12 Mar2019
Where to stay in Trencin – hotel Elizabeth Trencin
I’ve heard of hotel Elizabeth Trencin in Trencin town in Western Slovakia years ago. For some reasons it has been well-known around my home country for a century since it was built in 1902. Despite of that, and don’t ask me why, I have not had time to visit it until January 2019 when I went there for the first time.
I have to admit my expectations were really high as the hotel won a couple of awards. Maybe that was also the reason why I got really disappointed during my first visit. A few things that should not happen at any hotel, and less in a 4* hotel, did happen while I was there in January. Such as: some staff members made quite a lot of mistakes, problems with my vegan diet, I got bad allergy reaction under my eyes and my face was swollen for a week, etc. I won’t go into more details. Simply put, too many things happened to pretend it was fine to leave it like that.
Let’s say I did not know how to act after my stay. As all my hotel stays I’ve written about on this blog, this one was also a business trip after which I was supposed to write an honest review about the hotel. No hotel staff have ever managed to pay me enough in order to pretend they don’t have some issues if I thought there were some.
I know I am a detailist and after staying at hundreds of hotels in more than 59 countries I can compare hotels very well, and see things that a normal guest, or maybe even a hotel manager, might overlook.
I believe I am a person of good moral character and always try to show both positive and negative things about destinations I visit and places I stay at. If I did not, I would go against myself and my followers who trust me. Which is why I am mentioning my negative experience here first, and also the positive changes that were made later on.
For me, it was quite a challenge to know how to proceed in that unpleasant situation as I did not want to hurt anyone nor seem I was giving them really negative feedback. I discussed all the issues with hotel director and managers (in my free time after my stay) and suggested which improvements they should make in my opinion. As I am honestly trying to make a positive impact on my surroundings, I believe that the hotel Elizabeth Trencin has great potential and maybe it was just a bad coincidence that so many negative things happened when I was there. Maybe it got even worse as it was during a strong Full Moon when everyone was more nervous and tired.
I gave them a month to improve the things and went back to the hotel for another 5 days in the end of February 2019 to check out the improvements.
Frankly, most of the things did improve dramatically and I was incredibly happy to see a new one-page vegan menu. That improvement made me the happiest. Staff members were also very nice to me, more professional and more human than the first time. I mean those that I got in touch with during my stay, as obviously not all of them were working when I was there.
My second stay was 100% better than the first one, except the fact that I got the same allergy reaction, just a bit smaller. We have discussed it over and over but have not found out what could have caused it. I hardly ever get any allergy. Since I became vegan in 2013, I got allergy 4 times only and twice out of 4 times was at Elizabeth. Usually the allergy is to hidden dairy in my meals, or too much chlorine and freezing weather. During my 2nd stay everyone was 100% sure I did not get any dairy in my meals whatsoever. So I still do not have any idea what caused the allergic reaction on my face. If not for the allergy, my 2nd stay would have been fantastic.
After all the improvements, I can honestly say the following…
What I liked at hotel Elizabeth Trencin:
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Originally built in 1902 but fully reconstructed a few years ago – rooms are new and modern.
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Built in Art Noveau style which makes it look a bit “posh”, luxurious and elegant.
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Its secessionist architecture makes the hotel stand out.
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Good location – the hotel is situated between the train station and Trencin city centre which makes it easy to walk around. No need for a car, taxi or public transportation if you just want to stay in Trencin town. At least I personally enjoy walking always when possible so thumbs up for the hotel location.
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If you are not from Slovakia, you might not know yet that Trencin town has been popular for its medieval castle which is located on a hill just above the hotel Elizabeth. It’s possible to see the majestic Trencin castle from some rooms. The most quiet rooms on the top 4th floor have windows facing towards the castle. That’s exactly where I stayed at as I have sleeping difficulty and could not sleep in a more noisy room on the 2nd floor facing the main road where I stayed in my first night. If you also prefer quiet rooms, opt for a deluxe room on the 4th floor too, or for a room on the 3rd floor facing the hotel atrium.
- Really beautiful mirrors in the rooms, both in bathrooms (with lights) and bedrooms. I guess mostly women will appreciate the mirrors more than men.
- Comfortable beds, bed linens and pillows. Rooms have slippers and bathrobes to be used at spa. It’s easy to just walk with a bathrobe on from your room to wellness located on the main floor using lift.
- Fast wifi – I had no problems with wifi around the hotel and it worked very fast in the room, restaurant, caffe, lobby etc. Only in wellness area it was or very slow or non-existent but I was happy for that as it forced me to relax a little bit without being online all the time even when at spa. I believe no spas should have wifi available, and people should leave their phones in the lockers to chill out and let others around them to relax as well.
- vegan menu – this point is a bit tricky as I really hope it will become part of normal restaurant menu and was not there just for my stay. I tried all the 3 soups, 2 main meals, and 2 breakfast items on the vegan menu. All of them I could taste during my second stay were delicious, indeed. Caffe Sissi and Restaurant Elizabeth are both famous for their tasty cuisine, mostly for the food quality and also the way the meals are designed on plates. The restaurant offers more high-end experience, thus the prices are higher, too.
