HeatherH

We stayed in the Cerna Liska about five years ago and friends stayed there recently. Same place but different name now. It was the best place out of 3 prague hotels I've stayed in. Great view of the square and cathedral spires and easy easy walking distance to almost everywhere we wanted to go. I second the vote to avoid the dinner cruise!

Cali

Laurieco, I looked at the pictures and it looks like the lobby has been updated to look as great as the rest of the hotel. Our room was fabulous. We stayed there for 4 nights and we and other family members loved the hotel and thought the service was great. Good luck on your decision of where to stay.

crosscheck

Hi Laurieco, We're headed to Prague this week with our two 20-something sons. Friends had strong opinions about where we should or should not stay, and I spent way too much time checking out hotels on booking.com and TA.

Many people said Old Town was convenient but way too crowded/touristy, so I originally was looking in New Town near the Dancing House, slightly off the beaten track. But people kept recommending Josefov and I decided we'd be happier in an apartment. So we've rented a huge loft airbnb with castle views for half of what we would have spent on a two hotel rooms or a suite.

There are several hotels right nearby - the cool design hotels Josef and the Maximillian, as well as the Agnes. Will czech them out and report back.

laurieco

I finally made my mind up, after looking at about 300 hotels. I'm sticking with my original choice of the Imperial Hotel. I could have saved myself a lot of time! In the end, it gets great reviews and people say it is well located. I appreciate all the replies. If anyone has any restaurant recommendations, please do tell.

crosscheck (or should that be crossczech), have a great trip and please report back!

Aramis

You enjoyed the quest - be honest.

An now you know that you are staying right where you want to be.

crosscheck

haha - Love crossczech - my new Bohemian handle, gives me credibility here after my czechered past on the Asia board.

Christina

The Josefov area IS in the Old Town section. It doesn't make sense to say all of Old Town is too touristy, it depends where you are. And some parts of it aren't super convenient IMO (such as near the river, I don't care for where the President is, for example). If there were a hotel in the middle of it, it wouldn't be convenient as the metro runs along the outside of it, as do trams. I think that area is mainly residential though

The Imperial is a pretty convenient location, being only several blocks from Namesti Republicky metro stop and the tram/buses along Revolucni and the general area. As for dining, I love the Cafe Imperial itself, it is gorgeous, you have to eat there, at least for breakfast if nothing else. It is a real institution. They have jazz there some nights, also, at least used to although they don't seem to mention that on their website any more.

Leely2

We ended up grazing at the farmers market by the Namesti Republiky metro stop a couple times. Once while buying food for the apartment, and once just because we were walking buy. Had sausages, some wine, bought a little cheese and some bread.

We liked Lokal (casual) and Degustation (starred restaurant). I also had some pretty good pizza at Ambiente Pizza Nuova. None of see places are that far from your hotel. Caveat: I'm not sure how quickly the Prague dining scene changes. I was there August 2013.

http://lokal-dlouha.ambi.cz/en/

http://www.ladegustation.cz/en/

laurieco

Thanks for the restaurant suggestions. They look great.

Christina, I'm relieved you think the hotel is in a convenient area. Of course I was second guessing my choice, especially since DH told me to hold off until tomorrow morning before booking anything so he could make sure his work schedule is clear. I was already looking at some other places, just in case. I would have liked to have stayed in a nice cobble-stoned old area, but the only hotels I really liked were too expensive. We were in Berlin in June and will most likely be going back to Punta Cana this winter, so I'm trying to keep the cost somewhat reasonable.

crosscheck

HI Leely2 (all my buddies from Africa and Asia are here on this thread) - Others have recommended both Degustation and Lokal. Is Degustation a must for foodies? We plan to hit a starred restaurant in Madrid and not sure if we're up for two huge splurges.

crosscheck

BTW, the chef at the Cafe Imperial is the host of a Gordon Ramsey type cooking show.

Leely2

crossczech, I really enjoyed Degustation, but it was the only fine dining I did on that trip (Krakow, Warsaw, Telc & Cesky Krumlov, and Prague). I personally don't need to have that type of experience more than once or twice per vacation; I wouldn't say it's a must go if you'll be living the high life in Madrid too. YMMV.

However, I loved the meal and the service. It was nice to have "modernized" and refined Czech food. Lots of local/traditional ingredients served in innovative ways. It was a <i>relative</i> bargain, too.

Cali

I agree that you must eat at the Cafe Imperial at least one night (make your reservations ahead of time) as it is wonderful. We did eat breakfast there everyday (didn't need reservations) and it was good, but enjoyed dinner there even more. Have a great time.

laurieco

We have breakfast included at the hotel. I wonder if it will be at the Cafe Imperial. Cali, was breakfast included with your stay? I will certainly try to eat dinner at the Cafe Imperial. I guess I should email them ahead of time to get a reservation.

Cali

laurieco, yes breakfast was included with our stay and it was at Cafe Imperial. Hope you can have dinner there at least one night. We loved it.

Taltul

I'm lucky I opened this thread because it's just what I need. By the way, I also check and double check the hotels I choose. I do a lot of "crossczeching" between different sites (beside Trip Adviser and Booking) and I've almost always chosen what we needed.
There's lots of good info here that I'll use (we want to go in the spring and do the Prague - Dresden - Berlin railway trip). But I really need help about a hotel/ area for someone with walking difficulties. My husband finds it hard to climb hills and do long walking tours in a city. What areas would be the best to find hotels near public transport (if he tires out) and has elevators in the hotel. It's not that he can't walk at all (we just came back from an amazing 6 week trip to the U.S. and we went to 4 National Parks.)but there has to be transportation available.

laurieco

Taltul, in my research, I found that some of the older, albeit charming hotels, do not have elevators. This will not be apparent from the hotel websites. You have to read reviews. I found the reviews on booking.com to be especially helpful. I also read trip advisor and Expedia reviews.

Taltul

My husband prefers modern and up to date. He's not into "charming" and "quaint". Are there modern hotels in central areas near transportation?

crosscheck

Taitul, If he likes ultra modern boutique design hotels, czech out Hotel Josef, Emblem and Unic. We considered those, but decided on an apartment. There is also the Mark, a grand hotel (used to be the Kempenski), just renovated. There's also the Intercontinental and every other big chain, if he prefers those.

We're in Prague now, in a cool loft in a quiet, authentic part of old town, a few doors from the Hotel Agnes (and both of the restaurants Leely2 suggested). This seems to be the ideal location - a few blocks from the Square, but away from the tourist madness.

crosscheck

Update: Just walked past the Intercontinental - hideous building in mediocre location. The town is absolutely mobbed with tourists, almost beyond belief, but our little section is peaceful. So for now, my rec is the Agnes.