President of Arche SA Władysław Grochowski
This is the 24th Arche network facility, Metalowiec in Muszyna, located in a year-round mountain spa resort. The 373-room facility, featuring modern conference spaces, will be one of the largest in the Małopolska Voivodeship and the largest in Muszyna. The total investment costs for the Arche Group amounted to nearly PLN 150 million, and it will eventually employ approximately 200 people.
Arche Metalowiec Muszyna, opening its doors to guests, boasts modernist architecture with high-ceilinged rooms offering breathtaking views of the valley and mountain ranges. This green area is primarily known for its mineral waters, beautiful landscapes, and ski slopes. The Muszyna health resort treats respiratory and digestive system diseases, and the main wealth of this resort is its resources of mineral medicinal waters, which contain essential human bioelements such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, iron, selenium, and lithium. Muszyna is also an excellent base for further hiking and cycling trips in the Sądecki Beskids. It is worth adding that the venture undertaken by Arche is a relatively unusual project.
— Arche Metalowiec Muszyna is a unique hotel facility with incredible potential, which was once utilized during the PRL era. Now, it proudly returns revitalized in a new form. It is also a unique offering in our portfolio. I would add that from the very beginning, since we became interested in Muszyna, the residents and local government had a huge influence on the decision to implement our investment here, showing us what a cohesive community they form, how important Muszyna’s development is to them, and what enormous potential they see in this region. We met many kind people and entrepreneurs here, thanks to whom we reawakened Metalowiec. The Mayor of Muszyna, Jan Golba, is undoubtedly one of the best local government officials in Poland. We have exemplary cooperation with the local authorities there, which allowed for such a rapid implementation of this huge investment. — said Władysław Grochowski, President of Arche SA, during the opening of the facility.
It is worth adding that the name “Metalowiec” is associated with the Federation of Metalworkers’ and Steelworkers’ Trade Unions, which was once the investor and administrator of the facility. The Metalowiec Sanatorium was built in the 1960s and was also known as “Gwiazda Gór” (Mountain Star). This place was owned by the Association of Polish Steelworks and was one of the most modern sanatorium facilities of the PRL era, with its own cinema, swimming pool, and mineral water pump room. Although Metalowiec underwent a thorough renovation in the 1990s, it never regained its former glory. For over a dozen years, it deteriorated until it was purchased by Arche SA in December 2021, and revitalization work began in August 2023. Over many years and by subsequent owners, the facility was rebuilt and modernized, unfortunately often in a manner inconsistent with good practice, which made developing structural reinforcements a huge challenge. Today, the decaying sanatorium building, purchased five years ago by Arche, along with a 3.2 ha plot of land, has been thoroughly revitalized and adapted to current tourism and business standards for the HoReCa and MICE sectors.
— Our hotels are a unique lifestyle space where atmosphere, history, local culture, and surroundings are paramount. For years, we have successfully focused on emotions, unconventional locations, and the revitalization of forgotten objects, as well as building communities, responding to the needs of overstimulated travelers and event organizers. We want our facility in Muszyna to operate at full capacity throughout the year, which is why the functions provided there allow for relaxation, tourism, and the organization of congresses or business and cultural events on a national scale. It is worth adding that hotels are currently evolving from simple accommodation places into “experience” centers, offering unique sensations, design, and interactions, not just beds to sleep in. This is exactly what Arche Metalowiec in Muszyna is, combining an extraordinary history with modernity. Moreover, we are always eager to draw on the knowledge of people whose lives were connected with a given facility. This is an expression of respect for the resources and history of the place. Our new facility in Muszyna will certainly contribute to the development of the region for the benefit of local communities — says Adam Białas, Director of Communication and Operations — Press Spokesperson for Arche S.A. Group.
Arche’s revitalization project in Muszyna included the renovation of the old facility and its expansion. The original name — Sanatorium Metalowiec — was also restored. The hotel, with a magnificent view of the Beskid mountains, has a total usable area of 13,230 sqm of buildings surrounded by a green park. The main goal of Arche’s architects, led by Piotr Grochowski, was to emphasize the style of the old sanatorium building with all its layers, while introducing modern architecture that is a further continuation of the original functions, but enriched with additional gastronomic, conference, and accommodation spaces.
