Poland's PRL-era holiday resorts Hyrny and Brda cabins recalled

The Hyrny holiday resort in Zakopane, owned by the Fundusz Wczasów Pracowniczych, has been newly renovated after almost ten years of operation. It now offers 135 spacious rooms, radio‑television rooms, a dining hall and a modernised playroom. The first manager, Jan Kuśmierski, recalled early difficulties with construction, lighting and elevators, and noted that families with children sometimes lacked the required referral documents.

Other remnants of communist‑era tourism are also highlighted. The distinctive A‑shaped Brda cabins, originally produced in Bydgoszcz and once a favourite for families, still exist in limited numbers, many having been modernised with added glazing. In contrast, the once‑luxurious Orbis hotel chain, symbolic of exotic travel within the PRL, has largely vanished.

These recollections illustrate the conditions and legacy of holiday travel in Poland during the People’s Republic era.