Prague trip report - with scam story
May 11th, 2004, 09:59 AM
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Prague trip report - with scam story
Prague was the second half of my trip, The first half was Vienna which is on a different thread.
The days that we were in Prague coincided with the World ice hockey championships, which was unfortunate for us.
It was crowded, and finding accommodations
was extremely difficult, and I started 4 and 1/2 weeks ahead.
We left the Konig Von ungarn on Monday,
and took the 2:30 train from Suedbahnhof to Prague. When we arrived at 7:05, we could not believe how small and old the train station was. Although it clearly said "Praha" we kept thinking it couldn't be right. We went down the stairs and found
our taxi driver waiting for us- we got some Czech Koruny and were on our way.
We arrived at the Pension Dientzenhofer in about 20 minutes. Our first impression was not good. It was dark and dingy. However, a nice kid welcomed us and helped us to our room. The room was large and the bathroom was out in the hall. We were pretty sure we would have to share a bathroom- not something we were willing to do.
I had asked for a room with 2 beds, and found that the second bed was a chair that folded out and was not as wide as a twin bed.I later found that it was not only hard and uncomfortable, but also the top fell through a few times.
The room was clean and large, but with a dark wood ceiling and poor lighting. The larger bed was a double size, and I would have considered just sleeping together on it but it did not have a mattress,either, just a hard foam futon style pad. The bathroom was clean enough, but the shower curtain was dark brown on the bottom and the towels were thin and scratchy.
We were tired and decided this would have to do for the night, and we took off to see Prague.
The first view of the Charles bridge and
castle area at night was really breathtaking. We walked over to Old Town square and had a delicious meal, and decided to try to change hotels in the morning.
Tuesday: We find out that we don't share a bathroom after all, and my friend (who always woke before me) told me that the shower was surprisingly good and the blowdryer was awesome- beat the KVU.
Breakfast was another disappointment.
Cold hard boiled eggs, room temp juice and yogurt, cereal, and a toaster that pops up the toast several feet.
When we left for the day, we asked the only staff we could find if they could make music reservations for us or knew about concerts. The answer was sorry, no. Then
we asked about restaurants in the area and reservations, and the answer was that she did not know of the local restaurants.
So we left for the castle area, dropping by every hotel we saw along the way, but because of the ice hockey, everything was booked.
Strahov Monastery and Loreto: We went to these by accident because we missed the turn for the castle and it was a good mistake. Well worth the time.
Prague Castle: Immediately bought ticket A and got the audioguide even though we were told to get ticket B and no audioguide. Oops! Don't bother with the audioguide- it doesn't tell you what you are seeing, it just gives a monotone report on the history of the building. My Prague guide book was much better.
Stopped for lunch at Malostranske Pivnice. Then we looked for music flyers to pick out a good concert. We found one for the Municipal House so decided to go there that night. Next stop was St. Nicholas Church, and then back to our lovely hotel to relax and get ready for the concert.
Municipal House: So here starts my scam story. We carefully avoided the ticket sellers outside and went inside to the ticket office and bought tickets to tonights show. When we tried to enter where everyone else was going into the show, we were told to go downstairs, our seats were down below.
We knew something was wrong then, and even more so when we saw the American Bar downstairs. My friend said she thought we had entered the dumb American tourist section. She was right! Our concert was about 8 college students in a small room downstairs with folding chairs. Ha! I was mad at first but then just couldn't stop laughing. We felt like two little girls giggling in church. We laughed the entire way home about things we had noticed- the smug looks and grins exchanged by the performers, and the looks on the faces of other audience members.
Our biggest mistake was not noting the fine print on the flyer which said that the concert was in Art Nouveau Hall, not Smetana Hall the main one. I also had not looked into this too much, thinking that someone at the hotel would book the tickets.
After the concert, we realized it was too late to get food and every place we stopped would not let us eat. Luckily, a little place called Restaurant U Vladare let us come in for soup, wine and a cheese plate.
We were very thankful to be sitting on their beautiful patio and the food and wine was delicious.
Wednesday: Woke up to glorious sunny day, Endured another breakfast and went to the Jewish quarter. We did the full 7 sights. The children's artwork from Terezin was especially moving. We had a long lunch in Old Town.
We walked to Wenceslas square and went to the communism museum. This was very interesting, I would highly recommend it.
At night we went to Hergetova Cihelna where we had reservations for a table with a view. We had a long dinner, arriving at 7:30 and watched the sun set over the bridge,
wishing my husband and her fiance were there.
The service and food were very good.
Thursday: Slept in and skipped the Pension's yummy breakfast. Stopped for crepes and coffee at an outdoor cafe for breakfast, next door to Wallenstein palace and outside the entrance to Ledebour garden. Went to the Wallenstein Garden (palace only open on weekend and we weren't there on a weekend).
