Mountain Medical Spa & Sport Retreat in the Beskidy Mountains, Poland

The hotel is in Przyłęków, reached via the village of Świnna, roughly 15 minutes from Żywiec in the Silesian Voivodeship. It's a four-star property and it's fairly large — big enough to host conferences and banquets — but the setting keeps it feeling quieter than the size suggests. The building faces the long ridge of the Beskid Żywiecki, and the Przyłękówka stream runs through the valley below.

The Medical SPA is the centrepiece and it's genuinely well-equipped, positioned as one of the more modern medical spas in Poland. The treatment menu is long: classic massages, body treatments, baths, cosmetology including facial care, treatments aimed specifically at men, and a broader medical spa programme built around the hotel's location and air quality. If you're here for a spa break rather than a fitness one, you can fill several days with treatments alone.

The Wellness Zone is where you go between treatments — a pool with mountain views, plus sauna and relaxation areas. The hotel describes it as a place for 'complete silence and recovery', and the combination of the altitude, the forest, and the low light pollution does make it noticeably calm.

For activity, there's the Sport part of the name: the pool for swimming, and the Beskid Żywiecki trails for walking and hiking in every direction. This is walking country more than gym country — the ridge above the hotel is the main attraction, and there are marked routes of varying lengths from the village. In winter the same trails become cross-country skiing routes, and the larger Beskidy ski areas are a short drive away.

What separates this from a generic spa hotel is the scale of the medical spa operation and the food. Chef Rafał Rak's menu at Restaurant 'Delicacy' is built on Polish specialities — the hotel describes each dish as revealing 'rich, centuries-long history... in its original, modern twist'. It's a proper restaurant, not a buffet afterthought, and it's one of the reasons people come back.

The hotel also has an electric vehicle charging station, which is handy if you're driving down from Kraków or Katowice — both are around 1.5 to 2 hours away.

What's included

- Accommodation at Hotel Żywiecki Medical Spa & Sport - Breakfast at the hotel restaurant (most packages) - Dinner at Restaurant 'Delicacy' (most packages) - Access to the Wellness Zone and swimming pool - Access to the Medical SPA facilities - Spa treatments (package dependent — e.g. 22 treatments on the 5-night New US package)

What's not included

- Travel to and from the hotel - Flights and transport to Poland - Travel insurance - Lunches (unless specified in your package) - Additional spa and medical treatments beyond those in your package - Personal expenses - Electric vehicle charging costs