Accommodation - What to expect
Over the years I've found out how many people make their first enquiries about finding hotels in Prague. People have said how useful my information and personal opinions have been to them in making their hotel accommodation decisions. Now I've made my own
hotel recommendations a lot easier to search (I also recommend pensions, hostels and campsites as well). This page tells you what to expect.
Below are the links to all the accommodation pages but read on a bit further to find out what to expect. My recommended Prague hotels list has been expanded to give you a choice based on certain areas of Prague. I describe the area and if you like the sound of it there is a list of hotel/accommodation options in that area ranging from 5 star hotels down to backpacker hostels. Some hotels I personally recommend and others are recommended because of consistently accurate reports or else I've visited and seen the place for myself. I even describe some places that I don't recommend, in which case I give the reason. You'll find that ALL of my listings contain the actual homepage of the hotel. You won't find many websites (especially booking agent websites) that give you the hotel webpage.
Old Town - Wenceslas Square - Mala Strana
Castle - Ujezd/Andel - Namesti Republiky - Vysehrad - Vinohrady - Zizkov
- Holesovice - Prague 4, 6 and 8 - Apartments/Residences
Hotel room descriptions and types
I have stayed in many different types of hotel accommodation
all over the world and generally I make sure of three details, that the
place in which I stay is clean and secure, that I am within a 5 minute
walk of mainline public transport and that I can enjoy the area in which I
am staying. If I had a pound for each time I heard "hotel was nice but,
lousy area" I would surely be a rich man. Where possible I recommend
hotels with a larger than average room size. If these are accommodation standards that
you like then read on.
First, a little note about what to expect in your hotel room. Many Czech
hotels and especially pensions do not recognise a difference between a
Twin and a Double. For them a double is two twin beds pushed together. The
other variation is a "marriage bed" which is two separate matrasses within
the same frame making it a large bed with a crack down the middle. The
large international hotels identify Twins and Doubles and you get the
standard double bed in this case. The pillows will be very soft and
shallow. Only the top hotels will give you clean linen everyday but, you
can enquire about paying for an extra service if it is important to you.
In general, Czech accommodation culture is to charge PER ROOM not per person/per night
and there is often a discount for single occupancy. Be careful of an
apparently cheap price as it probably means the accommodation is charging per
person.
Factors to consider when making your choice
1) Where do I want to stay?......
There are four main areas for
accommodation; Old Town, New Town, Mala Strana and Hradcany (Living Prague gives you an introduction into each of the these main areas as well as the secondary areas (Ujezd, Andel, Vysehrad, Vinohrady and Zizkov) on dedicated pages so you can see if it's right for you). In general, the Old Town extends in a
500 metre circle around the old town square and encompasses all types of
accommodation from 5 star hotels to hostel dorms. It has the advantage of
being in walking distance of most places you will want to visit. The
disadvantage will be parking, increased prices and noise. The new town is
pretty much everything outside of that 500m boundary extending 2km down
river south and 2km east. Around Wenceslas Square you will find the 5 star hotels, lots of
pensions (bed and breakfast) and a few hostels. It has the advantage of
cheaper prices but, you will have to use public transport at the outer
limits of the city. Mala Strana (lesser town) is the large area at the base of the Castle and extends out to the border of Ujezd (about one kilometre) the most popular road for hotels is Nerudova. The Hradcany/castle area has 5 or 6 very expensive hotels at
the top of the hill including the Questenberk, Savoy, Doumus Henrici Residence and U Raka. Has the obvious advantage of being close to the
castle but, the rest of your stay will be made walking up and down the
hill.
2) What kind of place?......Hotel, Sport Hotel, Botel, Pension, Hostel,
Apartment.
In Prague accommodation terms, a pension is the equivalent of an English guest house or B&B (Bed and Breakfast). They don't usually have restaurants i.e. they will have only a breakfast room and generally there is no 24hr reception. They are normally cheaper than a hotel and facilities are usually basic but smaller pensions (may also be called a penzion) may offer very personal service on a par with small 3 star hotels. The Botels on the Vltava of which there are 4 will give you something to talk about to your friends. For drivers, the Botel Admiral is the closest option to the centre and the Botel Racek in Podoli is an option if you are ok using trams. Hostels are numerous in the centre of town and during the Summer many close off-season (all hostels listed on Living Prague are open the whole year). Anything listed as a "residence" or "boutique" is often an independent hotel/apartment indicating some kind of uniqueness and may offer above average service. Apartments are available in all locations and may be based on square metres or number of rooms (not necessarily bedrooms), they also vary greatly in standard. Sometimes on Czech webpages you may see something like 3+1 or 2+kk. 3+1 means an apartment with three major rooms (likely that two of the rooms are bedrooms and the third is a living room. The +1 normally means a separate kitchen. 2+kk indicates a two room apartment with a kitchenette. In my language this is a 1 bed apartment with a living room. 1+kk would be a studio apartment.