We hadn't planned the rest of the day
so we just walked over to the Ledebour garden
and it was really neat. It has old world elegance and beautiful views. It is a terraced garden. It leads you up to the castle area where we went to the royal garden and south garden and went through the castle area again because it was much less crowded than on Monday.
Next we took the Funicular railway to Petrin park. We enjoyed it, and enjoyed the views. We stopped at the restaurant Nebozizek which is at the halfway point walking down. It was only 6 pm and we did not have reservations but they let us come in for a glass of wine and appetizers. I wish we had reservations because our soup and appetizers were delicious and the view was great, too.
Spent our final evening shopping and watching a French detective movie being filmed in Mala Strana.
Overall, the trip was very good. Food in Prague was excellent wherever we went and always brought to the table piping hot. Maybe they haven't got the whole American idea of just putting the plates under warming lights til you have time to take it to the table. The beauty and history in Prague was well worth the visit.
I do wish I had stayed somewhere nicer and also would have liked to have been able to go outside Prague to the Czech countryside.
The days that we were in Prague coincided with the World ice hockey championships, which was unfortunate for us.
It was crowded, and finding accommodations
was extremely difficult, and I started 4 and 1/2 weeks ahead.
We left the Konig Von ungarn on Monday,
and took the 2:30 train from Suedbahnhof to Prague. When we arrived at 7:05, we could not believe how small and old the train station was. Although it clearly said "Praha" we kept thinking it couldn't be right. We went down the stairs and found
our taxi driver waiting for us- we got some Czech Koruny and were on our way.
We arrived at the Pension Dientzenhofer in about 20 minutes. Our first impression was not good. It was dark and dingy. However, a nice kid welcomed us and helped us to our room. The room was large and the bathroom was out in the hall. We were pretty sure we would have to share a bathroom- not something we were willing to do.
I had asked for a room with 2 beds, and found that the second bed was a chair that folded out and was not as wide as a twin bed.I later found that it was not only hard and uncomfortable, but also the top fell through a few times.
The room was clean and large, but with a dark wood ceiling and poor lighting. The larger bed was a double size, and I would have considered just sleeping together on it but it did not have a mattress,either, just a hard foam futon style pad. The bathroom was clean enough, but the shower curtain was dark brown on the bottom and the towels were thin and scratchy.
We were tired and decided this would have to do for the night, and we took off to see Prague.
The first view of the Charles bridge and
castle area at night was really breathtaking. We walked over to Old Town square and had a delicious meal, and decided to try to change hotels in the morning.
Tuesday: We find out that we don't share a bathroom after all, and my friend (who always woke before me) told me that the shower was surprisingly good and the blowdryer was awesome- beat the KVU.
Breakfast was another disappointment.
Cold hard boiled eggs, room temp juice and yogurt, cereal, and a toaster that pops up the toast several feet.
When we left for the day, we asked the only staff we could find if they could make music reservations for us or knew about concerts. The answer was sorry, no. Then
we asked about restaurants in the area and reservations, and the answer was that she did not know of the local restaurants.
So we left for the castle area, dropping by every hotel we saw along the way, but because of the ice hockey, everything was booked.
Strahov Monastery and Loreto: We went to these by accident because we missed the turn for the castle and it was a good mistake. Well worth the time.
Prague Castle: Immediately bought ticket A and got the audioguide even though we were told to get ticket B and no audioguide. Oops! Don't bother with the audioguide- it doesn't tell you what you are seeing, it just gives a monotone report on the history of the building. My Prague guide book was much better.
Stopped for lunch at Malostranske Pivnice. Then we looked for music flyers to pick out a good concert. We found one for the Municipal House so decided to go there that night. Next stop was St. Nicholas Church, and then back to our lovely hotel to relax and get ready for the concert.
Municipal House: So here starts my scam story. We carefully avoided the ticket sellers outside and went inside to the ticket office and bought tickets to tonights show. When we tried to enter where everyone else was going into the show, we were told to go downstairs, our seats were down below.
We knew something was wrong then, and even more so when we saw the American Bar downstairs. My friend said she thought we had entered the dumb American tourist section. She was right! Our concert was about 8 college students in a small room downstairs with folding chairs. Ha! I was mad at first but then just couldn't stop laughing. We felt like two little girls giggling in church. We laughed the entire way home about things we had noticed- the smug looks and grins exchanged by the performers, and the looks on the faces of other audience members.
Our biggest mistake was not noting the fine print on the flyer which said that the concert was in Art Nouveau Hall, not Smetana Hall the main one. I also had not looked into this too much, thinking that someone at the hotel would book the tickets.
