Hotel 500

Lovely hotel right on the lake in Zegrze. Compact rooms, but clean and comfortable. Excellent value for money. Friendly, polite, professional staff. Couldn't fault anyone from the receptionists to the restaurant waiting staff and the housekeepers. The location is perfect. Beautiful views of the lake. Plenty to do, from sunbathing on the loungers provided by the hotel free of charge to guests, either on the perfectly manicured lawn or the hotel's private beach, to a range of watersports including wakeboarding, pedalos, windsurfing, sailing. The restaurant is the jewel in the hotel's crown. The delicious buffet breakfast is just the start. Offering a range of cold and hot dishes, there is something for everyone. The bread alone is fabulous, the scrambled eggs are cooked to a turn and somehow they manage to keep them that way throughout service! Cold meats, cheese and fish with a selection of dressings and salad offer a taste of Poland, crisp bacon and sausage will keep fans of a cooked breakfast happy and I haven't even started on the fruit, yoghurt, cereal, pastries, and crepes... a great start to your day on the lake! The restaurant opens for lunch right through to dinner. The menu is concise. A cold starter of salmon reillettes or a choice of salad or soup is more than enough. The salmon was just delicious. Very carefully put together with a little bread, pickles, and dressed with a beetroot emulsion. The flavours are balanced beautifully, with the flavour of the salmon taking main stage. We tried both the chicken ceasar and poached egg and asparagus salads during our stay. Both are generous in size and have enough about them to make a light meal on their own. The chicken is cooked perfectly, moist and well flavoured by the grill. The ceasar dressing is just right, not overly "fishy", salty but not overpowering, creamy and a pleasing flavour from the parmesan. The poached egg and asparagus salad was totally brought together by the fantastic mustard dressing, reminiscent of hollandaise. The egg was a little over for my taste, but a great happy medium for all palettes. Eggs can leave diners divided! The asparagus, again cooked perfectly and the texture, paired with crisp iceberg lettuce, was a joy to eat! The cashew nuts are an addition that is one of many unique, clever little twists through the menu that highlight the imagination and true understanding of flavours possessed by the chef. My first experience of Chłodnik (cold beetroot and buttermilk soup) was something I will never forget! Literally a taste of summer in a bowl. I could happily eat a bowl of that vividly coloured, flavour packed soup everyday! For a very brief moment it's almost too beautiful to eat... but the flavours quickly put that thought out of your mind! Our first main dishes this week were the Schabowy and the ribs. I was delighted to see that the Schabowy was cooked simply and served with potatoes and young kaputsta. Good Schabowy needs no fanfare! Quality pork, on the bo