Mid-July. In the city, the asphalt steams after a storm, while in Karpacz people stand in line for ice cream on the promenade and wait for someone to vacate a bench. You have come to the Karkonosze Mountains for two days and want just one thing: for nobody to hurry you along.
A summer weekend for two does not have to look like this. Fifteen kilometres from the crowds, in Piechowice between Jelenia Góra and Szklarska Poręba, stands a Baroque palace dating from 1725. The historic building is surrounded by eighteen and a half hectares of parkland, along with three ponds and a terrace overlooking the Karkonosze Mountains. In the evening, you can mainly hear the birds.
The same area. Two completely different days.
A summer weekend for two away from the crowds – why choose Pałac Pakoszów instead of central Karpacz?
Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba can be crowded in summer: full car parks, queues for the gondola, restaurants with waiting times. This has its charm if you want to spend time in an intense, urban atmosphere. It is less appealing if you have come to get away from people.
At this time of year, the Jelenia Góra Valley offers greater peace and quiet. It lies at a lower altitude, is green and spacious, and its palaces are scattered throughout the area, each with its own park. In summer, when the resorts become crowded, you can find breathing space and room here.
Pałac Pakoszów lies in this very part of the region – away from the centre, but not in the middle of nowhere. Jelenia Góra is a few kilometres away, and Karpacz is a dozen or so kilometres away. Everything is within reach whenever you want it.
A weekend for two in the Karkonosze Mountains should be a time for rest and respite in an intimate atmosphere. Staying at Pałac Pakoszów, you can take a walk through its own park at nine in the evening, when the sun sinks behind the ridge, or in the morning, and hardly meet anyone.
A summer weekend for two in a palace – what does Pałac Pakoszów offer?
Pałac Pakoszów is a property with a long history and strong traditions. It is not a hotel built in a palace style, but an authentic building from times gone by. The Baroque residence was built in 1725 by Johann Martin Gottfried, brother-in-law of Christian Mentzel – the wealthiest linen merchant in Jelenia Góra. The ground floor was used for bleaching linen, while the upper floor housed reception rooms. At that time, linen from Jelenia Góra was sold throughout Western Europe, and merchants built residences to rival those of the aristocracy.
People you learned about at school once stayed here. Frederick the Great – three times. John Quincy Adams, later President of the United States, around 1800. The poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock. More details about Pałac Pakoszów can be found on the website.
The Tiled Room – the palace’s most romantic interior
There is one room in this palace that is worth seeing even if you are not planning to have dinner there.
The Tiled Room in the Blue Tower has walls covered with hand-painted tiles from Delft in the Netherlands, brought here in the 18th century. Every tile is different. The makers’ marks can be seen in the corners. At the time the palace was built, transporting them meant travelling hundreds of kilometres by horse-drawn cart, and each individual tile was an expensive object – a complete room covered with them was a demonstration of wealth.
Today, it is a place for engagements, vow renewals and dinner for two by the fireplace. It can be reserved for one couple at a time.
A summer weekend for two at the SPA – the SPA and relaxation area at Pałac Pakoszów
In the Karkonosze Mountains, relaxation usually takes an active form. After a hot day on the trail or on a bicycle, the best way to recover is in warm water.
The palace SPA is intimate, and that is its advantage. The indoor pool is lined with Greek marble, the Finnish sauna smells of Canadian cedar, and the Karkonosze Mountains can be seen through the glass wall in the relaxation room. There is no queue for a sun lounger or family noise from a children’s pool – this is not a water park, but an area for around a dozen people.
The pool is open from seven in the morning until ten in the evening, so you can start and end the day with a swim. Relaxation massages and beauty treatments are available by prior appointment – it is worth booking them when reserving your room, especially at weekends.
The palace garden and summer terrace – space just for you
This is something no hotel in the centre of a resort can provide: eighteen and a half hectares of parkland with three ponds – former fishponds – and paths where you will not meet anyone in the evening.
The Rose Terrace opens in summer. Dinner is served with a view of the mountains, and if the weather is good, you will stay there longer than planned. The sun sets over the Karkonosze ridge at around twenty-one hundred in July – a good time to order dessert.
A walk after dinner. Paths, ponds, silence. This moment will stay with you long after the weekend is over.
A summer weekend for two in the Karkonosze Mountains – what can you do as a couple?
Two days are enough to see several beautiful places in the area and relax at an unhurried pace. A tried-and-tested rhythm looks like this:
Friday:
Evening: arrival, dinner on the terrace at Stara Bielarnia restaurant.
Saturday
Morning: breakfast, followed by cycling. The Valley of Palaces and Gardens is practically made for two wheels – the palaces are linked by short stretches of picturesque local roads. The Łomnica – Wojanów – Karpniki loop is a leisurely few hours with a coffee stop.
Afternoon: SPA. Water, sauna, sun lounger by the glass wall.
Evening: dinner on the terrace, a walk through the park.