- room service – I am a big fan of room service as eating in my room is an advantage for me. I can work online while eating and without looking weird with my laptop at the restaurant. Although at hotel Elizabeth online work was not the reason for room service, I still enjoyed dining out in my room.
Pozrite si tento príspevok na Instagrame
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Already the first step into the hotel will put a smile on your face. I’m talking of stunning modern atrium where modern design meets the history.
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You can see the old Roman inscription from 179 AC. It’s written on the rock on which the Trencin castle stands but the only way to see it is through a glass window from inside of the hotel. Just head to the 1st floor where you’ll find the inscription together with some information. Even if you are not a hotel guest you can go to have a look at the Roman inscription. Enter the hotel lobby, head to the lift on your left and press 1. Or if you are not sure where to go, ask at the reception. I’ve seen a few times that the receptionists were giving instructions to non-hotel guests about how to get to the inscription. But remember to take a moment to look around the magnificent hotel atrium as well.
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While at the reception, take a look at 2 things. The first are the original stones from many years ago that are covered with glass next to the sofa. The second thing is a sort of an underground reconstructed kitchen with an old furnace also covered with glass. It can be found between the bar and the restaurant underneath your feet. If I understood it right, all those stones were found in the hotel area in the past.
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Elegant restaurant Elizabeth and Caffe Sissi complete the design of the hotel. Both look very cozy and stylish. The restaurant is usually more quiet and private, but the caffe seemed more spectacular to me when speaking of its design.
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hotel guests have free entrance to Caracalla spa. The spa designed like in ancient Rome, offers hydromassage swimming pool with water jets and bubbles. Roman columns around the pool will get you back in time to the Roman Empire when history of the Trencin castle began. The pool is cool for photos but not that big for swimming. In wellness you can find: Finnish dry sauna, Roman sauna, herbal dry sauna and my favorite steam sauna which also smelled like herbs. There’s 3 ways to cool down after sauna: tropical rain shower, cold fog, or with crushed ice.
- Massages and spa treatments are amazing and affordable. They are not expensive for a 4* hotel and once a month there’s even a ”Sunday massage day” with 30% off all massages. You need to book a massage ahead of time as they are super busy on that sale day.
- I tried 4 different treatments at hotel Elizabeth Trencin: full body Polynesian ritual, face Thalgo ritual with hyaluronic acid, full body aromatherapy massage and classical full body massage with hot stones. Two different spa therapists (Barbora and Frantiska) did my treatments and both were really professional and professional at what they were doing. Massages are done with natural almond oil so in case you are allergic to almonds, please advise them ahead of time. However, usually almond oil is fine for most people and it’s very beneficial for skin. When having aromatherapy massage, essential oil of your choice will be added to almond oil to massage your body. I ordered a full body massage but after a long train ride I asked for just leg and back massage without arms and front part of the body and it was fine to adjust the massage to my needs. The spa therapist had no problems with that.
- Thalgo rituals: both body and face treatments with French Thalgo cosmetics are done at Caracalla spa. Like I said, I had 2 of them, one full body and one facial. Both were amazing, relaxing and I left like a brand new person. The week I was there they were only starting with Thalgo facials at hotel Elizabeth so I was one of the first people to try it on there. The facial with hyaluronic acid cremes, peeling, and face, cleavage and arm massage felt so great I can really recommend it.
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Thumbs up for asking guests to protect nature re-using towels in rooms. I will always support eco-friendly way of life.
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Once a month they organize a big themed brunch with live music at the Elizabeth restaurant. Every month it’s a different theme. So even if you live somewhere close by, you can go to taste different meals each month. It’s not that expensive for all you can eat buffet. I was there in February and can recommend it. They had so much food to choose from, even some vegan options.
- Although I did not have time to attend any yet, I know that yoga lessons are organized at the hotel. There’s a big yoga studio with mirrors on the 4th floor, next to the gym. Yoga lessons are paid extra but entrance to the gym is free of charge for hotel guests.
- The hotel has a congress hall for conferences, weddings and other events.
As every hotel has some issues to work on, hotel Elizabeth Trencin is not an exception. But similarly to us human beings, no hotel is 100% perfect. Sometimes there can be just 1 staff member who will destroy all your experience, or one who, on the contrary, will make you smile during your stay and forget about little details that were not as great as they should be (thank you, Martin). Everything is work in progress and after my second stay at hotel Elizabeth Trencin I just hope that the things won’t go back to how they were until January, but will keep getting better, also thanks to my effort.
If you happen to stay at the hotel and taste any of their vegan meals, please let me know if you liked them 🙂
TIP: Check more of my photos from hotel Elizabeth in my photo album.
TIP 2: Not sure if to visit my home country? These 10 reasons to visit Slovakia might convince you for good 🙂
Once again thanks so much for my 2 stays at the hotel and for all the improvements. Fingers crossed for even more positive changes in the future. For more information, please check hotel Elizabeth website.
David
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What a luxurious hotel, thanks for sharing. The spa looks interesting.
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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Yes, the Roman columns in spa make it unique 🙂
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