Hotel Hrádok near Jelšava, Banská Bystrica Region. (source: Marcela Ballová)
A hotel, which more than half a century ago served as a cottage for the employees of the Jelšava magnesite plant in eastern Slovakia, is beginning a new chapter. The hotel management decided to restore and make it more attractive for visitors of one of the picturesque corners of the Gemer region.
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After all, Hotel Hrádok stands two kilometres away from Ochtinská Aragonite Cave, with its Hall of the Milky Way and 140,000-year-old mineral formations, as well as being nine kilometres from the town of Jelšava.
There are only three such caves in the world; apart from Gemer region, also in Argentina and Mexico.
The hotel itself has been discovered by tourists many times solely by accident, but now it is coming to life and contributing to the development of tourism in one of the least developed regions in Slovakia, writes the My Novohrad website.
Most recently, street-art artist Martin Kremeň turned an old shabby wall by a tennis court into a fascinating story.
A wall painting near Hotel Hrádok. (source: Marcela Ballová)
But the wall painting is far from being the only novelty at the hotel, which used to host the Film Festival of Workers, the largest film event in former Czechoslovakia.
"Everything has had a touch of socialism for a long time. The hotel, more or less, has offered rehabilitation stays for the employees of the magnesite plant and their family members," explained the hotel's manager Lucia Vargová, adding that the hotel now wants to open up more to the public and tourists coming to the region.
Vargová specified that the interior of the hotel will be renovated, as will the wellness area. Her colleague and marketing manager, Zuzana Bolačeková, added that the wellness area consists of a swimming pool, mini spas with hydrotherapy and magnetic therapy, two saunas and cold-plunge pools.
"The Sunday brunches, which we started at Easter, are also interesting," Bolačeková noted.
The cottage, which has been transformed into a three-star hotel, was built in 1962. From here, tourists and cyclists can set out on several hiking and bike trips, as well as explore an educational trail called Hrádok or Gemerské skratky, which are tunnels and bridges representing four unfinished railroads from the Second World War.
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