The highest situated High Tatras hotel Sliezsky dom
When in July I invited my mum with her partner on holidays to Central Slovakia, we stayed at Salamandra Resort close to Banska Stiavnica for 5 days. Every summer in Slovakia, I try to go on holidays with my mum (usually somewhere to the beach to relax) and then also with my dad on a motorbike, somewhere in Slovakia to admire our beautiful Slovak nature.
This summer was no different and with my dad we finally found some time to leave home for 6 days in a row.
1 motorbike + 2 people + loads of mountains = FUN!
We both love going back to the High Tatras, the highest and the most famous mountain range in Slovakia with the Gerlach Stit – the highest peak reaching 2,665 m above sea level.
We wanted to be somewhere close so chose the partner hotel of the Salamandra Resort – Sliezsky dom which is the hotel located the closest to the Gerlach Stit and also the highest situated High Tatras hotel in the whole mountains.
So if you are ever wondering where to stay in the High Tatras and would like to go for awesome hikes, then this is the place.
We drove around 230 km from home to get to Sliezsky dom. The trip was pretty fine, it was just colder than I thought it would be. And it was also very windy.
Up to Tatranska Polianka everything was fine, then we had to have a permission to enter with the motorbike as it’s where the TANAP (Tatra National Park) starts so strong noise and many vehicles are not allowed. The road up to the hotel was very curvy, broken at some parts but it was a lot of fun on the motorbike. At least for me, not so much for my dad who had to ride and take care. The views around – trees, villages and clouds – were worth it.
Once we checked in our room number 209, we dropped all the things inside and went for a walk around the Velicke pleso (Velica tarn) by which Sliezsky dom is located. After a few minutes of walking and taking photos, it began to drizzle so we turned back and went to the room to relax.
We only spent 2 nights at Sliezsky dom as then the weekend was coming and it was fully booked already. However, there’s still many hikes to go on and things to do, so I am sure we will be back soon :)
What I loved about Sliezsky dom:
- I was nicely surprised about the room we got – a big two-floor room with a sofa and a TV downstairs, and 2 beds, a table and a bathroom upstairs. Both had a pretty cool view of the surrounding peaks.
- fast wifi – I did expect some wifi connection but even told everyone I was not going to be online much as I thought up there in the mountains it would not work so well. I was wrong. I had no problems with wifi in our room, nor in the restaurant where we had breakfast and lunch. I could update my social media networks with some photos and make you jealous :)
- cuisine – some meals were very similar to those we had at Salamandra Resort so when I saw them, I knew I could not say no. There was plenty of fruit for breakfast for me … and also many sweet cakes, meat, eggs, cheese, veggies and drinks … And dinners were in buffet style too (different to the high end 4-course dinner at Salamandra Resort). The meals were different every night, and I had salads to choose from, too. It would be definitely possible to be vegan, or even raw vegan at Sliezsky dom. It was nice and warm there in the restaurant and I loved the little cushions to sit on on the wooden benches.
- nice staff – once again, each time I meet pleasant people working in hotels/restaurants in Slovakia, I do get surprised. It never used to be like this but it’s finally changing to the better again. Thumbs up! Willing to help with any needs we had.
- spa – I missed the swimming pool there as I so love swimming but I realize there’s no space for a pool at Sliezsky dom, what a shame! There’s a big jacuzzi, a dry Finnish sauna and a steam sauna, and a relax zone with the best view I’ve ever seen from any spa – you could see the whole Velicky vodopad (the Velica waterfall) with the surrounding mountains! ”Relax, take it easy” applies here like nowhere else. I could literally spend an entire day on a bed here covered with a blanket and simply stare through the big glass windows … if only someone brought me coconut water every hour or two :D Another cool thing is a big TV screen next to the jacuzzi so you can learn more about the nature and animals living in the High Tatras from the documentary movie played. Stunning and very fitting.
- many hiking trails around – the weather was not the best, I don’t like cold at all, but at least it was not windy. A few times we got wet in the rain, yet it only made the trekking more adventurous. We were lucky enough to see 13 Tatra chamoises and 2 marmots. I did not even dream of seeing so many of them and relatively so close! I was also amazed at the huge variety of plants and flowers growing all around – yellow, violet and white ones making our hiking even more beautiful.
We hiked more than half of the Polsky Hreben trail around the Velicky vodopad, then spotted all the Tatra chamoises and it started to rain a little bit, so surrounded by many grey clouds we turned back.
Then spent 2 hours in spa and decided to go on an easier hike along the Tatranska Magistrala – this time to Batizovske pleso. This hike is more about the views of the valley and the towns and the villages at the edge of the High Tatras. Unfortunately, we were surprised by heavy rain just before we got to the waterfalls so turned back to Sliezsky dom again.
For more information, please visit Sliezsky dom website. I am so grateful for having discovered this beautiful place and will be back for more in the future. If you are looking for a place where to stay in the High Tatras, then the highest situated hotel Sliezsky dom is the right choice. Go on a hike and then relax in spa? That’s exactly the idea behind my Adventure and Spa project.