After the concert, we realized it was too late to get food and every place we stopped would not let us eat. Luckily, a little place called Restaurant U Vladare let us come in for soup, wine and a cheese plate.
We were very thankful to be sitting on their beautiful patio and the food and wine was delicious.
Wednesday: Woke up to glorious sunny day, Endured another breakfast and went to the Jewish quarter. We did the full 7 sights. The children's artwork from Terezin was especially moving. We had a long lunch in Old Town.
We walked to Wenceslas square and went to the communism museum. This was very interesting, I would highly recommend it.
At night we went to Hergetova Cihelna where we had reservations for a table with a view. We had a long dinner, arriving at 7:30 and watched the sun set over the bridge,
wishing my husband and her fiance were there.
The service and food were very good.
Thursday: Slept in and skipped the Pension's yummy breakfast. Stopped for crepes and coffee at an outdoor cafe for breakfast, next door to Wallenstein palace and outside the entrance to Ledebour garden. Went to the Wallenstein Garden (palace only open on weekend and we weren't there on a weekend).
We hadn't planned the rest of the day
so we just walked over to the Ledebour garden
and it was really neat. It has old world elegance and beautiful views. It is a terraced garden. It leads you up to the castle area where we went to the royal garden and south garden and went through the castle area again because it was much less crowded than on Monday.
Next we took the Funicular railway to Petrin park. We enjoyed it, and enjoyed the views. We stopped at the restaurant Nebozizek which is at the halfway point walking down. It was only 6 pm and we did not have reservations but they let us come in for a glass of wine and appetizers. I wish we had reservations because our soup and appetizers were delicious and the view was great, too.
Spent our final evening shopping and watching a French detective movie being filmed in Mala Strana.
Overall, the trip was very good. Food in Prague was excellent wherever we went and always brought to the table piping hot. Maybe they haven't got the whole American idea of just putting the plates under warming lights til you have time to take it to the table. The beauty and history in Prague was well worth the visit.
I do wish I had stayed somewhere nicer and also would have liked to have been able to go outside Prague to the Czech countryside.
May 11th, 2004, 11:03 AM
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Hi
It would be helpful, if the hotel is listed, to also post your comments under the fodor's hotel listings for Prague, and also at
www.tripadvisor.com
Glad to hear you liked Prague despite the hotel. What were you paying?
It would be helpful, if the hotel is listed, to also post your comments under the fodor's hotel listings for Prague, and also at
www.tripadvisor.com
Glad to hear you liked Prague despite the hotel. What were you paying?
May 11th, 2004, 11:07 AM
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I am visiting Prague, tledford, in July and am grateful for your report.
I always stay in very good hotels whilst travelling for the reasons you mention. 5-star establishments usually have a concierge who can book anything and everything for you. You are also provided with a decent breakfast. I think that is worth the extra money.
Can you tell me how much you payed for dinner for two at Hergatove Cihelna?
Cheers, John G.
I always stay in very good hotels whilst travelling for the reasons you mention. 5-star establishments usually have a concierge who can book anything and everything for you. You are also provided with a decent breakfast. I think that is worth the extra money.
Can you tell me how much you payed for dinner for two at Hergatove Cihelna?
Cheers, John G.
May 11th, 2004, 11:53 AM
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It was not just the money that kept me from booking a better hotel. It was the lack of availability. I was expecting something more like an English bed and breakfast at the Dietzenhofer. Reports had described it as charming with a good breakfast and very helpful husband and wife owner. I think it has changed hands.
My friend's boyfriend had just been to Prague and she had hotel info and was planning to book the hotel, but got overloaded at work. I took over, and my choices were very limited by then.
No deals were to be had and I paid $125 a night at the Dientzenhofer.
My other choices from travel.cz were apartments that didn't look too great, Hotel city center which looked like a dive, and Andel's for 200.00 which in retrospect I should have done instead.
At the time it looked too modern and out of the way and Dientzenhofer had great review and great location. Also my friend's budget was half of 225 a night and some of the really nice hotels
had rooms but no bargains, just 350 - 400 a night.
Hergetova Cihelna was less than 50.00 each, after tip and everything.
We had a bottle of wine, soup, and nice dinners. Mine was poached halibut, risotto with truffles, and asparagus. It was our most expensive meal but it is hard to imagine a better view of the bridge and castle at sunset, and the service and food were excellent.
I am so glad you found my report to be useful. I do not like to bash a hotel but I tried to give the exact details of what I did not like in case others aren't so picky, and are looking for a less expensive place. It WAS clean and well located.
My next trip is to Ireland and I really want to stay in b&b's not nice hotels. Now I am a little scared.
My friend's boyfriend had just been to Prague and she had hotel info and was planning to book the hotel, but got overloaded at work. I took over, and my choices were very limited by then.
