House Avalon which was recommended by this amazing site is unfortunately unavailable when I'm going to Prague. However, they referred me to Apartment Felicia--supposedly a 10 min. walk from Wenceslas Square. Haven't been able to find any reviews on Fodors or TripAdvisor. If anyone has any info or another suggestion similar to House Avalon please post. Also looking for place to stay in Vienna. Thank you.

We stayed in Prague three nights-- my husband and our two teens-- last June at the Pension U Lilie. They had a family-sized room to accomodate all of us, in a great location. It's a 3-star. I wouldn't recommend them without saying, though, it's clean and nice enough, but slightly tattered and very simple. Lots of character, though! Their breakfast buffet is ok-- no hot eggs or other hot food-- just yoghurt, cold cereal, bread, ham...
We had also considered the Pension Dientzenhofer-- it would accomodate four in one room, and only slightly higher cost. I wish we'd stayed there, as everyone on this site raves about it. Maybe check it out. I think it's in Mala Strana, which would have been less hectic than our side of the Bridge anyway.
Regardless, I suggest you not stay close to Wenceslas Square, just because it's nothing special. Lots of shops, McDonalds, teenage clothing shops, etc. Only place we saw active pickpocketers, too. Much more charming near the Charles Bridge or old town square.
In Vienna we stayed 5 nights at the wonderful Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth, a 4-star. I can recommend it highly. A charming smaller hotel right in the middle of old Vienna, around the corner from St. Stephansdom and a U-Bahn stop, and walking distance to the Hofburg, the Spanish Riding School, and most every sight we were interested in. We loved it there. Sparkling clean accommodations with a friendly (though very formal) staff. Great breakfast buffet, with eggs made to order, and a large assortment of meats, cheeses, fruit, pastries... Our room was large enough for all four of us, with two separate twin-sized beds and a large queen-sized bed, with a room divider to give a bit of privacy. One nice large bath and a mini-bar. It was not cheap, probably about 260 Euro/night last June. By e-mailing them directly, I received a 10 percent discount.

Hi PrettyLake, When are you going to Prague? Which apartment rental company are you talking about? I am familiar with several of them, since I have rented numerous apartments there. I know a lot of people don't like staying near Wenceslas Square, but happen to like it for the convenience and quick access to the metro. If you want the charm of Old Town or Mala Strana, however, there are many companies with apartments there. You can look up some links on here, because this is a popular topic. www.travel.cz, marys.cz, athos.cz are among some top companies You can also search the web & come up with tons of other choices. Post back with the name of the company you are considering, though, because I may have some info. Good luck!

I also found this source when looking for apartments in Prague:
Ondrej Opletal
Old Town Apartments
Phone +420 257 316 662
Fax +420 257 313 441
[email protected]

We didn't end up renting from them, but they had some very nice looking 'luxury' apartments.

Thanks Maureen B and amp322. I'm sooo confused as to where to stay--Old Town/New Town/Mal Strana? My daughter has allergies so I guess someplace that's really non-smoking should take priority. amp322: will be in Prague 6/4-6/7 and have been e-mailing marys.cz (mostly apts. in New Town) and apartments.cz but they keep offering me 2 bedroom apts.--perhaps b/c I requested 3 beds. The Francouzska you mentioned in a previous post is no longer available. Have you ever heard of Pension Accord (111 Euro/night) or Husova Apt. House 12 (160 Euro/). Any more suggestions for clean, safe, comfortable non-smoking accommodations for 3 pax is appreciated.

If you like to walk and see cobblestoned streets and beautiful ancient architecture, I suggest you stay close to old town square or Charles Bridge. If you don't mind hiking up and down the hill, the castle area is nice, too. Mala Strana seemed more quiet than the other side of the Bridge, which might be a bonus.

These aren't apartments per se, but I collected brochures from three hotels I wanted to remember in case we returned: The Hotel Neruda, the Hotel U krale Karla, and the Grand Hotel Bohemia.

The Neruda is on the hill going up to Prague Castle. It has a nice cafe on its rooftop, for views of the city below. Its brochure calls it four-star, an historical building reconstructed. Lobby had a nice, contemporary feel, clean and well-done. Rack rate is 220 EUR in high season for a double. It's website is www.hotelneruda.cz

The U krale Karla is in a gothic building, rebuilt in 1639, renovated in 1993. It had more an old Prague feeling to it, old elegance. In Lesser Town, also near the Castle, only 16 double rooms and 3 suites, high season rates for double room deluxe is 6900CZK. Website: www.romantichotels.cz

The Grand Hotel Bohemia is a five-star, in Old Town next to the Powder Tower (also a good location), 78 rooms and suites. It's a classic, old, elegant-looking place that looked charming, too. (No rate sheet in their brochure.) Website: www.grandhotelbohemia.cz

We didn't see any of the rooms themselves, but from walking through the lobbies and asking at the desk, these three hotels looked promising.

Last October we stayed in an apartment on Neruda St in the Mala Strana or Old Town section called Prague Room, http://www.pragueroom.com. Our apartment was the Luxury One Bedroom, they have lots of pictures on their website. It was basic but comfortable, clean and we liked the location -- its also up a few flights of stairs but that makes it very quiet once you get up there. Its been renovated fairly recently and has a nice full kitchen. The price is $110 US per night or 87 Euros. I wrote up a short trip report at the time so you can do a search to see if I'm forgetting any details. Let me know if you have any questions.

In 2003, our family stayed in two "adjacent" apartments called Zatec, which we booked through www.athos.cz - - we felt like we got a very, very good value in an excellent location. I recommend athos with no qualms; they represent dozens of apartments.

As for Vienna, we were also satisfied with fairly basic accommodations at www.residenz.cc

Best wishes,

Rex

PrettyLake,

Have a look on www.pragueaccommodations.com they have nice,clean, well furnished apartments on Vlasska in Mala Strana, just up from the American embassy and about 10-15 mins walk from the Charles bridge. I stayed for a week last June in Vlasska 7, very enjoyable.

John
from
Scotland

I second "pragueaccommodations" (note spelling). I've stayed in two of their apartments (one on Luzicka and the other in Mala Strana). Nice places, and a nice owner.

PS: People will be smoking everywhere, so take some allergy medicine along. The smoke really sets off my sinus problems when I'm in Europe!