I visit Czestochowa every year and although I normally stay with friends this year I decided to stay at the Polonia.

A couple of years ago I stayed at the Patria (right opposite Jasna Gora) but the prices they were charging this year were astronomical for what is basically a hotel in a semi-provincial town (approx £ 85 a night !!).

I booked a room over the phone with the Polonia Hotel and we reserved a twin room at an amazingly low price of £ 25 for the room per night. Although I was very pleased with the price I had a sense of foreboding as to what the hotel would be like as £ 25 a night is VERY cheap and I was worried it was cheap for a reason.

The Polonia Hotel is located right in the centre of town just off the main boulevard (Aleja NMP). Although further away from Jasna Gora it is better placed for exploring the bars, restaurants and shops of Czestochowa than Patria. However, it is also located close to the railway station but this didn't cause as much disturbance as the previous poster has commented.

The noise problem I DID find that hasn't been mentioned is that the street the hotel is on is lined with small fast food takeaway kiosks and therefore at night there's lots of car noise and screeching of tyre going on into the early hours.

The hotel outside is really rather shabby looking. The sign is never lit up at night and the reception is very poor lit.

The twin room was very tiny.I have stayed in small rooms before but they have made better use of the space. The one at the Polonia didnt have any room to put the suitcase and nowhere in the bathroom to place toiletries etc.

We stayed a night there and then asked reception about upgrading to one of their apartments. We had a look round the apartment before deciding but were very happy with the extra space. On entering the room, there was a single bed in a long room which then led into a huge double bedroom with very high ceilings and French door. The bathroom itself was also pretty big with two chairs and plenty of space.

As we were staying for another 7 nights the extra space was invaluable and we were very comfortable. The extra space came at a price £ 55 per night for the room. We still preferred to pay this than the Patria rates.

As one of the other reviewers mentioned I also thought there was no hot water at first but then discovered it takes about 15 mins to eventually heat up.

The decor is very 1970's and needs a good revamp. It looks very jaded. Windows have old double glazing (pre war style) so at night you could easily hear all the street noise.

Beds weren't ever made by the maid-we had to do that by ourselves and although the towels should have been changed every other day we had to complain twice as this didn't happen.

Cleanliness of the hotel doesn't seem to be a priority. I'm not suggesting it was dirty because it certainly wasn't but rooms were not cleaned (as a matter of policy not forgetfullnes).

The lighting in the room was poor. Low wattage bedside light, another bedside light that didn't work and a ceiling chandelier with only 1 bulb working. It was actually impossible to read in the main bedroom because of this.

The breakfast is served in the restaurant which must have been a an impressive room in it's time. Now it looks a little tattered and dog eared (as does the rest of the hotel). Breakfast consists of three choices-scrambled egg, ham,cheese and bread and coffee/tea.

I found the staff to be extremely friendly and polite and don't know what the other reviewer means when he suggests there is only one member of staff-this is blatantly not true !

On checking out I was told I couldn't use my credit card and would have to pay in cash. We didn't understand if their credit card machine wasn't working or whether this was hotel policy (we suspect it was the latter). This put us in a panic as we were at the end of our holiday and didn't think we had enough cash to pay for the rooms. I had to go to a local ATM but could only take out 1000 zloty for my daily limit. We eventually found enough cash on us to pay the balance but this was extremely unprofessional of the hotel who could have informed us from the start that we had to pay in cash.

We subsequently found out that the owner of the hotel died a few weeks ago and although a rich man he didn't like change. The staff hope that perhaps changes will now be made for the better.

Overall, I've painted a gloomy picture of the hotel which is apt as the interior is rather gloomy but I still found some attraction in the hotel.

It was built 147 years ago and was located just on the perimeter of the Jewish Ghetto during World War II. German officers used to stay in the hotel during this time.

This hotel clearly has pedigree and I hope that money is spent to bring it upto standard.