No deals were to be had and I paid $125 a night at the Dientzenhofer.
My other choices from travel.cz were apartments that didn't look too great, Hotel city center which looked like a dive, and Andel's for 200.00 which in retrospect I should have done instead.
At the time it looked too modern and out of the way and Dientzenhofer had great review and great location. Also my friend's budget was half of 225 a night and some of the really nice hotels
had rooms but no bargains, just 350 - 400 a night.
Hergetova Cihelna was less than 50.00 each, after tip and everything.
We had a bottle of wine, soup, and nice dinners. Mine was poached halibut, risotto with truffles, and asparagus. It was our most expensive meal but it is hard to imagine a better view of the bridge and castle at sunset, and the service and food were excellent.
I am so glad you found my report to be useful. I do not like to bash a hotel but I tried to give the exact details of what I did not like in case others aren't so picky, and are looking for a less expensive place. It WAS clean and well located.
My next trip is to Ireland and I really want to stay in b&b's not nice hotels. Now I am a little scared.
May 11th, 2004, 12:44 PM
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I was surprised that the price of accommodation in Prague is pretty much on a par with many of the bigger western European cities. It didn't seem that the quality was any better either. Everything else (especially food and drinks) I found was very reasonable by comparison.
I found the food to be reasonably good on the whole but nothing to write home about. A lot of places we went to seemed to serve food that seemed over salty.
I found the food to be reasonably good on the whole but nothing to write home about. A lot of places we went to seemed to serve food that seemed over salty.
May 11th, 2004, 01:08 PM
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>I was surprised that the price of accommodation in Prague is pretty much on a par with many of the bigger western European cities. It didn't seem that the quality was any better either.<
Prague has been 'discovered', Dave.
Prague has been 'discovered', Dave.
May 11th, 2004, 06:30 PM
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Sorry to hear about your experience at the Pension Dientzenhofer. We stayed there in April and found it to be clean, comfortable, and charming. We had a two room suite with a large bathroom. My daughter, who is often hard on hotels, said it was one of her favorite places because it was so charming. We found Josef, the propietor, to be very helpful. Also, the staff were very polite and accomodating- even offering to make reservations for us prior to our arrival. Each morning they made us a cheese platter with no meat since we are vegetarians. My husband had a problem with his tooth and Josef helped him to get an appointment with a dentist. While breakfast was not "an English breakfast" we found that it was quite sufficient and good. They even kept fruit and chocolate on the table throughout the day so that guests could help themselves. We then went to Paris and stayed at a hotel that was twice the price that had a chintzy breakfast that was not included and a tiny two room suite that lacked charm. Anyway, I guess it is all relative. Glad you were able to enjoy Prague otherwise. It is quite a wonderful place.
May 11th, 2004, 07:06 PM
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Risa,
Did you have comfortable beds in your room? I was upstairs in room 7. I never saw fruit and chocolate but they did have candy out. Was the breakfast as I described or completely different? The staff was nice and not rude, just unable to help with reservations. I do need to give them credit for arranging transportation and fixing breakfast early the morning we left. Perhaps that type of place should not be expected to make your reservations for you. I'm glad that you had a good experience and brought it up here, I do think we all perceive things differently.
Dave,
I am definitely not a "foodie" so
consider the source, but I enjoyed all my meals there.
Did you have comfortable beds in your room? I was upstairs in room 7. I never saw fruit and chocolate but they did have candy out. Was the breakfast as I described or completely different? The staff was nice and not rude, just unable to help with reservations. I do need to give them credit for arranging transportation and fixing breakfast early the morning we left. Perhaps that type of place should not be expected to make your reservations for you. I'm glad that you had a good experience and brought it up here, I do think we all perceive things differently.
Dave,
I am definitely not a "foodie" so
consider the source, but I enjoyed all my meals there.
May 11th, 2004, 07:43 PM
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I could never abide a "brown" shower curtain, and would have thrown it out the window. How hard could it be for the owners to throw the bloody thing into the washing machine? I am sorry, but that doesn't sound very charming to me.
How far is the walk from Old Town Square to Wenceslas Square?
How far is the walk from Old Town Square to Wenceslas Square?
May 12th, 2004, 04:32 PM
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In response to Dave's question...I think that we may have been in room 5- can't quite remember. Our beds were very comfortable. The pillows were a bit soft but the bed was firm and the comforters were wonderful. I also have to say that our towels each day were fluffy and had the pension's monogram on them. Only noticed that our last day there we had different towels. We were charged for transportation from the airport and to the train station- but that was clear from the beginning. The also made reservations for us for a hotel in Cesky Krumlov (which we ended up cancelling because we had to go to Paris).