3) How much do I want to pay.....
This will probably solve itself as a
result of the 2 options above but as a rule Prague hostels will be below 800kc
per night, pensions will be between 800kc and 2000kc but, it is based on
per room and not per person, Prague hotels start at 2000kc and rise to 9000+ per
night, per person at the top hotels.
It makes little difference to me if it is a Pension or a 5-star hotel
so long as it meets my stated requirements at the start of this page.
Avoiding having to make complaints
There are various causes of friction when staying abroad. Most common is when a hotel etc has been "economical" with the truth of it's description and/or location. Second most common is how a hotel deals with it's customers. My experience has shown that people who talk to each other in a non-native language are often victims of misunderstanding. Hotel proprietors know full well that word of mouth can cost them dear in the long run. I would offer the following advice;
- Research your Hotels in Prague well so as not to be surprised when you get here. No research and you take what you get.
- Listen to the advice of the hotel.
- Keep comments to the point and be constructive.
- Always ask to change room.
- Put complaints in writing.
- Complain only to the manager.
- Be prepared to compromise if it's your fault.
How a hotel reacts to a complaint will be heavily dependant on two things, the standard of the hotel and who appears to be at fault.
I was recently told of a problem whereby a guest had gone out at night and left the light on and window open. It was a shock to the guest when he returned to find the room full of mosquitos. The hotel concerned (Hotel Splendid, Prague 7) may not have been fully compassionate to the situation and maybe the nightstaff were not as professional as they might have been. But then they would be viewing this as not their fault and as a 3 star, I'm sure that handing the guest a can of mosi-spray was pretty much the limit. If another room is available then usually you'll be given it's temporary use but, in peak season this will not be possible. If in doubt, try and speak to the manager and not the guy on the desk.
Getting a good accommodation deal in Prague
Experience has shown me that there is one
infallible procedure to ensure you are getting the best accommodation deal. There are
four points to consider.
Package deal "from outside of CZ". Most travel agents will offer
packages in certain "chain" or "group" hotels (Hilton, Holiday Inn etc).
If a travel agent is selling a package for a "non-chain" then it is buying
it from a Czech travel source and as such will be adding cost to make it's
profit. The package deal is the most popular option as you normally get a
good deal on the flight which offsets the cost of accom. You will be
covered by ABTA (if booking from the UK) or other similar body so, you
will have a certain amount of "come back" if necessary.
Booking/reservation services in CZ. As these companies are
"referrers" i.e. they do not offer the package directly but are permitted
to offer this service by the hotel, they are often not insured. Be aware
that these agencies do not all have deals with the same hotels. It's worth
looking around to see who is dealing with whom. Agencies that offer
40%-50% "off rack rate" normally include the small print informing you of
the restrictions i.e. if you book a week at a 4* hotel then this discount
may only apply to the weekdays and you'll be paying full price for the
weekend. Another common offer is the standard i.e. the discount is for a
higher standard room "if available" and when you arrive it is not
available so you end up paying the rack rate or receive a smaller discount
for a normal standard hotel room. Bad deal. If you use an agency, email the
"reserved" accommodation and check that you have the correct details i.e.
your name and type of room, cost etc. You'll be amazed at how many times
an agency will forget to make the reservation and rely on the hotel to
sort it out, minus the discount of course. A confirmed reservation from
the hotel in writing is the only sure way of keeping the discounted
deal.
Buy "flight only" and arrange your own hotel accommodation. Unless you
are very flexible in your travel arrangements this can turn out to be the
most expensive option as you lose the possible discounts offered by a
"package" deal on flights and accom. If you can get a good flight it's
worth checking the website of the hotel/pension etc to see what they are
offering. An agency 30% discount may turn out to be a "buy two nights, get
the third free" type of deal from the hotel. Likewise many hotels will
give an automatic 5% or 10% discount just for booking direct with them
over the internet. Many offer the transfer service to and from the
airport/train station which is generally cheaper than a taxi and you
actually get to the place you want to go without feeling like you've been
ripped off on your first day. To give one example (on feb 15th 2003) if
you wanted to stay at the Hotel Imperial, the rate offered by the agency
"Hotels of Prague" is better than dealing with the hotel but, if you want
to go there at new year then dealing with the hotel is cheaper. It all a
question of comparing the hotel website with the agency website.
All websites will give the rack rates and you can
calculate the price difference between a direct booking and an agency
booking. If the difference is less than 10% either way, then go with the
agency as they are less likely to be "bumped" if overbooking is an
issue.
Old Town - Wenceslas Square - Mala Strana
Castle - Ujezd/Andel - Namesti Republiky - Vysehrad - Vinohrady - Zizkov
- Holesovice - Prague 4, 6 and 8 - Apartments/Residences
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