My family of four will be visiting Prague over US Thanksgiving and are interested in staying at a hotel in or near Old Town. Any recommendations for something with good values. I have to admit I would prefer an American style place (ie, our own bathroom). We will be there four nights and will be visiting my son who is over there for a semester abroad. He is in or very near old town, which is why we are looking there exclusively.

i would have your son scout out for you what he knows will please you, seeing that he is right there.....there is the marriott and the renaissance nearby...

i will be there over thanksgiving too and am at the hotel savoy near the castle....

have you thought about priceline--great deals...i saved 60+% on my rooms

Many hotels have private bathrooms in Prague. Not really sure if you mean like an American hotel chain hotel because there's a Hilton but not certain if it's in Old Town.

If you/they want a room with a fantastic view of the Vltava River, check out a room with a river view at the Intercontinental Hotel in Prague.

I am a neophyte at this. When I went to Priceline I was given a large area in eastern Prague and its environs to search in was told that if my offer was accepted I had to take whatever was offered, which from the look of things could have been miles from where I want to stay. How can I use priceline and be sure I will be satisfied by the location?

Dave

You probably can't if they give you a really LARGE area out of which you might get a hotel.
I would be very careful about using Priceline UNLESS you are certain that the amount of savings is really worth the possible inconvenience of location.
I am sure there are strategies you can use to get the best deal from them.
I would also strongly advise you to e-mail DIRECTLY any hotel you might be really interested in and ask them for their best rate. Sometimes they'll beat their own "published" rates..you have nothing to lose and often they'll reply in less than 24 hours.
Regardless, enjoy Prague.

I stayed at the Intercontinental. It is a great location--near Old Town Square, on the river, right across from the tram stop, near a metro stop. Rooms and food were very good. It is like our hotels in American (good ones) However, it might be more than you wanted to pay. If you can get a room with two double beds though and are all willing to stay in the same room, this might be more affordable. Bathrooms are modern and good. I think this is a top notch place.

Once again, you can SEE pictures of rooms & get very good descriptions of features & locations at many websites, such as www.travel.cz, www.marys.cz , www.athos.cz , etc.... I have used all these companies, and they are reputable & have competitive prices. Good luck.

Most hotels in Europe of 2* and above have private bathrooms (and all that are 3* and up I've ever seen), that isn't some American style. You don't think a 4* hotel in Europe has shared bathrooms in the hallway, do you?

That area of Prague on Priceline is very large (East), and so is the West. You could check biddingfortravel to see what they have, but I think West may be safer (I know some get the Movenpick from that which is not far out, prob a 4*). You might not get any big discounts over a holiday, anyway, even if only a US one. I just book hotels I want to stay in myself.

If you really want to be in Old Town, I'd forget Priceline. If you want an American hotel, there is a Marriott and a M Renaissance in Prague, fairly new, pretty nice from what I've heard, and in a good Old Town location that will be convenient.

We stayed in The Hotel Cloister Inn. It was a great hotel. It's not an American brand per se, but it felt like one. Very modern, clean sparkling chrome/glass bathrooms, spacious, comfortable, nice breakfast, very safe (use 2 keys, one to enter the hallway and one to enter your room, plus a 24-hour guard). They also have free internet access in the lobby. It's within walking distance to Old Town Square. I would definitely stay there again. Check them out at http://www.cloister-inn.com/

Check out the Maxmilian. We stayed there and were very pleased. Also, look at the Hotel Josef's web page. It looks good. Both are good locations.

Thanks for all the advice, and I will check out the specific sites mentioned. When I said American-like, I really just meant I want a private bathroom. Sounds like anyplace I would be happy staying would have one.

dave---yes priceline is a gamble, but if you look carefully at www.biddingfortravel.com, the priceline companion site, and read it carefully you will see how it works....i think if you are bidding on a 2 or 3 star hotel choices might be iffy, but for a 4 or 5 star they are pretty well known....i wanted the marriott (generally $100-110 on priceline and $175-200 from hotel) and i got the savoy at 5* for $110...it is uaually about $300+...now it is up by the castle so you would not prefer that but it is only 10-15 minutes to old town via tram, which stops right out front....
reading bidding helps you to know and you can see many recent awards...

i feel that if you choose 4 or 5* how can you go wrong if you want to save money....

Stayed in the Marriot a few weeks ago...wow a great place to stay.
I am a Marriott rewards member showed my card to add the points and got a free executive room upgrade !! My boss didn't..lol
But Its not particularly cheap but its a lovely hotel and quite well located.

Muck

I contacted a couple of travel agents in the Czech Republic, as suggested, and was offered a couple of apartments very close to where we are looking to stay. How are the apartments in CZ. It seemed fairly nice, and was certainly reasonably priced. Anyone have any experience with that? Here in the US there really isn't such a thing as apartments for visitors to rent so I have no base of reference. Any information would be most useful.

www.apartments.cz, www.athos.cz, and www.pragueaccomodations.com offer nice places. www.marys.cz is not my style, but has some good deals. I have rented 6 different places in Prague, and all have worked out fine. If you want the extra space, and prefer the experience of feeling like a local, then go for it.

Amp322:

Thanks for all your helpful advice. What seems like the best offer so far is from Marys. You say that it not your style. Is there something I should be concerned about? In what way do you not like them?

Dear Dauerbach,

I think Mary's is a reputable company. Their apartments tend to have standard furnishings, while I prefer the more modern look of the ones offered by travel.cz or athos. Just my preference in the overall look of the place that will be my home away from home. I spend several weeks at a time in Prague, so I really settle into my place, while a casual traveler will probably just be crashing there at night, and is likely to be more concered with just the overall value of the place. Good luck & enjoy!

Dauerbach-Can you share anything about your trip to Prague ? My son leaves this Friday for a semester in Prague and I would love to know if there is anything special he should be taking or doing while there. We are planning on going over the last week in March to visit him and I am curious as to what you decided to do for a place to stay. Was your son staying at the international dorm of the Charles University? Thanks for your imput!

ttt