I would like to start off by saying that I sometimes catch myself suspiciously looking at certain websites. These sites contain colourful and glossy pictures, and I often look at them cynically, judging whether what these pictures show is in fact real. I am of course referring to pictures of lodging accommodations. I have travelled a lot in my life, living for many years in the United States, where I collected many memories, both the beautiful ones I treasure, and those I would rather forget. Some of those that I would like to forget were spent in awful hotel rooms.

I began my B&B from scratch. I started from an apartment that I used to live in myself. It was myself whom I was trying to find an attractive location for, as well as solutions for the layout. Soon I was arranging apartments located in the same building, preparing them as if I were to live in them myself.

Let me start by telling you about the location that my B&B is in. After a long time of living in the Chicago suburbs I promised myself that, upon returning to Warsaw, I would live in a place located within walking distance to the key locations of the city. The other aspect I kept in mind was the character of the building that I would like to live in.

The building on Smolna Street satisfied all the criteria I set out to the fullest potential (minding you that my criterion was diverse and atypical, considering the Polish tendency to move to the suburbs.)

Smolna Street is a small narrow street located in the beating heart of Warsaw’s Old Town. One of the January uprising leaders, Romuald Traugutt, used to live on this street, Maria Curie used to visit her sister here, Tadeusz Boy Zelenski wrote his books here, and one of Warsaw’s legendary upscale restaurants, Gastronomia, received its guests here. One of the most modern bridges on the Vistula river, as well as the Polish National Museum of Fine Arts was built in close proximity to the B&B. Just after World War II, the communists decided to locate their Central Committee directly across from what is now my B&B! Smolna Street is indeed a magic place, from which you can walk along the trees to reach the Lazienki Park, or head down the Nowy Swiat passage towards the Royal Castle and the Old Town Square. I am fully convinced I could not have found a better location for my B&B.

The building locating my B&B, 14 Smolna, dates from 1910. It is exceptionally safe and modern, and it is kept in the Berlin-style modernism (Bauhaus). Years of communism had a dramatic and unfortunate impact upon it. Nevertheless, a few years of hard work, painstaking renovation and reconstruction have given the building all of its old charm back.

Now, dear Reader, you already know where I live. Perhaps you would also be interested to know what the standards of my place are. If I say that they are high or medium-high, it probably would not give you the best idea. I will instead tell you a bit more about some concrete solutions I applied:

1. Bathroom: Impeccably clean and operational, with hot running water, and fully equipped with accessories, such as a hair dryer. Not to mention fresh sets of toiletries, towels and toilet paper.


2. Bed: Wide, comfortable, traditional, equipped with a new spine-healthy mattrace, wool or cotton duvet, and cotton bed sheets. Pillows do not contain natural feather, in order to eliminate possible sources of allergies.


3. Floors: Made of natural wood, covered with ecological floor polish, without a carpet. However, the King Apartment contains a new light-coloured set of woollen floor tapestry. I realise that its life span will not be that long, but I assure it will satisfy those who fancy soft and stylish decoration.


4. Dining Room: Is connected to the kitchen, where Guests can consume their meals. Some of the apartments are equipped with refrigerators, stoves and a set of dishes, which offer the possibility of preparing your own meals in privacy…


5. Flowers: Give you energy to live, and should always be found where people are present.


6. Telephone: Once I paid the sum of 0 for a three-minute phone call in a New York hotel. After that, I decided that if I ever entered the hospitality business, I would enable my customers to call as much as they wished, and for the same costs that I incurred when I made my phone calls. Thus, I installed a telephone system, which allows both intra-room and outside communication, and the rates correspond with the regular Polish Telephone Company prices.


7. Internet: When I visited Geneva this spring, my hotel charged me 1 Franc per minute for the Internet connection. My house Guests are allowed to use the Internet (wireless) free of charge (in most rooms).


8. Breakfast: As is the case with the odd, old and new cities such as Warsaw, they usually require a good tour guide. It is a pleasure for me and my associates to reveal some of Warsaw's secrets to you, especially during breakfasts. I am happy to give good advice, whether it is about how to avoid over-charging taxi drivers or where to find the best Zurek (a Polish soup) in the city. We also gladly help arrange airport pickups for my Guests. The breakfasts we serve comprise everything we adore eating ourselves: white and yellow cheeses, village eggs, plum jam prepared by my mother (really!), along with dark berry, raspberry and cherry jams. There are also tomatoes aplenty, a few types of exquisite ecological Polish bread, juices, yogurts and… the best cappuccino in town!

9. TV Access: If you feel tired after a full day of exploring Warsaw, you can always watch a plethora of cable TV channels available at my B&B.

One of my Guests, Dolores, who works for a prestigious global chain of hotels, told me upon her farewell that it was hard for her to pinpoint the weak points of my B&B. However, I am aware that there is always room for improvement, and by the time you visit me, any of the possible shortcomings of my B&B will become history, as each day brings new positive developments and improvements.

See you at the Smolna B&B!!!

Your grateful host,

Jarek