The back story
Season 2026/27: PKL season pass valid all winter 2026/27; Nosal high season 4 Jan–28 Feb 2027 (nosal.pl) · Ski area: Kasprowy Wierch: two chairlifts, runs of 1,200 m and 2,100 m and a 3,500 m ski trail, not snowmade or lit (pkl.pl); plus Nosal, Polana Szymoszkowa, Harenda and Gubałówka in town · Top viewpoint: Kasprowy Wierch, 1,987 m, on the Polish–Slovak border ridge · Lift pass: Nosal day 145–180 zł (2026/27); PKL season pass 2,099–2,799 zł, reduced 1,699–2,299 zł (2026/27); Kasprowy cable car return 129 zł until 18 Dec 2026 · Nearest station: Zakopane, end of the line from Kraków · Nearest airport: Kraków (KRK)
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The back story
Zakopane·In depth
How a highland village below the Tatras became Poland’s mountain capital: the 1936 cable car to Kasprowy Wierch, the Gubałówka funicular and the ski hills in town.
Where to stay, every budget
Who it suits. On a budget: Strong value in złoty: a day on Nosal costs 145–180 zł in 2026/27, depending on the period, with 4-hour cards from 115 zł (nosal.pl), and the PKL season pass for Kasprowy Wierch, Gubałówka and three more PKL resorts cost 2,099 zł bought online by 30 September 2026, against 2,799 zł from 1 December (pkl.pl). Stay in a pension or Hotel Sabała on Krupówki and eat at the milk bars. Mid-range: Grand Hotel Stamary, in a building whose story goes back to 1905, or Hotel Belvedere at the entrance to the Biały valley, both with pool and spa, and dinner at Stary Niedźwiedź, a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand. Luxury: Nosalowy Park or Aries, Zakopane’s five-star hotels, with NABE SPA and Aries SPA, dinner at Marilor or at Giewont in Kościelisko, holder of one MICHELIN star in 2026, and a reserved place on the Kasprowy cable car.
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NABE SPA · In depth
Zakopane·Five-star hotel·€€€€
A five-star hotel in a beech park on Kościuszki street, with 139 rooms and suites, the NABE SPA with pool, saunas, steam baths, three jacuzzis (one outdoors) and a brine tower, and Restaurant Marilor.
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In the heart of town · In depth
Zakopane·Five-star hotel·€€€€
A five-star hotel in the heart of Zakopane, with Aries SPA’s pool, two covered outdoor jacuzzis, five saunas and nine treatment rooms, suites up to the 53 m² Tatra Suite, the Halka restaurant and a kids’ club.
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On Polana Szymoszkowa · In depth
Zakopane·Four-star hotel·€€€
A 288-room hotel on Polana Szymoszkowa facing the Tatras, with an indoor pool behind a glass wall, a geothermal outdoor pool in season, textile and non-textile sauna zones, a 400 m² kids’ club and Grand Kasprowy.
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A story from 1905 · In depth
Zakopane·Four-star boutique hotel·€€€
A boutique hotel with a story from 1905 on Kościuszki street, with a 600 m² two-level Wellness & SPA of pool, children’s pool, Finnish sauna, steam bath and jacuzzi, Dr Irena Eris treatments and Restauracja Stamary.
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At the Biały valley · In depth
Zakopane·Resort and spa hotel·€€€
A resort hotel at the entrance to the Biały valley, near Krupówki, with a heated pool, a children’s pool with slide, a jacuzzi, dry and infrared saunas and a Roman bath, squash, bowling and Restauracja Pod Aniołem.
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On Krupówki since 1894
Zakopane·Historic hotel·€€
One of Zakopane’s first hotels, built in 1894 as the Staszeczkówka pension, on Krupówki, with regional-style rooms, a pool and mini spa.
