Slovakia hotels
In Slovakia you can find international hotel networks Accor (Ibis), Best Western, InterContinental Hotels (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza), Carlson/Rezidor SAS (Radisson). Also the first Kempinski hotels are under construction. They are situated in the beautifully reconstructed historical buildings or in newly built modern premises and provide a guarantee of international quality standards enriched by a specific Slovak charme.
Besides the brands known also across the borders there is in Slovakia an increasing number of smaller and bigger hotels, which were during the last few years reconstructed to a high extent and the quality of their services is increasing constantly. In the whole, the number of hotels and accommodation facilities in general is increasing, so is the quality of services and therewith the price level.
The categorisation of hotels at present divides the hotels into 5 classes. The lower class hotels (** and *) are suitable for less demanding clients, provide simpler accommodation for lower price. You find standard accommodation in ***hotels of the Ibis type, the ****facilities like Crowne Plaza and similar offer higher comfort.
In the higher class hotels breakfast is usually provided in form of buffet breakfast and it is almost always included in the accommodation price. Many hotels of higher classes are equipped by newly built vital worlds and wellness centres and they are becoming an ideal place to relax and get new power. Similarly in more and more hotels conference rooms and equipment is available and they enable to organise the most various events from a smaller seminar to international conference.
In the hotels usually English and German is spoken, less frequent is the knowledge of French, Spanish, Italian or Russian. In the southern part of Slovakia Hungarian is often used.
It is recommended to book the accommodation well in advance, because especially in larger towns the offer is below the demand. It is possible to perform reservations through travel agencies, tourist-information centres or specialised internet portals.
Botels
This accommodation type can be found only in Bratislava, on the largest Slovak river, the Danube.
Tourist lodging houses and hostels
In the past years several new hostels grew in the centre of Bratislava, which offer accommodation also in shared rooms, a common kitchen at your disposal, dayrooms and often also internet usage. So they enable especially for the young, who travel with a thin purse and a backpack on their backs, to enjoy the advantages of an accommodation directly in the centre and concurrently meet similar travellers and exchange their adventurous experience.
The simple accommodation style, which the traditional tourist lodging houses provide, is recommended mainly for those, who do not plan to stay in the facility for longer than just for bed. These services are often used by groups of young sportsmen or tourists, who do not care for luxury and want to be close to nature, so that they can dedicate themselves to training or hiking.
In the summer season the offer of this type of accommodation is enlarged by budget priced student dormitories. Those can be found in larger towns.
Campings in Slovakia
Camping (formerly autocamping) enables its guests to stay in their own accommodation facilities such as tents, caravans, camper cars or in camp site mobile and stable accommodation facilities such as mobile houses, bungalows, cottages or log houses.
Slovakia has a relatively large number of campings that are scattered all over the country - from Bratislava through Low and High Tatras up to Košice. Most of them are located in beautiful mountain areas or near lakes or rivers.
Camp sites offer not only their services, but also the experience of seeing attractions in their surroundings, for example selected campings in Slovakia, in the most important tourist areas - in Liptov and Orava, in the Tatras or Slovenský raj as well as near some lakes and thermal swimming pools.
Facilities and quality of services of particular camp sites differ. In some of them chalets or bungalows are available in which you can stay, elsewhere possibilities of eating out, sports or cultural and social activities are better. The majority of campings are open during the summer season only.
Slovak camp sites are popular especially with Dutch visitors and all those, who like to be in touch with nature.
Camping and tent camping in protected areas in the open air out of the designated areas in Slovakia is prohibited and will result in a fine.
Pensions/ Boarding-houses
To an often visited accommodation type belong the pensions, which often provide comfort and quality for a very good price. Nicely reconstructed and well equipped facilities are no exception. Moreover, thanks to the family atmosphere, they sufficiently handle the role of „substitute home“. The tidy surrounding with the possibility to grill or sitting in a garden will be appreciated above all by families with children.
Boarding houses are available in all tourist centres. During skiing season and the summer months it is however recommended to make advance reservations, because there is a big interest in frequently visited areas. In case of larger groups it is necessary to have an advance booking also in off-season period. It is possible to place reservation also through travel agencies, tourist-information centres or specialised internet portals.
Above all tourists from Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary prefer this kind of accommodation. Some boarding houses offer also breakfast or half-board included in the accommodation price, in other places also price without meals can be agreed.
Farms and ranches
There is no doubt that to a perfect country holiday belong domestic animals, nature, grandmothers good cuisine and activities, which are hardly known by the children from towns. Ride a horse, drink fresh cow milk, play hide and seek in the mown hay or play catch on the endless green meadows. And that is just a small part of the adventures, which can be experienced during a stay on a farm. If you like the cock-crowing in the morning and romantic sunsets, pick one of the increasing amount of ranches or farms in Slovakia. In order to provide the real peace (of mind) and atmosphere, many of them are hidden far away from the civilisation. But it is definitely worth to be looking for them. Because you will surely return from there with a satisfied smile on your lips.
Payment
On January 1, 2009, euro was introduced in Slovakia, simultaneously in the cash and scriptural circulation, using the so-called "Big Bang" method, i.e. without the transition period. Euro thus became the legal tender currency in the territory of the Slovak Republic. Slovak koruna became a subunit of euro in the conversion rate that was set by the EU Council in July 2008: 1 EUR = 30.126 SKK.
Banks and ATMs in Slovakia accept the common international credit cards. Those can be used in bigger towns for cashless payment in stores, restaurants, and hotels. The banks are usually open Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., in some cases also to 6:00 p.m. In the largest shopping centres, the bank services are available also during weekends, holidays to 8:00 p.m.