The Niwa Resort

The Niwa Worker's Resort (Osrodek Wypoczynkowy Niwa), or The Niwa Resort, was a former government-funded vacation resort, near the city of Cracow. It has been constructed and opened in the summer of 1969 and housed a glorious ceremony during its opening, marked by the visit of officials from the Communist Party of Poland.

The resort has been shutdown for an undisclosed amount of time, possibly since the early 1980's. Since then, the Niwa has been abandoned and got dilapidated due to the exposure to the nature and the lack of maintanance.

The Resort has been the center of the events of The Medium and the Niwa's Massacre, which has been caused by The Maw sometime during the late 1970's and early 1980's, shortly after Reckowicz's Family House fire. At 1999, while Marianne visits the Niwa, it is evident that the Resort still holds mostly negative memories of people who have affected its history.

The interactive map of the area of the resort based of in-game evidence is accessible here.

History[]

Post War Period[]

In the post-war period of the Polish People's Republic, Poland's communist party decided to develop the country's tourist infrastructure in order to create new job positions and boost a variety of local economies of the province. On the late 1960's, plans been made for the construction of a big tourist resort on the wilderness of Lesser. This is when Thomas Reckowicz got hired by the Communist Party to design, construct and adress the administration of the new-built hotel. The architect spent months in order to come up with a complete architecture plan, which ended up in the creation of a big main building and some guest houses accompanied with trails and recreational hotspots.

Grand Opening of 1969[]

When the construction completed, a big party has been hosted in the grounds in order to celebrate the opening of the Resort, while the hotel accepted the first guests in late June. The ceremony was held in the reception desk area, which was marked by the attendance of officers of the Communist Party and by the Secretary General.

At the same time, fireworks had been lit and luminated the sky from the nearby military fort in order to offer an unforgettable display to the guests.

1970-1984[]

During the first decade of its existance, Niwa became a popular tourist retreat for visitors and guests, while its brand became widely known throughout the country. At the time of its hay-day, the hotel had organised a number of art and recreational exhibitions, it had create a network of trails into the nearby woods and hosted a number of outdoor activities and tours for the guests and visitors.

At that time, the Dayroom of the hotel consisted the most popular spot in the resort, which had housed a variety of activities for both adults and children.

The Niwa Massacre (1984)[]

After a short period of tourist success, a tragic event had taken place in the grounds of the resort, where for unknown reasons, the hotel's nurse went insane and took the lifes of a big number of visitors and staff personel, resulting a massacre of the Niwa's residents at that time. Shortly after the hotel have shut down and a police investigation has been organised in order to find the cause of the murderous behavior of the nurse.

Abandonment (1984-today)[]

Following the suspension of the hotel's operation, the resort got abandoned and fell into decay, while the majority of the infrastructure got overgrown by nature.

Environment[]

Location[]

Material niwa — The Niwa Resort in 1999.

The Niwa Resort is located in a rural area of Poland possibly in a close distance with Cracow. The Hotel has been constructed in an area which is probably quite far from other towns or villages, as Marianne uses a motorbike to get to the hotel which is not on a main road but has its own private road leading first to its central gate. According to the gameplay and as Marianne explores the environment we understand that the area around Niwa consists a rich ecosystem with an abundance of rivers, mountains and rocky formations.

Climate[]

The Niwa Resort is been placed in an area with a wet and windy climate. During the visit of Marianne to the Resort, the weather is foggy with only a little traces of the sun hitting the ground. Also, many times during the game the weather gets rainy and stormy, indicating that the climate around the Niwa area is generally unstable.

Infrastructure[]

Central Gate[]

The Niwa Resort, is situated in a remote forest area and its connected with a private road which possibly conjucts with a national road or a highway of the wider area of Cracow's province. At the end of this road there's the central gate of the hotel in which in the past, visitors used to stop and being registered in order to reach the central facilities of the resort. On the both sides of the Central Gate there are existing map signs which indicates Niwa's most known landmarks and trails. Next to the gate there is an existing room in which consisted the concierge's space of work and control of who enters and exits the resort. After passing the central gate's building visitors used to drive a short distance within the forest until reaching the central building of the resort. In the present day, the facility is decayed and dilapidated and overgrown by flora and the central gate is closed with a big metal door. ^[1]

