Warsaw is beginning to deal with its shortage of luxury hotel rooms for business travelers, and you'll now find a good selection of luxury lodgings in the city, including both large international chains and interesting individually owned hotels. However, lower down the price scale, options still remain restricted. Bed-and-breakfast accommodations are difficult to find. In summer there are generally more options because student hostels rent out their spaces. Demand is high, so book well in advance.
Warsaw is a small city, and the location of your hotel is not of crucial importance in terms of travel time to major sights or nightspots. Many hotels are clustered in the downtown area near the Palace of Culture and along aleja Jana Paw?a II, ulica Marsza?kowska, and aleje Jerozolimskie. This is not an especially scenic area; nevertheless, the neighborhood doesn't exactly become a "concrete desert" after business hours, since there are many residences, restaurants, and nightspots. Note that with a rising crime rate in the city, it is best to be cautious when strolling downtown at night—although the greatest hazards usually turn out to be uneven pavement and inadequate lighting.
The hotels on plac Pi?sudskiego, which is close to parks and within easy walking distance of the Old Town, offer more pleasant surroundings. Most of the suburban hotels have no particular scenic advantage, though they do provide immediate access to larger tracts of open space and fresh air.