— This is a unique facility due to the way modernist architecture has been treated, in the same way we do with 19th-century palaces, honestly showing and discovering history. An extremely important element was the introduction of art elements, which were obtained, among other things, on existing walls by preserving layers of paint, and these works were carried out by construction workers, thus creating amazing works — explains Piotr Grochowski, chief architect of Arche.
High-quality materials were used for the interior design of the hotel, and warm, bright colors complete the overall look. The facility also has two swimming pools – an outdoor and an indoor pool, and a children’s zone. The investor decided to preserve as many historical elements as possible. Hence, original furniture and armchairs, which were acquired with the property, have been restored. They now fill the spaces of the restaurant, cafe, and hotel rooms. The existing parquets, stone floors, balustrades, and stairs, as well as tableware and lamps that have stood the test of time, have been renovated. It is also worth adding that the walls cleaned by construction workers are living paintings — a unique cross-section of history — showing all the layers of paint applied over the years. Only what fell off by itself was removed, leaving as much of the existing fabric as possible. The original mosaic by the outstanding artist Kazimierz Mann, adorning the pool wall, has also been preserved; cleaned and renovated, it emphasizes the historical value of the facility. In turn, the preserved frescoes from the sanatorium’s operating period at the reception depict, among other things, a map of the area, and a mosaic in the new part of the building, designed by Monika Wojciechowska and made by prisoners incarcerated in the Remand Prison in Warsaw – Służewiec, depicts Nikifor surrounded by the heroes of his paintings, introducing guests to the restaurant “u Nikifora”. Furthermore, in the foyer of the conference center, for example, there is furniture found after Arche took over the facility, which was restored by prisoners from the Siedlce Penitentiary, employed by Arche. Practically all upholstered furniture was made by the aforementioned prisoners: beds, chairs, armchairs in the rooms and common areas. Interestingly, the cafe countertops were made from parts of the parquet removed from the floors in building A – because their condition was so poor that they could not be preserved. These works were also carried out by prisoners, as were the decorative lampshades in the hotel, including those made of string in the cafe, conference center, rooms in the historic part, decorative neon signs in the cafe, reception, and restaurant, as well as the interior design in the playrooms.
— Arche Metalowiec Muszyna is another facility in our network with the largest conference and sports facilities, adapted for film and television production, where we are already accepting reservations. At one time, we will be able to host and accommodate about a thousand people in the facility. Hence, we are seeing enormous interest in this facility not only from companies and individual guests but also from investors purchasing units in Arche’s proprietary investment system. The revitalized facility has 373 hotel rooms — 98 in the old building and 275 in the new — as well as a MICE conference center with a total area of 2,385 sqm — with the largest hall in the region measuring 1,000 sqm, and a spa and wellness zone with indoor and outdoor pools and beautiful green grounds — summarizes Magdalena Sidorowicz, Sales Director of Arche SA.
About Arche
The company carried out its first investments in Warsaw and Siedlce, and for over two decades, it has been building throughout Poland. Currently, Arche is the largest Polish hotel chain with domestic capital, bringing together over 2,000 investors owning a total of over 3,500 hotel rooms and apartments, as well as a residential developer. The company started operations 35 years ago and has built over 12,000 apartments and houses in its history, and starting with the 24th facility in its collection, Arche Metalowiec Muszyna, it will have a total of approximately 4,800 rooms. For nearly a quarter of a century, the company has given Poles the opportunity to earn in the commercial real estate sector through its proprietary Arche System, which goes far beyond the definitions of apart- and condohotels. Władysław Grochowski, President of Arche SA, together with his wife, through the Lena Grochowska Foundation, has also been conducting extensive activities for many years, integrating communities, activating socially excluded people, those with intellectual disabilities, and the most needy. For this, they received one of the most important awards in the world at a gala in Geneva — the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award, granted by the UN High Commissioner. And at the end of 2024, the Indian Mother Teresa of Calcutta Award.
The history of Metalowiec in Arche’s premiere book:
https://wa-uploads.profitroom.com/archemetalowiecmuszyna/1772101649502_Muszyna.pdf
