and TV
a room with a television and a painting on the wall
Westin Warsaw room 1201
a bathroom with a mirror
Westin Warsaw 1201 bathroom
a white towel on a shower door
Westin Warsaw 1201 shower

Kelley impatiently waited for me to snap photos as she was ready to leave for dinner immediately upon arrival. Cherries and a pretzel from Krakow since breakfast were not holding her appetite.

a coffee cups and saucers on a counter
Westin Warsaw 1201 coffee counter with minibar refrigerator below.
a white towel on a rack
Closet at Warsaw Westin – iron and robe

Hotel Review Intermission: Dinner at Podwale Kompania Piwna 

Warsaw was not our destination, merely an overnight transit stop on the way to Torun and Gdansk/Sopot. Tram and Metro stops are located at Rondo ONZ, the other end of the block from Westin Warsaw. Old Town is 2 km away. We rode a tram to Old Town and walked across the reconstructed historic area of Warsaw to Podwale – Kompania Piwna for dinner and 1/2 price Kozel liters on a Monday night.

 

a group of people walking in a city
Warsaw Old Town
a brick building with a gate
Warsaw Old Town Bastion view from street in front of restaurant.
a sign on a wall
Warsaw Podwale Piwna Kompania
a building with lights on the side
Warsaw Podwale Piwna Kompania

To say we like this restaurant brand is an understatement. We ate three meals at Podwale Piwna Kompania over the three previous days at the two locations in Krakow before our dinner in Warsaw. Of my many trips to Krakow I have never managed to be in the city on a Monday night when Podwale Piwna Kompania sells Kozel beer for half price. The regular price for a liter of Kozel is 17 PLN. We paid 8.50 PLN/$2.20 per liter in Warsaw.

a glass of beer on a table
Warsaw Kozel liters

Monday was also 1/2 chicken dinner discount at 19 PLN/$4.92.

a plate of food on a table
Warsaw Podwale Piwna Kompania chicken dinner
a plate of food on a table
Warsaw Podwale Piwna Kompania not chicken dinner
a group of people sitting at tables in a restaurant
Podwale Piwna Kompania patio seating

There are daily meal specials at Podwale Kompania. Monday is half-price beer at all their locations. Rarely have I been disappointed dining at Podwale Piwna Kompania.

Westin Warsaw breakfast buffet

We arrived at breakfast around 9:30am. The room was crowded and we managed to find a table for two.

westin-warsaw-dining-table
Westin Warsaw table decoration
westin-warsaw-breakfast-room
Westin Warsaw breakfast room

Staff was constantly in the process of refilling bowls, plates and baskets that had been emptied of food stuff.

a group of bowls of food
Warsaw Westin breakfast salad

There were made-to-order omelet options. Pretty much a well-rounded offer of items ranging from Asian soups to desserts.

a group of bowls of food
Westin Warsaw high-fiber cereals
a group of plates with food on them
Westin Warsaw smoked meats and salmon

a long table with chairs and a train in the background
Westin Warsaw dining table

Westin Warsaw Executive Lounge

Lifetime Gold member in Marriott Bonvoy was not significantly elite enough to get me into the Westin Warsaw Executive Lounge. I received no acknowledgement at the front desk for being Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Gold. Since this was my first stay at a Marriott brand hotel since the launch of Bonvoy, I asked at check-out if my account showed Gold elite. I was told it did appear on my reservation.

a glass door in a building
Westin Warsaw Executive Lounge

Ben at One Mile at a Time has a Westin Warsaw review from 2014 with photos of a suite on the 12th floor and lounge photos from his stay.

Fitness room & spa

a reception desk with towels on it
Fitness center at Westin Warsaw
a row of exercise equipment in a gym
Westin Warsaw fitness room

There are a couple of computers with printer in lobby across from reception desk.

a computer desk in a building
Westin Warsaw computers and printer area in lobby

The bar is a prominent feature of the lobby. I did not snap any photos, except for an image of the wine case.

a glass case with bottles of wine
Westin Warsaw wine cabinet

 

Westin Warsaw Marriott Bonvoy Category 4 at 25,000 points per night

Westin Warsaw was a perfectly fine hotel and a real bargain at $73 with breakfast for two.

Warsaw has many major chain hotels, mostly centered around the central railway station in the same general area as Westin Warsaw. The same Rondo ONZ metro stop by Westin Warsaw is the one we used five days later when we returned to the city for an overnight at Holiday Inn Warsaw City Centre before flying to Stockholm.  I spotted Radisson Blu Warsaw Centrum nearby from our Westin room 1201. InterContinental Warsaw is two blocks from Westin in the direction of the Palace of Science and Culture.

a building with colorful lights
Palace of Science and Culture PKiN.

 

 

2 Comments

  • Chris@Oak August 12, 2019

    “ I received no acknowledgement at the front desk for being Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Gold. “

    Marri-Rot does not have member codes for Lifetime status. They only code current status.

    I’m Ambassador with LT Titanium. My LT status has never been acknowledged. It also isn’t factored in for upgrades.
    ——
    I was at this hotel last year.
    It’s not a business hotel. It caters to large tour groups.

    First stayed here 10 years ago. Well past a refurbishment as things look the same.

    Bar area gets 2-4 old prostitutes a night; targeting hotel guests. They also hang out at mezzanine where the public restrooms are. (Mgmt says it’s okay because they order water and use the bar.)

    Lounge was better served and supported 10 years ago. Food and drink items cut back.

    New glass office building across the street reflects a lot of sunlight and heat; almost blinding.

    Breakfast area tight on space and very crowded. Again, many tour groups.

    Spa area: no pool; no jacquzzi; no steam. Massage services very pricey; even for Poland.

    No concierge stand or desk. For a Westin, this is a joke. Must use phone for Service Express or IM.

    Many better options to stay at.
    Go with new hotels.

  • bluecat August 12, 2019

    @Chris, I suppose we can all find a better hotel if we paid more. Seems to me that, for about $70 (with breakfast), it’s pretty good for peak season.

Comments are closed.

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