Main Building[]

After leaving the central gate, a narrow private road continues for a few hundred meters which ends up in the main building's parking lot. Nowdays the road has been cutted-off possibly by a landslide. The main building consists a soviet-styled 5-story complex. ^[2]

Parking Lot[]

In front of the hotel, there is an existing parking lot of the capacity to house up to at least 150 parked cars. At the center of the parking lot there is the main entrance of the hotel which is accessible via two grand staircases near which a former functioning telephone booth was being placed. Some meters to the left there is an existing stone sign which indicates the procedure of the Inauguration of the Niwa' Resort back in the summer of 1969. Nowadays the parking lot of the former resort is dilapidated and overgrown by flora, while two abandoned cars are parked within, with no sign of its owner.^[3]

On the sides of the parking lot there are some green spaces and pedestrian roads with benches for visitors to rest and enjoy the wilderness of the polish nature.

Lobby floor[]

Entrance space[]

In the entrance outside of the lobby floor, there is an existing space for cars to park in order for the customers to carry their luggage inside on the hotel, while on the right facing the main entrance there is a glass room possibly for storaging goods and carriers. Today, the entrance and the side room is decayed and vandalised, while grass has been grown on the floor.^[4]

Reception Desk[]

While entering the hotel from the main entrance, the lobby extends to different levels, in which each leads to a different area of the hotel. More precisely, by entering the lobby there is a grand hall with a lot of chairs and couches for visitors to be retreated, while straight ahead extends the area of the Dayroom. By walking on the right side, this wing of the hotels consists of some guestrooms, the lower level of the pool, the Sauna facility and some maintenance rooms. To the left, is the main area of the lobby, in where the big desk of the reception exists with the four clocks each indicating the time to different cities of the world. In this space, there is an existing grand staircase which leads to the upper levels and 2 elevators. Continuing straight after turned left from the main entrance there are some guestrooms and other spaces possibly acting as supporting areas for the hotel's utilities. The area of the Reception Desk as the whole of the facilities on the hotel is vandalised and decayed because of the abandonment followed by the Niwa's Massacre and the long-term exposure to the outside environment. The access to the left wing is impossible because of the existance of a metal gate, the access to the upper floors is as well impossible due to the collapse of the staircase, while the same thing applies for the dayroom and the pool.^[5]

Dayroom[]

By entering the Dayroom, there is a narrow glass corridor which ends up in a big room, which consists the Dayroom. Inside the area, we can find tables and chairs possibly indicating that this space has been a spot for the guests and was used for recreational purposes specially for younger visitors. The Dayroom consists of smaller rooms and halls, a fact that proves its multifunctional use for all type of activities. Also, the Dayroom houses a big glass room which has direct contact with the forest and the gardens of the Niwa.^[6]

Through the Dayroom and the gardens near it, the visitors could follow a trail and access the nearby Niwa Nature Park.

The Medium 4 — The Pool area during the events of The Medium.

Pool[]

The Pool consists a big room with balconies in which a big pool is situated on the center. The room is been luminated by a big glass wall which has immidiate contact with the outer environment. At the pool there are existing locker rooms which has been abandoned and overgrown by plants and trees. Nowadays, the pool has been a garbage dump, while many areas of the room has been collapsed due to the decay. ^[7]^[8]

First Floor[]

The First floor extends to two wings, which houses some guestrooms, a Gym, some offices and the upper floor of the Pool.^[9]^[10]

Second Floor[]

The Second Floor, consists of an area which is partially occupied by guestrooms. In the center there is the hall where the elevators and the staircase exists while heading to the left (from the same prespective as entering the hotel) there are some guestrooms, a smaller hall with a staircase and an elevator and the manager's office. On the other side, there are some guest rooms, 2 meeting rooms, an examination room and a small hall with an elevator and a staircase as well.^[11]

Managers' Room[]

Inside the manager's office there is an existing hidden room, which it was possibly used as a photography room.^[12]

Third Floor[]

The Third Floor of the Niwa's Resort, consists of 3 halls and two wings of guestrooms.

Other Floors[]

The upper floors of the Niwa remain unexplored, but its possible that they house the rest of the guestrooms of the hotel, and have the same plan as the lower floors.