Sunday
Morning: set off for a walk in the mountains. Kamieńczyk Waterfall in Szklarska Poręba – the highest in the Polish Karkonosze Mountains – is a quarter of an hour from here. It is cool in the gorge even in hot weather.
Midday: Chojnik Castle, on a 627-metre-high summit at the edge of a hundred-metre precipice known as the Hell Valley. Legend has it that Princess Kunegunda promised her hand to whoever could ride a horse around the castle walls. No knight succeeded.
Return: lunch at the palace, coffee in the garden, departure without rushing.
A summer weekend for two in the mountains – trails and activities for couples
If you feel like doing more than walking, the Karkonosze Mountains are right next door.
Śnieżka – 1602 metres, the highest peak in the Sudetes – can be reached from Karpacz by trails via Samotnia and Strzecha Akademicka, or by cable car followed by a walk. At the summit stand a meteorological observatory, the Chapel of St Lawrence and the highest post office in Poland. A fun fact: you can send a postcard from there.
If you prefer shorter walks: Śnieżne Kotły, Szklarka Waterfall, or walks along the banks of the Kamienna River. And for those who would rather stay down in the valley, there is Julia Glassworks in Piechowice, ten minutes from the palace, with demonstrations of crystal blowing and workshops where you can make something to take home yourself.
A summer weekend for two in a palace hotel – Pałac Pakoszów versus a typical hotel in the Karkonosze Mountains
How does a stay at Pałac Pakoszów differ from a weekend at a standard hotel? A good hotel in Karpacz also has a SPA, good food and a view. The difference lies elsewhere.
At a hotel, you step out onto a terrace beside the car park. Here, you step into a park that is three hundred years old and stretches across eighteen hectares.
At a hotel, you have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Here, you dine in a former linen bleachery, where linen was soaked and rinsed for a hundred years before being spread out in the meadows to bleach in the sun. That is where the name comes from: Stara Bielarnia.
At a hotel, you sleep in a room that looks like any other in its category. Here, you sleep in a house through which the history of Silesia has passed – a house that still stood empty in the 1990s, until a descendant of its former owners bought it and brought it back to life.
It is not a question of standard, but of experiences.
Dinner for two in the palace restaurant – a summer menu and views of the Karkonosze Mountains
The Stara Bielarnia restaurant occupies the historic part of the palace on level zero, with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace in the main room. The cuisine combines regional Polish dishes with modern Mediterranean influences – and there is also a wine list.
In summer, guests are happiest spending time on the terrace. Dinner at sunset, mountains on the horizon, silence. The fireplace in the dining room is reserved for cooler evenings, which can occur even in August in the Karkonosze Mountains.
It is worth reserving a table for the weekend in advance.
Book your summer weekend for two at Pałac Pakoszów
A park instead of a promenade. Delft tiles instead of a picture on the wall. Dinner with a view of the Karkonosze Mountains instead of queueing for a table.
A summer weekend for two, away from the heat and crowds — in a palace that has stood here for three hundred years and has no intention of rushing anywhere.
Check availability and book your stay → Pakoszów Palace packages
FAQ — a summer weekend for two at Pakoszów Palace in the Karkonosze Mountains
What makes a summer weekend for two at Pakoszów Palace stand out from typical hotels in the Karkonosze Mountains?
Pakoszów Palace is an authentic Baroque palace dating from 1725, not a hotel styled to look like a palace. It also boasts 18.5 hectares of parkland with three ponds, the Tiled Hall with eighteenth-century Delft tiles, a restaurant in a former linen bleaching house and an intimate SPA. Its location in Piechowice, away from resort centres, means peace and quiet instead of summer crowds.
What is there to do during a summer weekend for two at Pakoszów Palace?
A tried-and-tested two-day plan: in the morning, a cycling route through the Valley of Palaces and Gardens; in the afternoon, SPA time; and in the evening, dinner on the Rose Terrace followed by a walk through the park. On the second day, take a mountain trip — to Kamieńczyk Waterfall, Chojnik Castle or Śnieżka. The Julia Glassworks, which also offers workshops, is nearby.
Does Pakoszów Palace have a SPA for a summer weekend for two?
Yes. The facilities include an indoor pool (open 7:00–22:00), a Finnish sauna, a relaxation room with views of the Karkonosze Mountains and a fitness room. Relaxing massages and beauty treatments are available by prior appointment. The SPA is intimate — it is not a water park, but a wellness area for a limited number of guests.
Is there a special package for a summer weekend for two at Pakoszów Palace?
The palace offers stay packages, including options for couples and stays with a SPA voucher. Check the current offers and availability directly on the palace website.
How far is Pakoszów Palace from the centres of Karpacz and Jelenia Góra?
The palace is located in Piechowice, between Jelenia Góra and Szklarska Poręba. Jelenia Góra city centre is a few kilometres away, while Karpacz is a dozen or so kilometres away — both are within a short drive, but the hustle and bustle of the resorts remains on the other side.
How can I book a summer weekend for two at Pakoszów Palace?
You can book directly through the palace website. For summer weekends, especially in July and August, it is worth booking in advance — the number of rooms is limited.