through the gates of time to the sources of history
Hotel Senacki is the first hotel of the Osti-Hotele company. A company created from a passion for hospitality and for Krakow. The facility has been managed from the start by the Ostachowski family who comes from Kraków.
The knowledge of the city and its rich history, hotel traditions – these are what make our place exceptional. We believe that experiencing Krakow cannot be a plan from point A to point B. It’s an element of surprise, seeing “more.” It’s about feeling the place with your whole self.
You need to know that time in Senacki has truly stopped. The walls of the tenement house, full of beautiful history, recreate it day by day. Sometimes silently, only through photos hanging on them. And sometimes loudly, through the servants of history – the entire staff of Hotel Senacki.
Now that you know us, it’s time for you to familiarize yourself with the history of the building that houses our hotel. And truth be told, it began quite a while ago…
The start of our history with hospitality
My path was quite obvious because my entire youth was in the hotel business. My dad was the one who thought we should go from the trade industry into hospitality, using the three tenement houses we owned in Kraków.
The first one we adapted for Hotel Senacki was the property on Grodzka Street. That was the beginning of our family’s history in hospitality. Watching my dad, I developed a desire to continue the family business. I chose to study tourism and recreation in Krakow and specialized in hospitality. For me, the path was obvious because I nurtured the spirit of hospitality living in a hotelier family.
Hotel Senacki is housed in one of the first tenement houses that came into being in the Middle Ages. The place where it currently stands was formerly known as Okół, a city built by Władysław Łokietek right under the Wawel Castle.
A few steps away, at the square next to St. Andrew’s Church, a bustling marketplace concentrated small city trade. In two rows separated by a lane, there stood a complex of brick stalls. The eastern part is the cellars under the tenement house where Hotel Senacki is now, along with a secluded conference center and restaurant.
History didn’t spare this place tough moments. In July 1850, Krakow was struck by the biggest fire in its history. The city was almost completely destroyed. However, the building was rebuilt and by 1874–1876 regained its former glory.
Hotel Senacki started welcoming guests in 2002. It was intended as a small boutique establishment where tourists could soak in the atmosphere of an old Polish town while observing life in its very center. In 2012, after thorough renovation, stylistic changes, and interior arrangements, the standard was raised. Now, as a charming, atmospheric 4-star hotel, it offers an inspiring stop right in the center of art and culture, which Krakow undoubtedly is.
Within these walls, we not only sleep but live, breathe, and weave together a story. Join us in making steps through time, and Krakow will become for you not just a city but a unique treasure waiting to be discovered.
See how this story can begin.
