Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town [In-Depth Hotel Review]

My family of 5 traveled to Gdańsk, Poland, a bit by chance. After exploring where we could fly from Copenhagen, Denmark, for around $50 per person, Gdańsk was a top contender to help us reach a new country quickly and affordably. Its Baltic Coast location also set up a solid week of traveling the country from north to south.

Gdańsk is steeped in history; this is where World War II began in 1939. Though much of Old Town was destroyed in the war, many buildings were rebuilt in their original style. After years of post-war Soviet rule, the 1980s Solidarity trade union movement, founded in the Gdańsk shipyards, eventually led to the end of Communist Party rule.

After researching family-friendly hotels in the area, I was excited to reserve 3 nights at the Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town. Its location was phenomenal, with proximity to nearly everything we wanted to see in the area, especially the Christmas market. And the rates just could not be beat for the dates we were visiting.

Location

The Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town is located in the center of Gdańsk’s Old Town area and is a block from the Long Market (Długi Targ).

Having arrived via Wizz Air, our UberXL from the Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (GDN) cost 108.92 Polish złoty (~$28). Due to pedestrianized roads, our Uber couldn’t drop us off at the hotel’s front entrance, so we had a short walk to the red-bricked front entrance.

If you’re arriving via the main train station (Gdańsk Główny), it is only about 15 minutes by foot, but the sidewalks have lots of uneven terrain, which may make rolling a bag difficult. After our stay, we took a train from Gdańsk to Kraków, and our departing UberXL from the hotel to the station was 26.46 zł (~$7).

The opposite side of the hotel on Piwna Street has a much different look with its colorfully restored façades. While the Hampton entrance looks like it occupies just one of the historic tenement houses, the hotel stretches across several buildings.

The Piwna Street entrance is directly across from St. Mary’s Basilica (Bazylika Mariacka Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Gdańsku). This brick Gothic Catholic church was completed in 1502 and is one of the largest brick churches in the world. A trip up 405 stairs to the top for amazing views over the city costs 16 zł (~$4).

The hotel was also just a stone’s throw from the start of the extensive Christmas market (Jarmark Bożonarodzeniowy Gdańsk). After visiting several Christmas markets in Denmark and Poland, our family agreed that this was our absolute favorite due to its tremendous variety of vendors and food.

Due to construction, walking to the Museum of the Second World War (Muzeum II Wojny Światowej) took about 20 minutes.

Booking

When booking a hotel in Gdańsk, I came across a common issue that is often encountered in Europe: occupancy restrictions. Ideally, I search for 1 room that can accommodate 2 adults and 3 kids, but often, when you input these parameters in hotel searches, the results can be very limiting. I noticed the Hampton had a Two Queen Beds with City View room, which included a double sleeper sofa, yet the occupancy was only 4 people.

I emailed the hotel directly and received a same-day response that the room could accommodate 5 people. I then booked the room and replied to the agent via email with my reservation number. She confirmed that she had added notes to my reservation about the third child with instructions to make up the sofa bed.

I booked a prepaid Stay Longer and Save rate at $113 per night for 3 nights for a total of 1,419.59 zł ($344.14). I earned 10,682 Hilton Honors points for this stay as part of the 3x Multiple Your Points promotion. I also earned 4% cash-back via TopCashback — a great double-dip.

The room was charged to my husband’s British Airways Visa Signature^® Card to help meet the minimum spending requirement on its welcome bonus offer. This card earns 2x Avios per dollar spent for hotel purchases made directly to the hotel, so ideally, you would use one of our recommended best credit cards for Hilton loyalists to earn up to 14x points.

If you were to redeem Hilton Honors points for a stay at the Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town, standard room rewards start at 17,000 points per night.

Hot Tip:

Make sure to check your loyalty program balances after any point-earning opportunities. My points for this stay were not immediately posted to my Hilton Honors account, but a quick email exchange with customer service rectified the issue.

Check-In

A day before our stay, I received an email from Hilton for contactless arrival, allowing me to choose my room and request my digital key from the Hilton app. I had never checked in via the app before and thought it was neat to see the layout of the hotel beforehand.

The room type we were in was only available in the same configuration on floors 2, 3, and 4, so I chose the highest room. Unfortunately, the app gave me an error that it could not issue the digital key, so I could not use this feature during my stay.

Upon arrival, we quickly stopped at the front desk to pick up our physical keys. The friendly agent walked us through the breakfast timing, and we were on our way.

I do not have any status with Hilton Honors, so there were no elite benefits to review. However, all guests staying at a Hampton by Hilton property can expect a free hot breakfast.

