Les

Thank you for your help and suggestions in planning the itinerary for our Eastern Europe trip (on another thread in this forum). With the start of our trip rapidly approaching (next month), I could use some additional help.

As with our trip to Turkey and Greece last year, this trip (at least the second half of it) will also be unstructured. What that means is that while we know basically where we want to go (we'll have a car), we don't know exactly when or for how long we'll be in any particular place - depends on whether we like it, or find someplace along the way to occupy some of our time. So obviously, we can't reserve hotels more that a day or so ahead (if even that).

Those of you who helped us during our trip last year might recall that I posted here a day or so before each of our next day's destinations, requesting hotel recommendations. That proved to be extremely helpful, thank you.

For this trip, I'd like to allow a bit more time to accumulate and review your recommendations. Therefore, I'm listing the places that we know for sure we're going to stay on this trip (we don't know exactly when or for how long , although we do have a rough idea), and we'd like to have your recommendations for nice hotels at each of these locations. Nice, of course, is subjective, but I'm looking for at least 3-star hotels, preferably in the center of town, or at least near public transportation. On-site parking is a must. Preferably, these recommendations would be from first-hand experience.

Here is the list of places where we'll be staying on this part of our trip. There may (probably will) be other places we'll want to stay in addition to these, but these are sure.

Wroclaw
Dresden
Prague
Bratislava
Budapest
Krakow

Thanks again for your help.

Ruby99

The only first hand experience I have is in Budapest... I used Booking.com and we stayed at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Budapest. The room was very nice, the best was the MOST comfortable ever (neat canopy bed) and the bathroom very modern. For us, location was ideal, you aren't too far from the parliament, nor from the central shopping area.

http://www.thegrandcollection.com/en...t/introduction

I used the spa a few times, and loved the jacuzzi tub. I checked and it says parking off site is available for a fee. And really, for the type of room, the rate isn't too bad for a 5 star hotel. But then again Budapest is a great value.

I am heading to Dresden, Prague and Krakow in the fall, used Booking.com for my hotels there.........

Good luck, and enjoy your trip!

nytraveler

Finding central locations with onsite parking is going to be kind of a big order. Typically these hotels are the most expensive ones and usually newer.

Can't help with specifics since we haven't had cars in those cities - but I wouldn't demand onsite parking - as long as they can provide information on a garage nearby. It will give you a lot more options to choose from.

Les

Thank you both for your replies.

Ruby, this looks like a very nice hotel, with a good location. The rooms look nice, and the prices are OK. I plan to contact them on Monday to enquire about the offsite parking (how far, how much it costs). Thanks

nytraveler, yep, the car presents a problem in cities (but makes for wonderful traveling between cities). Once parked, we don't plan to use the car again until we leave the city.
While we'd really like to walk out of the door and be in the center of the city, we found that getting a hotel a bit further out, with parking, is OK if it's on a public transportation route or has shuttle service to downtown. For example, last year in Thessoloniki (a driving nightmare during most of the day), we opted to stay at the Hyatt Regency near the airport. They provided a shuttle into downtown hourly, very convenient.

Les

Oops, that's Thessaloniki - sorry about the spelling error.

Leely2

We stayed here in Krakow, a block or so outside the center and abo halfway to Kazimierz (I like to walk, no mobility problems):

http://www.donimirski.com/en/hotel-pugetow

Very nice little hotel, I thought it was well-located, parking.

Les

Thanks for the info, Leely.

Unfortunately, while she's able to walk, my wife has some mobility problems, and would find it difficult to climb stairs at the end of a day of sightseeing. This statement on the hotel's website, "Due to the historic nature of the building, the Hotel is not accessible for the disabled.", leads me to believe that the hotel does not have elevators, which would present a problem for us.

Leely2

Yes, I don't think it would work for your wife. I can't remember the elevator situation, but breakfast is served down some steep steps and reception is also down a few stairs. It's a tall and narrow building. You might check the Grodek, another hotel in that group, excellent location but I'm not sure about the parking.

Les

Leely, thanks again.

DebitNM

We are heading that way in November and have reservations at:
The General Hotel in Prague and Marrols in Bratislava and Marriott in Budapest.

I used Hotwire to get The General and Marrols.

I used Marriotts Best rate Guarantee to get a fabulous rate.

I used Better Bidding to get some help in ID'ing hotels. If you haven't used hotwire; the explains it pretty well --

http://www.rolllikeboss.com/2013/06/...at-half_5.html

I realize with issues such as mobility and parking it could be tricky; but thought you might be interested.

hipmunk.com is another good site for comparing prices.

Les

Thanks for that information, DebitNM. I'll check out those hotels.

Leely, I checked the Grodek hotel in Krakow, looks very nice. I checked rates for the 4 nights that we might possibly be in Krakow. The rates are very reasonable, but there only 3 of the 4 nights were available, so it looks like it's a pretty popular place. Of course, we can't commit to any reservations at this time, because of our loose schedule, but we'll definitely look at this hotel again when we actually know when we'll be in Krakow. Thanks for that suggestion.

DebitNM

The General is a bit out of the heart of the action, but this one is right in it and the prices were good for our dates, not sure how it will be for yours - worth at look see:

http://www.hotel-imperial.cz/

kja

You are aware that many rooms that you can book on booking.com can be cancelled free with 24 hours notice? The cancellation policies are CLEARLY stated for each possible room at each available price.

Les

Thanks, DebitNM. I'll have a look.

kja, good to hear from you again. Yes, I've used Booking.com (particularly useful for getting a room at a hotel AFTER the desk clerk has told you that no rooms were available).
However, there's no point in reserving a room when we don't know exactly where we'll be on any given date. The purpose of starting this thread was so that we'll have already researched possible hotels when the time comes to book a room. During our Turkey/Greece trip, we didn't actually research hotels until a day or two before we needed them. That wasn't a productive use of vacation time.

adrienne

In Wroclaw I stayed at the Qubus Hotel, a short half block from the main square. The rate was reasonable and they have an elevator and ramp up to the ground floor. The breakfast was very expensive so we didn't eat there. There are plenty of restaurants on the main square and I had the best scrambled eggs of my life at one of the cafes near the flower market (Salt Square). I didn't get the name of the restaurant but if you're walking from the hotel to the Salt square it's on the right just before the dwarf on the flag pole.

Rather than saying you want a 3 star hotel it would be better to state your requirements.

Les

OK, adrienne, this one's for you.

First, note that I said "at least" a 3-star hotel.

Here's what I'm looking for (not all mandatory; some of these are preferences):

Walking distance or short ride on public transit from town center or main tourist area;

Onsite or very nearby parking;

Elevator;

Restaurant with good breakfast (NOT continental breakfast);

Working AC or heat, adjustable in room;

Free Wi-Fi;

Rooms should be fairly large, quiet, and very clean, with King or two Queen beds, good lighting, and preferably a good view;

Large bathroom with shower or tub/shower; sink should be in the bathroom, or at least blocked off from the main room by a door;

Knowledgeable concierge.


That should do it.

Les

Sorry, I forgot to add this to the above list of requirements:

Non-smoking room

adrienne

I was only trying to be helpful. No need to be snarky.

Les

Sorry, adrienne. I wasn't trying to be snarky, I was going for amusing, while trying to provide more useful information.
Guess nuances get lost when using text (as opposed to an actual conversation).

I'm currently looking at the reviews for the Qubus hotel; thanks for the recommendation.

Les

This thread seems to have disappeared from the forum (at least from the search engine), so I'm trying to "rescue" it.

I'm still interested in your recommendations. We're leaving in just a few days, and would like to have a few more choices to consider.

Thanks.