Description[]

Στιγμιότυπο οθόνης 2024-01-16 221101 — Postcard of Niwa during the 1970s.

Material World[]

The Material World of The Niwa's Hotel consists the reality of the real world and how things appear in the perspective of humans. The total of the facilities and buildings of the former hotel remain dilapidated and decayed, while the majority of paths and roads connecting the areas of the hotel are overgrown by nature and flora.

Despite the fact that the resort's facilities are left abandoned for nearly two decades, power and electricity is present at some points inside some areas of the Hotel's main building.

Spiritual World[]

Niwa spiritual — The Spiritual World's version of the Niwa Resort.

The Spiritual World of The Niwa's Hotel consists of the reality where spirits and demons live on the afterlife. The Spiritual World concerning the Niwa consists a disturbing and hostile environment. In the majority of the areas of Niwa's Spiritual World, graves and bones cover the rooms and paths of every building, while giant tentacles overgrow walls and the flooring of the hotel and the forest area. The atmosphere seems to be wet and a green colour covers the sky and the distancing areas. The general image of the spiritual version of Niwa is propably caused by the dark past this area possesses, while the sorrow, the despare and sadness caused by the many deaths of the Niwa's Massacre overgrow every positive feeling and emotion felt once before. The Spiritual world consists the home of Thomas's Spirit, the Childeater (Richard), the Hound (Henry), the Maw and many unnamed demons and spirits of the past.^[13]

Inhabitants[]

People[]

Thomas Reckowicz (formerly)
Lilliane Reckowicz (formerly)
Marianne Reckowicz (formerly)
Ursula
Tori
Ellie
Francis
Richard
Unnamed guests and workers

Demons[]

The Maw
Bathroom's Demon
Childeater
The Hound

Spirits[]

Sadness
Thomas
Francis

Trivia[]

During the arrival of Marianne on the Central Gate of the Resort, while entering the concierge's room, if the player decide to look through a gap of the boarded windows, a man's figure can be seen walking down desperately the narrow road leading to the hotel. Given the fact that during the game it is never clarified who that person was, it is possible that Marianne had an encounter with Francis's ghost, the Niwa's former groundskeeper, which is later mention that after the Niwa's Massacre and the complete abandonment of the resort, he decided to stay behind and live in a tent on the local woods in order to help Thomas fight The Maw but eventually got his soul sucked-up by the last after its unleashing.
On the outer spaces of Niwa's, the player comes up with two abandoned cars, the one parked on the side of the narrow road and the other on the resort's parking lot. Thought it is never clear who the owner of each was, it is possible that the car parked in the parking lot belonged to Francis due to some postcards found inside it. The other car presumably belonged to Thomas due to its efforts to contain Lilianne and The Maw inside a bunker beneath the Reckowicz's House near the Hotel.
On the first visit of Marianne on the hotel's outdoor space, while walking in the parking lot, some speakers on a street poll begin to function and produce static sounds for a couple of seconds possibly indicating the existance of supernatural forces on the ground. It is unclear if this encounter consist attempts of Thomas or Sadness to communicate with Marianne or it is just distursion provoked by the presence of The Maw.
When Marianne decides to open Francis's car trunk, the horn's car suddenly honks. This was probably caused by a malfunction of the decayed car's wires or it was just an attempt of Francis to warn Marianne about close dangers.
Besides the fact that the Niwa Hotel has been abandoned for almost 20 years, there are many occasions where electricity is present. It is unknown if the infrastructure is still connected to the local power grid or there is an existing back-up generator somewhere inside the building.
Although not indicated on the various maps of the Hotel, there is an existing poster in the Resort's Lobby which informs guests about the nutritious and tasty meals of the Niwa Restaurant.
There is a poster on the Lobby floor which indicates a collaboration between the Resort and a transport company named "Podroznik" in order to transport guests to the hotel throught various local spots, facilitating the connection with local towns and cities.
In various points of the Hotel, there are existing posters of a ballet night with the prime ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre named "Vivienne", but it's whether the play was performed or cancelled due to the Niwa Massacre.
The Hotel's Main Building design strongly ressembles the architecture of the real life Hotel Cracovia in Poland.