Lobby

When entering the property from the main entrance, the lobby was to the left and extended across from the front desk. There were several arrangements of large sofas suitable for large parties, as well as individual wingback chairs. There was also a large flat-screen TV in the center of the area next to the Christmas tree.

The wall opposite the TV features fragments of a post-war sgraffito relief from artist Jacek Żuławski.

Though my kids have aged out of preschool toys, they wasted no time checking out the small kids’ area in the corner of the lobby.

The lobby had snacks and drinks for sale. Waters were 10 zł (~$2), sodas 12 zł (~$3), chips starting at 9 zł (~$2), and sweets starting at 6 zł (~$1). These prices were higher than local minimarkets; a Carrefour Express was just a few steps from the main entrance.

Since 1937, the hotel has been used as an entertainment complex and cinema and was even home to the first Polish Film Festival. In addition to movie posters throughout the lobby, there was also a row of retro theater seats as you exit towards the church.

Amenities

Fitness Center

The fitness center is on the second floor and is open 24/7. After scanning my keycard, I entered the first room with 2 stationary bikes, an elliptical machine, and a treadmill. There were also dumbbells of varying weights.

I was pleased to see a water cooler with cups, towels, and sanitizing wipes.

The side room of the fitness center had a cable station for strength training, a workout bench, and resistance and medicine balls. There was also room in this space for stretching.

Business Center

The business center was immediately on the left after entering the main entrance. It was smartly designed and had 2 computer stations.

There was a long meeting table with seating for 8 and a mix of seating options for 1 or 2 people.

I enjoy seeing lending libraries at hotels, and this shelving had a variety of books in Polish, English, and even Hebrew. There were several books specific to Gdańsk and a mix of trade paperbacks.

Wi-Fi

The property had free Wi-Fi throughout the public spaces and in the room. We had no issues connecting or with speed.

Parking

There is a small parking lot in front of the hotel and underground parking on level -1. Parking is charged at 100 zł (~$25) per day.

Room

The hotel has 2 elevators, and we never had an issue waiting for one. We accessed the controls to the fourth floor using our keycard.

I was initially disappointed that our room, 401, was next to the elevator. However, I am pleased to report that we did not have any disturbing noise from this area during our stay.

Most of the fourth-floor common spaces operated via motion sensor lights. I was pleased to see that this elevated block of rooms was handicapped-accessible via a ramp.

Two Queen Beds with City View

The door to room 401 entered onto a tiled area with the closet to the left via sliding doors, the bathroom to the right, and a carpeted desk area straight ahead.

We appreciated these hooks behind the main door and used them to store our winter coats.

The closet held an iron, ironing board, and luggage rack. The right side of the closet had hangers and a plastic laundry bag.

We set up the luggage rack along the wall of the desk area as this space had a lot of room to work with.

The shelving in this space had bottled water, glasses, an electric kettle, mugs, and instant coffee and tea bags. I appreciated that the number of items represented the number of guests in the room — no fighting over water!

Note that the room had no minifridge to cool drinks or store food.

I worked at this desk and found the space comfortable with plenty of outlets.

I was also pleased to see that the initial reservation agent’s note for the sofa bed to be premade was addressed. There’s nothing worse than arriving at a room and having to request linens or get help making up a sofa bed. Seeing this sofa bed already made felt made me feel valued as a guest.

The sleeping area was spacious and contemporary. Everyone in the family thought the beds were quite comfortable.

A large flat-screen TV was across from the beds. We weren’t able to cast content from our phones to the TV, but the kids were able to find a few English channels to watch.

There was also a red cushioned seat under the TV that we moved all over the room to use as a luggage pedestal and for tying shoes.

The center space between the beds had reading lights, a Type E outlet, lighting controls, and a phone on the nightstand.

The outer sides of each bed had a small shelf that could hold your phone or glasses but not much else.

The room setup was absolutely perfect for our family. I didn’t think it could get any better until I opened the curtains. We had a spectacular view of St. Mary’s Basilica and Piwna Street, which looked even better with snow flurries.

Bathroom

We had tons of space to work with in this bathroom.

As with many European bathrooms, the shower was half-exposed. Even though the shower basin was recessed, we still got water everywhere, but thanks to plentiful towels, we could deal with leaks.

Additional towels and the hairdryer were stored above the trash bin. Between the towels in the bathroom and the towels set on the beds, we had more than enough for each person — another win in a room with 5 guests.

The only showerhead was a mounted handheld wand, and I liked that you could turn the shower on without immediately stepping directly into the water.

