SUMMARY: 4 star review due to the following: *GREAT VALUE for money. EXCEPTIONAL even. *GREAT FAMILY EXPERIENCE- kids are catered to & for fabulously. *THE BEST HOTEL BREAKFAST I've ever had! 11 out of 10 for this! *Also because unsure if hotel classifications differ from country to country however so I want to be fair. *Decent location 25 min walk to old town square, adjacent to a train station & lovely river views *However, for a couple's experience, or girls weekend I wouldn't describe it as four star luxury hotel. It's most definitely a family hotel. IN DETAIL.... BREAKFAST: Breakfast is a masterpiece! Best I've ever had! Even had fried eggs as well as scrambled, salmon, American pancakes, waffle maker, all salad items, top cheeses. Literally anything you could ever want. Girls really friendly, they didn't hurry us out when we were still there 45 minutes after breakfast closed, and never said anything when I took some bits away for lunch for my daughter. Particularly LOVED how the fried eggs were cooked with green onions, and how you could even individually select fruits for your fruit salad. Just lovely! Thankyou Qubus restaurant team for a fabulous start to our days! FAMILY EXPERIENCE: Nice bright hotel for kids with a play area, a swimming pool, that allows children and doesn't have a set time for them to be in, and even provides rubber rings, floats and noodles for kids. Cots are provided at £7 per night. My daughter loved her hippopotamus cartoon bedding. Some tables in the foyer/bar are positioned so that you can watch your child in the play area whilst enjoying a drink. We appreciated that. Most Staff don't roll their eyes when Your toddler does classic toddler stuff, as they may well do in other four stars I've stayed in with her. There is also a see through lift with river views which my daughter adored; day& night she looked forward to 'the rocket lift!' VALUE FOR MONEY: I paid only £180 for 4 nights for 2 adults & a 2yr old TOTAL! - cheaper than some hostel DORM beds I've previously stayed in in my twenties! Even with the cot surcharge, this was still unbeatable even for a 2star, let alone a 3 or 4! (I did travel off season, the second week of January however). ROOM I was a little disappointed with the size of the room, However, as said, for the cost it was great. The rooms are old fashioned and could do with being updated (I think we had an old one however because I saw some nice, new, trendy bright yellow ones on the hotel TV advert). In a 4 or 5 star, I think when it's quiet in January and when you are a family 'unit' (especially when its explained in advance by email that you are with your ex partner and your daughter, ie - not a couple), And it is quiet and off season, It's always nice to offer a complimentary upgrade. This is what happened at our UK airport hotel, And also when I have previously travelled to other four stars with my child in the USA - without even asking, just automatically & commonplace, especially for Amex gold+ cardholders, hotels.com silver+ members etc blah blah Obviously you don't expect this (nor cause an issue if it's not offered & you haven't paid for it), if but if it's off season and they do have availability then why not? Also the only time I have seen one pillow on a bed is in a hostel dormitory. Usually four star hotels offer a abundance of pillows, or at the very least, two & a spare in a cupboard. However, they promptly bought more when my daughter's Father asked. They were very attentive like this. Twin beds were very comfortable and room had very little street noise. We all had very good night sleep. I did appreciate the old fashioned thermostat because I know how to work those. Very simple. Room was just at the right temperature therefore and you could adjust easily. Unlike these new modern fandangled ones where they're all digital and they don't leave any explanation for how they work, & you can never get it right! I love that both tea at coffee were left and that they were replenished unlike other hotels. However, I do think that part of a four-star experience is biscuits (cookies) in the room. Big sweet tooth person! KIDS PLAY AREA: An unexpected bonus! Well stocked, colourful & even had an Xbox for older kids. Although I don't like bar set up (see below) we appreciated the ability to have a tipple whilst watching our daughter play happily. SPA: As well as a family experience, I chose this hotel because I'm all about the hotel bar and the hot tub. The latter's my 'thing', and the basis of which I choose a hotel. It has to have one. These were going to be my mummy treats and my ex partner and I were going to tag team going to enjoy these whilst the other looked after our daughter. Unfortunately the hotel falls short here. I kid you not the hottub was literally the temperature that I run the bath for our toddler and the coldest tub I've ever been in. This was a real shame as it's a very powerful hot tub, Great jets. Great pressure, pretty lights. There is also a stunning view of the river from the pool and the pool is very pretty, clean and lit up a beautiful colour blue. So it is a real shame that this marred an experience which could have been amazing. Especially when I picked the hotel based on this. Also, it has massive problems with its layout. There's a huge area by the sauna and spa which could have been changing rooms, yet there are literally zero places to change. I'm not joking or exaggerating. Change in your hotel room. This would not be so bad but the staff & certain guests, kept propping open the door, and as a result passing men would see you getting changed (in a tiny corridor) fully naked when they passed for the sauna & steam. Lastly, unfortunately the whole place was freezing. Yes it was minus 17 outside but that is all the more reason to keep the temperature adequate. I touched the radiator and it wasn't even on. You don't expect that at all in a 4 star experience and I think they need to address that one asap. Unfortunately this made it not as relaxing as experience as it could have been. A real shame since the facilities are quite lovely. Plus point were the Cheerful, helpful staff on duty, especially the young girl on duty Tue 9th Jan evening, who went out her way to check the hottub temperature without even being asked. BAR I'm going to sound Uber snobby here I know ( If I don't do already;), but the hotel bar is unfortunately just a stand in a foyer. In a 4 star you have certain expectations & so I'm expecting a smart little cocktail bar, or at the very least a separate room. A proper BAR bar that maybe non residents sometimes go to too. Not an area in a foyer with everybody coming & going with suitcase checking in & out. This isn't a relaxing experience. With all the space in this hotel I don't know why they don't create one, or at least have an area of the restaurant where you can go in and feel like you're in a bar. They could create this now overnight and make it a better experience. It didn't help that the woman who served us appeared a little grumpy. Perhaps she had just had a bad day that day however.... STAFF I am used to travelling in the USA & work with Americans daily. My ex who is Polish had prepped me that I may find specifically the hospitality a culture shock - and indeed I did. I'm not saying the American way is the right way, as I firmly believe in Rome you do as the Romans do. However many of the staff don't even smile at you- and a smile costs nothing. (As you can see from my overwriting), I'm a raving overthinker - and it makes me very uncomfortable as I start wonder internally what I have done to annoy them. The gentleman on night duty, for example, doesn't even say hello when you arrive at the hotel and walk right past him when there's nobody else in the foyer at all. That's just basic. Very odd.... They let down the other 50% (For example most of the daytime check-in ladies, the helpful young girl on the spa tue-thu), the sweet housekeeping lady on our floor, who whilst still somewhat reserved and reflective of the Polish culture, welcomed & smiled as You would expect in hotel of its classification. Overall I've given a four star as my daughter had constant smiles on her face and felt at home in the hotel. Those smiles are priceless and that is what the trip was about for her Dad & I, first and foremost. With the wonderful breakfast, the friendly staff we did encounter, The exceptional breakfast, and Incredible value for money, it would be criminal of me to rate this hotel any less than 4 stars. As said, I'm not sure whether hotel classifications differ internationally, But if they are the same, then just a few simple tweaks would bring Qubus in line with some of the four stars I visited in the US & UK. Thank you Qubus team! ❤️ …