Hotels in Prague

[Anonymous]

For 5 days in November--just me and my husband (no kids).

We want to do/see all the typical tourist stuff, plus we will be seeing an opera at the state opera house and doing a day trip to Kutna Hora...

When we travel, we typically stay at Marriott hotels, so we figure we will there too--build up our rewards points.


I'm wondering if it's worth it to stay at the Marriott in city center http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/prgdt-prague-marriott-hotel/ at $145/night, vs a courtyard by Marriott http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/prgcy-courtyard-prague-flora/ a little further out at $58/night. The savings is pretty substantial, and even though the Courtyard is outside city center, it is across the street from a shopping center with a few restaurants, and right next to a subway station (reviews of the hotel say it is about a 10 minute ride into the city).

I'm thinking that it sounds like the savings will be worth it--but maybe I'm overlooking something--or someone with experience visiting Prague would tell me something I don't know about why it's worth the extra money to stay right in city center?

We're not on a super strict budget...but of course if we can save money on hotels, that's more that we can spend on doing other fun stuff (such going to the ballet or a concert or a very nice dinner, etc.)

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anyone? Any opinions on staying city center of Prague vs. further out?

[Anonymous]

Prague is a pretty big and spread out city. Even with staying in the city center / near the old town you will still probably end up using public transportation to get around because the walking distances can be great depending wher you are going and coming from. We liked our stay near where your more expensive Marriott is located. Honestly, I don't think $145 a night is bad for a Marriott in Europe...we lived in Europe for three years and spent a lot more than that on rooms in many cities...my preference would be to stay closer to the center, but if ou have budget concerns the other would be fine too and the trams and buses are not too complicated.

[Anonymous]

Intercon or Mandarin

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend staying closer to the heart of the city. My in-laws stayed at the Mariott in the City Center last fall (we stayed in an apartment around the corner). They didn't have any complaints about the hotel and we all appreciated being able to walk everywhere. The hotel staff were helpful in arranging dinners and tours for us. Have a good time where ever you decide to stay! It's hard not to enjoy Prague (and perhaps by going in November you will have less crowds than we experienced in September).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend staying closer to the heart of the city. My in-laws stayed at the Mariott in the City Center last fall (we stayed in an apartment around the corner). They didn't have any complaints about the hotel and we all appreciated being able to walk everywhere. The hotel staff were helpful in arranging dinners and tours for us. Have a good time where ever you decide to stay! It's hard not to enjoy Prague (and perhaps by going in November you will have less crowds than we experienced in September).

Thanks! Yes, we will enjoy the smaller crowds for sure--but the downside is a few of the things we'd like to see will be closed (for example, a silver mine in Kutna Hora)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prague is a pretty big and spread out city. Even with staying in the city center / near the old town you will still probably end up using public transportation to get around because the walking distances can be great depending wher you are going and coming from. We liked our stay near where your more expensive Marriott is located. Honestly, I don't think $145 a night is bad for a Marriott in Europe...we lived in Europe for three years and spent a lot more than that on rooms in many cities...my preference would be to stay closer to the center, but if ou have budget concerns the other would be fine too and the trams and buses are not too complicated.

Yes, I was noticing that too (about needing to take public transportation no matter what) when mapping out the things we wanted to do...which is why I was thinking staying outside the city center might not be too big a deal. And I agree about $145 still being a great price.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

We stayed at this hotel on a spring trip a few years back, and loved the Mala Strana location:
http://www.virtualtourist.com/hotels/Europe/Czech_Republic/Hlavni_Mesto_Praha/Prague-400455/Hotels_and_Accommodations-Prague-U_Zlute_Boty_The_Yellow_Shoe-BR-1.html
Really cute, unique rooms, helpful staff. Had such a great location close to everything, yet on a quiet street. They also did a hotel pickup and dropoff which was great.

Whatever hotel you stay at, I highly recommend staying as close to the city center as possible. Either Mala Strana or Stare Mesto, either side of the bridge works. Mala Strana was a little less congested, but still just a quick 5-10 minute walk to Stare Mesto. You would be surprised at all the places you can get to without using public transit. If you do use public transit, it's pretty easy to get around. However, my parents stayed a bit further out on another trip to save money, and didn't have nearly the experiences we did meandering around town and immersing themselves into all that Prague has to offer. They were always conscious of catching trains, unsure about using them too late at night, etc. We stumbled onto so many great restaurants, tea houses, concert venues, and so much more just by being in the middle of everything. While it's true you could save some money with a more remote hotel, the largest expense is the airline tickets. We found that we had a much better experience finding a hotel in the middle of it. A lot of romantic late night walks and local life. Just a thought.

Enjoy - it is such a fascinating and beautiful city! We really loved it.

[Anonymous]

Oops, meant to say that the hotel did airport pickup.

Also, $145/night is a steal in Prague! Hotels are expensive there.

[Anonymous]

We stayed in the Marriott a few years ago. At that time it wasn't really up to U.S. Marriott standards but it was clean and comfortable and I definitely think it is a value for $145. You can get a nice breakfast there.

I think November should be a great time to go. We went in the summer and the streets teamed with people at all times except for very, very early and very late at night. It was difficult to move around (think mosh pit). The opera should be great and I'm sure you'll enjoy walking and looking at the architecture - which we found impossible during the summer.

[Anonymous]

About Marriott and rewards points. Not all non U.S. Marriott stays qualify for Marriott points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend staying closer to the heart of the city. My in-laws stayed at the Mariott in the City Center last fall (we stayed in an apartment around the corner). They didn't have any complaints about the hotel and we all appreciated being able to walk everywhere. The hotel staff were helpful in arranging dinners and tours for us. Have a good time where ever you decide to stay! It's hard not to enjoy Prague (and perhaps by going in November you will have less crowds than we experienced in September).

Thanks! Yes, we will enjoy the smaller crowds for sure--but the downside is a few of the things we'd like to see will be closed (for example, a silver mine in Kutna Hora)

Has Kutna Hora taken off? When we were there (I think it was 1996 or so) it was the cutest little town that you could see had so much potential. We should go back. We lived within a few hours drive of Prague for a couple years. I'm sad that we didn't go back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Has Kutna Hora taken off? When we were there (I think it was 1996 or so) it was the cutest little town that you could see had so much potential. We should go back. We lived within a few hours drive of Prague for a couple years. I'm sad that we didn't go back.

I've seen quite a bit about it when I've been doing research on where to go! I "found it" because a lot of places were mentioning the bone church. If you've done that survey on facebook about world locations you've been to--it's on there!