Prague : Sleep
With the rise and fall of Communism, the Czech hotel industry has undergone many changes in the last 50 years, as borders closed and reopened again. The Velvet Revolution of 1989 caused a huge surge in tourist growth and the consequent need for accommodation. In the early 1990s a myriad of small hotels appeared in the centre, developed from grand old townhouses or by reopening and refurbishing some of the few existing hotels. During the mid-1990s established hotel brands entered the city, bringing class and convenience to tourist and business traveller alike. It is only recently that the extremely luxurious and boutique hotels have begun to appear.Owing to the fact that many of the hotels haven’t been renovated since the early 1990s, the décor and furniture have already come to look a little dated in places, with pastel carpets and bright furnishings. Others feature simpler, more traditional styles, with white walls and dark wooden furniture. Unless you book into a chain or a new boutique hotel don’t expect ISDN lines and pay-per-view movies, but then there are better things to do while you’re in Prague than watch films in a hotel bedroom or email your friends.
The hotels we have included in this section tend to shy away from the chain brands and lean more towards small, individual boutique hotels. Prague doesn’t have the range of extremely comfortable and luxurious small hotels that you’d find in London, Paris or New York, but there are enough to offer you a good selection.
In the last four years a range of super-chic and designer hotels has opened up in the city, filling a very obvious void in the market. Probably the most notable example of these is the Carlo IV, which opened in 2003. Owned and run by the Italian Boscolo group, it is the epitome of opulence.
All the hotels have been rated according to their style, location and atmosphere. Style takes into account the furnishings and the appearance of the hotel from inside and out. Atmosphere is based on the feel of the place: a hotel might be fantastically furnished and stylish but feel like a morgue, or it might be done up like a 1970s service station motel but still manage to create a great ambience. Location assesses how central and convenient it is for shops, restaurants and tourist attractions.
Prices quoted here are per room per night, and range from the cost of a double in low season to a suite in high season. High season runs from the beginning of April through to the end of October, and also includes Christmas and New Year.
