And it went like this...

Name: Hotel Polaris
Address: Słowackiego 33 Żeromskiego 26, Świnoujście, 72-600, PL
Telephone: +48 91 321 54 12

The street Słowackiego, on which we are located, was then called "Friedrichstraße." Before World War II, there was a villa here that was completely destroyed. Like many villas on this street, after the war the ruins were dismantled and the plot was handed over to a state enterprise.

POLARIS I

Standing in front of the entrance of the building and looking at it, it is the building on the right side of the hall where the Ambasador restaurant and the dining room on the second floor are located.

In the 1970s, a project was developed to build a holiday home for the Geodesy employees from Szczecin. The work lasted 6 years and only in 1986 was the holiday home launched. It was a typical socialist project in which bathrooms were not provided in the rooms, only shared bathrooms in the corridors. When the transformation occurred after the collapse of the socialist economy, the Geodesy employees decided to sell the building.
In 1991 the building was put up for auction, which we won by meeting all the criteria.

We bought this building to convert it into apartments and sell them. After preparing the technical documentation, an unexpected change occurred. The Soviet troops left Świnoujście in 1992, leaving a ruined housing estate where Soviet soldiers had lived. Apartment prices dropped sharply. Instead of buying an apartment, one could buy the entire 4-apartment residential building. The idea of building apartments lost its economic basis.

In life, chance often decides, and so it was in our case. My wife and I are engineers who graduated from Szczecin University of Technology, and it was precisely by chance that we were forced to continue tourism activities. Only such activities gave a chance to repay the loan taken to renovate the building. It should be remembered that in the 1990s – we did not have enough own capital. Everything we did was done on credit.

We decided that because Świnoujście has always been known for its wide beach and was recognized as a good place to rest, we decided to convert the building back into a holiday home.
We built bathrooms next to the rooms. In total, we had 31 rooms and a dining room with kitchen facilities.
It was the first private hotel in Świnoujście, and we welcomed our first guest on August 18, 1992.
Our hotel retained the old name Polaris. It is the name of the star indicating direction in the northern sky.
The first contract with a German travel agency was signed in 1993. Back then, accommodation with dinner cost 25 Marks per person.

POLARIS II

Demand for accommodation was growing and the opportunity to buy the building next door arose. Standing in front of the entrance to the facility and looking at it, it is the building to the left of the hall.

This building belonged to the German brewery "Bitburger", which was previously bought by the Szczecin Brewery called "Perełka".

Here as well, we carried out a general renovation, raised the building by 2 floors, installed bathrooms next to the rooms, removed sanitary nodes in the corridors. We added a turret on the roof of the building to refer to the architecture of the 1920s. As always, the purchase and renovation were financed from another loan.

POOL CONNECTOR I

Tourist demands were growing and prompted us to reconsider the elevator, which neither Polaris I nor Polaris II, the former Perełka, had, as well as the issue of the swimming pool.

Both buildings stood next to each other. In 2002, we decided to connect both buildings with a link featuring elevators and a swimming pool. Thus, a beautiful lobby with a reception was created, along with additional rooms for which demand was continuously growing. The construction of the link was completed in 2010.

POLARIS III by the promenade

Even during the construction of the connector between Polaris I and Polaris II buildings on Słowackiego Street, in 2004 the opportunity arose to purchase another building on Żeromskiego Street. The building right by the promenade was a Holiday House of the famous clothing company from Szczecin "Dana" called "Honoratka".

Thus, Polaris III was created, now called Polaris by the promenade. A complete renovation of the building was also carried out here. We obtained permission to add an additional 4 floors. Since once again the purchase and renovation were financed by a loan, we were not able to add 4 floors yet. Our debt reached 900% of revenues and no bank wanted to continue financing our investments. We hope to complete the extension in the future to improve the economics of Polaris III hotel.

Polaris III by the promenade is located by a quiet promenade, surrounded by lush greenery. It has over 36 rooms and is aimed at people who appreciate an intimate character and peace.

Between 2010 and 2020, before the Covid pandemic, we reduced the debt, which enabled further development and expansion.

TO BE CONTINUED...

PASTELOWY... standing in front of the Polaris building and looking at it, it is the building on the right side.

We have purchased the building adjacent to us, Pastelowy. It was a small guesthouse with a 3-star category and 23 rooms, operated by a company from Wrocław. Currently, we have given the building a new shape, are changing all installations, and will renovate it to meet the requirements set for hotels. We are currently applying for another loan.
The final plan includes connecting it with our Polaris hotel from the 2nd floor via a link bridge. Under the link bridge, there will remain a passage for the Fire Brigade vehicle and guests who will still be able to use our parking lot.