“A Place That Draws People In” — Viktor Mashyka, Director of Grand Hotel Pylypets

The main advantage is that the hotel is here in our Zakarpattia region, in the very centre of the village of Pylypets. It is surrounded by the Borzhava ridge, which stretches on for several kilometres from here. The weather is comfortable, the people are pleasant — I think that is what unites us all.

From the very beginning, once the hotel complex opened, we tried to position ourselves as a hotel that offers good local food. Today we have our own farm, which we keep developing, so practically 50–60% of the menu is natural local produce. That includes all the meat dishes — lamb, chicken, pork and veal. The salads are local too, and the cheeses are our own. We present ourselves as a natural product, and people really support that today. We want guests not to worry about the quality of the food, because good produce is what brings people back.

We choose our staff very carefully. And the main reason is that guests who come back every year see the same faces. Our team knows the guests, and the guests know them by sight — they have become one whole. Every year, guests who stay here for weeks talk to the staff as if they were their own people, and they have no complaints at all. Every member of staff knows what a guest drinks, or will drink, what they want to eat and which dish they like. The guests who return to us year after year are our greatest asset.

If you compare hotel complexes in Ukraine today, this is a place that large-scale construction has not yet touched. Compared with resorts that are growing very fast, like Bukovel, everything in Pylypets is still real. This place hasn't been spoiled — there are paths where people can walk and see farm animals you rarely meet anywhere now. You can see roe deer running through the grass, and children discover all kinds of insects and other creatures that have practically disappeared elsewhere. Everything here is still alive — it is a place that draws people in.

Ukrainian championships in cycling and paragliding are held here. I think that if you look after the beauty, the good food and the comfortable rooms, people simply love it. You have been staying here for several days — I think you have felt it yourself.

A few people got together — young people, just like you and me — and we used to come to the mountains to rest. There was one place where we had picnics, grilled shashlik and met the sheep — it was right here. We visited many different spots, and over the years it somehow turned out that this one had one of the best views.

That is how the idea of building a hotel complex was born. At first nobody believed anything would come of it. When we started construction, there was nothing around at all — just a few village houses and a handful of small hotels. But once building began, the region came to life many times over. People started coming and believed this would become one of the best places.

Now we see dozens of new hotels being built and developing around us. People started bringing others, who began to try holidays here. Those who have stayed here even once say: "I'm not leaving." And look — right now there are paragliders flying in the sky. In summer there are dozens of them, and children love it here.

We invite everyone to visit Grand Hotel Pylypets. Come and feel this atmosphere, taste our local dishes and truly rest.