Prague: Four Seasons, Intercontinental or Marriott?
 

Any comment on these hotels is appreciated. Which of these hotels provided the most memorable stay? Is one superior for the leisure traveler?

I'm still in the planning stages myself. If it was not for the cost I would be staying at the Four Seasons for the location but it is out of my range. My friends who stayed at the Marriot said it was ok but very average. They used FF miles and said it was great since they did not have to pay for it. They did not recommend it to me. I don't know much about the Intercontinetal other than that the building is not attractive from the outside.

You can't really compare the Marriott with the Four Seasons, as the latter is a luxury hotel. I would pick the Four Seasons first out of all three. I have not been in the Intercontinental, so can't comment. The Marriott (and the Renaissance across the street) are perfectly nice standard international hotels. You will have a fine experience at the Marriott, but it will not have the charm of the Four Seasons which is located in an old building on the river, nor the luxury furniture and fittings. The location of the Four Season is superior to the Marriott. The Intercontinental is not in a bad location either, probably the second best location of the three.

Other than the Four Season, my favourite luxury hotel in Prague called the Riverside Hotel. The hotel is right on the river, across the street from the "Dancing Building" (Fred and Ginger Building). It is about a 10-15 minute walk to the Charles Bridge. Most of the rooms have river views, some have fantastic castle views as well. The hotel is small and quiet and the staff is very attentive. It is brand new and decorated in a modern style, but not sleek and cold, there is lots of bright stripe fabrics and big furniture. Bathrooms are great. It is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, take a look at slh.com and/or http://www.riversideprague.com. You can walk across the bride to the tram lines running to the old town and Jewish Quarter, or walk a few blocks behind the hotel to the tram line running to Malay Strata. Drawbacks are that there are no restaurants or shopping in the area (other than the restaurant in the Dancing Building which is excellent). There is also no indoor pool or fitness centre, which you will find at the Marriott, the Intercontinental. The Four Seasons does not have a pool but they have a fitness centre with sauna, etc.

I've only stayed at the Intercontinental, which we found to be excellent. It was one of the best we have visited anywhere--on a parallel, more or less, with Vienna's Imperial. Good luck.