We had no issues with water heat or pressure maintaining through 5 showers in a row.

The bath amenities were from Spa Therapy Waterl’eau.

We had a few slight issues with the bathroom setup and sink area.

The sink basin was a bit too far back from the front edge of the counter to wash hands or brush teeth comfortably — particularly for our kids.

And while I enjoy having a hand soap dispenser, the soap and lotion were directly above the toilet paper, meaning that drips inevitably fell there or on the floor.

Though there were towels for everyone, we didn’t have enough towel bars or hooks to hang everything to dry. The sink’s towel bar was one of the main spaces the wet towels had to share. I’m happy to reuse my towel, but I’d love for it to have a chance to dry between showers.

Food and Beverage

The Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town has 1 dining space that offers a daily complimentary breakfast buffet with a lunch/dinner menu and a full bar after 2 p.m.

I had no worries about finding seating for our family; there were plenty of tables.

There were 2 long high-top tables closest to the bar. Each bar stool at these tables had an outlet just under the table, which would be ideal for remote work or charging a device.

The full bar was an extension of the lobby counter. The staff was happy to answer questions and show me a menu.

Breakfast

After a week of cinnamon rolls in Copenhagen, my kids looked forward to the free breakfast buffet, generally the highlight of their vacations.

Breakfast was served from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and 7 to 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Signage in the elevator indicated that queues were least likely from 6:30 to 8 a.m., possible from 8 to 9 a.m., and expected from 9 to 10:30 a.m.

All the food was served in an area separate from the dining area. There were trays to make carrying your items easier (and to help clear your table after eating).

Juice and water were available from a multi-language dispenser.

Self-service coffee could be made in a mug or to-go cup. My kids love when hot chocolate is an option!

There were also several tea varieties, sweeteners, and milks.

The hotel did a good job of prominently displaying notices to request plant-based milk and to inquire with management about food allergies or dietary requirements. An allergen matrix was also displayed.

Cereal dispensers had kid-friendly varieties as well as muesli. You could also toast several types of bread or rolls.

I was impressed with the hot buffet, which included scrambled eggs, kielbasa, and falafel on the first day. Subsequent days followed a similar eggs + sausage + vegetarian option formula.

These options would have been enough, but the hotel really took its hot breakfast offerings to the next level with items like rice with apples, an egg casserole, and grilled vegetables.

My kids liked the yogurts, pastries, and small pancakes. They slathered Nutella on these pancakes to make what they called “choco tacos,” while my husband and I just shook our heads and laughed.

There was also a mix of fresh and whole fruit.

On the first day, we noticed that an attendant consistently kept the waffle iron in use, which was great for folks who just wanted a taste, not the entire waffle. On subsequent days, we made our own waffles. The aerosol whipped cream and syrups were a big hit.

One of my favorite items on this buffet was the egg salad. There was also tuna salad, a veggie-mayo salad, and condiments for the sausage.

Smoked fish was on offer, as well as traditional cold cuts and cheese.

Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, field greens, and olives were also an option for a salad.

The dining area was kept quite clean, partly due to the tray racks that encouraged guests to clean up after themselves.

Lunch, Dinner, and Bar Service

The dining area serves food from a menu from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. A children’s menu is also available.

While affordable dining nearby abounds, the cheapest main at the hotel (pizza) started at a reasonable 29 zł (~$7).

Beers started at 22 zł (~$5), and the bar also serves coffee, liquor, cocktails, and wine.

Service

I most appreciated the service ahead of my arrival. Helena in Reservations promptly answered my questions via email and assured me that the property would be an excellent fit for my family. Her notes and preparation from the hotel team before our check-in ensured that our room was perfectly set up for 5 people on arrival.

From the sofa bed being made to having enough towels and water bottles for everyone … that attention to detail was noticed and appreciated.

We had no issues that required intervention or assistance during our stay. From check-in to checkout, I easily communicated in English with all staff members.

Final Thoughts

Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town was a highlight of our 2-week winter vacation in Denmark and Poland.

Its location could not have been more central, and we could easily walk around Old Town. The room had an ideal setup for our family of 5; we were comfortable and had plenty of space. The abundant breakfast was also a welcome surprise, as we started our day with a hearty meal with something for everyone to enjoy.

I would absolutely stay at this property again and have been talking up Gdańsk as a destination since returning home. We didn’t expect much from our stop here, but after visiting Kraków and Warsaw, we agreed it was our favorite of the 3 cities.

And if you’re touring European Christmas markets, Gdańsk could not be more festive or enjoyable, and the Hampton by Hilton Gdansk Old Town makes a fantastic base.