A guest of the castle

Situated in the scenic area where the Łyna and Symsarna rivers fork in the Masurian lake district, the Hotel Krasicki was developed by converting the buildings adjacent to the Zamek Biskupów Warmińskich castle, which had lain derelict for many years. After an investment of PLN 60 mln, the hotel opened its doors to its first guests in May 2011.

Four stars is not enough
The architectural design, its supervision, as well as the interior design of the hotel were the responsibility of a team of Olsztyn-based architects: Katarzyna and Grzegorz Dżus, the owners of the DżusGK Architekci studio. "We also owe the nomination and the main prizes at the International Property Awards competition to them," claims Andrzej Dowgiałlo. "The renovation of the hotel was preceded by archaeological work aimed at preserving the oldest parts of the building. Now our guests can use the library and the reading room as well as visit the astronomical observatory located in the clock tower." Apart fromall this, the hotel offers services such as a wellness centre (a swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and fitness club) and a spa. The style and interior design of the rooms makes reference to the historic architecture of the grounds. Guests have 122 rooms at their disposal, which can accommodate a total of 250 people. These include 113 single and double rooms and seven junior suites. "Hotel Krasicki has four stars at this point. It is our aim to improve the hotel's standard up to five stars by the end of the year. This will involve improving the quality of service, training the staff and focusing even more on clients' expectations," explains Andrzej Dowgiałło.

Masurian pearls
Now Grupa Anders has five hotels in the Warmian- Masurian province, three of which are four-star facilities: Anders in Stare Jabłonki, Krasicki in Lidzbark Warmiński and Zamek Ryn in Ryn. The company also owns the three-star Miłomłyn Zdrój hotel in Miłomłyn and Osada Warmińska in Guzowy Piec. The group started out as the Traveland travel agency, which was established in 1989. In 1992 the company took over a run-down estate including a manor house, a motel and several buildings in Stare Jabłonki. After one year of renovations, Hotel Anders was opened. A swimming-pool, more hotel wings and conference rooms were added over the next few years. Now the hotel offers 120 rooms, seven conference halls, a swimming pool, three types of sauna, a spa, a bowling alley, a gym and tennis courts.
The Osada Warmińska Natural & Spa in Guzowy Piec was opened in 1998. It was purchased as an old school with a house and a barn within its grounds. Initially, seven all-year-round cottages were built and a forester's lodge was converted into a restaurant and some rooms. Now Osada offers five double rooms and 17 bungalows (or ?cottages'), as well as five conference halls. In 1999 Karczma Warmińska was opened in Gietrzwałd. Another project was developed in 2003 - the Hotel Miłomłyn Zdrój in Miłomłyn. Initially it was aimed at business clients. In 2007 the decision was taken to convert Hotel Miłomłyn into Centrum Medyczne Miłomłyn Zdrój. The centre was created by extending the hotel and the newly-created centre for diagnostics and cardiac and general medical rehabilitation. The hotel can now sleep 112 people. In 2004 Grupa Anders decided to purchase a run-down fourteenth-century castle in Ryn. Preparations for the launch of the project took nearly two years, due to difficulties in securing finance and lengthy negotiations with the conservators of historic monuments. In 2006 Zamek Ryn, offering 143 rooms and ten conference halls with a total area of 2,000 sqm, was officially opened.