On the sandy beaches of North Poland lies Sopot, a seaside town, which is the polish answer to UK’s Brighton. Vibrant, stylish, extremely cool and at the same time very relaxed, Sopot is often referred to as Monaco of the Baltic.
Although it has always been a place famous for its location, unique climate, lush forests and abundant spa waters, recently and gradually Sopot has had a makeover worthy of a world class resort. Let me start at the beautiful, Sofitel re-vamped Grand Hotel, where I enjoyed a glass of perfectly chilled Moet, as in the past did the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Charles de Gaulle, Greta Garbo, Charles Aznavor.
This 5-star hotel has been beautifully and luxuriously restored and looks grander than it ever did.
An absolute alternative is the wonderfully quirky LaLaLa Hotel. Tucked away from the central area of Sopot this cool boutique hotel has been individually designed by the most talented artists and has the best wine degustation events.
Architecturally, the charming neo-baroque, neo-classical and eclectic villas that have remained here, sit juxtaposed against new building like the controversial “Warped House” by M.&S. Szatynski. I contemplated it’s design sitting in the opposite Cafe Blekitny Pudel, where if one is lucky to get a table, one can enjoy watching the parade of the weird and wonderful people from all over the world accompanied by a fantastic mojito.
One never looses the connection to nature in Sopot. The 4.5km of golden, sandy beach is always full of people enjoying a quiet stroll, or dancing till dawn in one of the clubs. The stunning wooden pier build in 1820, cutting into the sea by over 511m is the place to be when the sun sets. Here on a warm summer’s night, under the open sky world cinema movies are being played.
All this makes Sopot a truly magical place, filled with sound, music that hums, stays with you long after you leave the Baltic shores.
http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-3419-sofitel-grand-sopot/index.shtml
