The eclectic architecture of beautiful Prague draws tourists from all over the world. But there’s an unhappy side to Prague’s popularity: the massive demand for lodgings means that hoteliers can jack up rates for dodgy rooms, ripping off unwary tourists. It pays to do your research beforehand: here are three of the best places to stay in Prague, to help ensure that your next trip to the city is going to be a happy one.
The Blowout Choice: The Aria Hotel
The ultra-luxurious Aria hotel has an unusual theme: it celebrates the musical heritage of the city of Prague. Each floor of the hotel is themed around a different type of musical genre, starting with Jazz and working up to Opera. Eccentrically, the hotel even has a musical director, who has carefully chosen 520 songs to load onto the iPod music centre that’s built into every guest-room. Of course, the rooms themselves are absurdly luxurious, being equipped with thick toweling robes and Molton Brown toiletries, and the hotel even provides guests with a complimentary afternoon-tea of dainty sandwiches and pastries.
The Boutique Choice: Buddha Bar Hotel
The bijou Buddha Bar chain has spawned sophisticated cocktail bars and designer restaurants in many of the great world cities. In Prague, they’ve thrown a curve-ball and built their own boutique hotel. The 36 rooms are are decorated in an Oriental style, and are equipped with enormous soft beds, rain-showers and Nespresso coffee-machines. It might feel a little odd to stay in an Eastern themed hotel when you’re in the middle of Europe’s most historic city, but it’s the service that makes the experience: each evening, staff place extravagant chocolate truffles on every guest’s pillow.
The Bargain Choice: Hotel Inos
Inos is firmly established as a budget visitors’ favorite, offering immaculately clean lodgings with free Wifi at generally less than €70 a room, a night. Some rooms have balconies that overlook a river or an atmospheric square; and all are equipped with kettles, TVs, and strong-boxes to store valuables. Bargain hunters will rejoice, as guests are treated to a truly generous daily breakfast that includes mountains of eggs, sausages, pastries, cheeses and yogurts; finished off with cauldron-sized mugs of tea and coffee.
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