Prague: Where to stay?
 

I saw what appears to be a good price for a couple of attractive hotels that are not in the Old Town: Andel's Hotel (Stroupeznickeho 21) for 85 euro a night and the Hotel Neruda (steps south of Prague Castle) for 95 euro a night. We'll be in Prague for most of four days, looking mostly to walk the hell out of the city and see what there is to see. With both of these hotels near metro stops, would Prague veterans recommend them? Or will we regret not staying in the Old Town (or somewhere else)?

Hi boyreporter: Having been to Prague two times I feel it's easy enough to get around so pretty much any location would be fine. I did look up the websites for the hotels above and personally liked Hotel Neruda, but that's my opinion only. On my first visit to Prague I did a package deal using the Diplomat Hotel, a very business type hotel with access to the metro and easy to get into Old Town and also easy to take the bus from/to the airport, our 2nd visit we stayed in a apartment in Old Town, that said, both were excellent locations and worked fine for me. As long as you're near a metro stop you'll be fine. Enjoy your trip.
Susan

Neruda looks ok, but I would not plan on the Metro (which is dirty and nasty), I prefer the trams so would stay by them

The Metro in Prague is fine and very clean and modern compared to many other cities,i use it on a regular basis and love it.Even the trams now are much better than they used to be with many low-level trams suitablr for wheel chairs and prams.Prague has one of the best integrated transport sytems in Europe.
At Andel there is a great metro/tram interchange and you can get to any part of the city ,quickly safely and cheaply.
The Andel area has lots of great shops (New huge Mall recently opend) ,lots of good traditional and modern bars and resturants that have prices a good deal cheaper than the city center.Andels hotel get good reviews and i have stayed in their sister hotel (chopin) just last week,not glamerous,romantic or classy but a good functional buisiness hotel.

Thanks to all for the advice. So we wouldn't be missing out much by not staying closer to the center? I saw on another thread that there aren't many hotels actually 'in' the Old Town anyway.

there are hotels in the Old town but you pay a lot more for them,seriously Andel area is fine and only a few minutes by trams or metro into the city center.I was in the Staropramen brewery bar for lunch on friday,it was great ,just a couple of minutes walk from Andels,used to be a right old - fashioned place,now a really modern bar/resturant that would grace any fine city.

Here is a very nice 3-star hotel I've stayed at that is mid-way between Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge and LESS than the two hotels you listed (69E, 71E, or 79E - depending on the time of year).

http://www.7angels.cz/en/residence.php

I returned from Prague last week and stayed in the Diplomat and DAP Hotels. The Diplomat is - as Susan said-a business hotel. The rate was about $160/night during the week and $100/week-ends. (There is a charge for Internet in the room). The DAP Hotel which is located two blocks away from the Diplomat was only $65/night (1,100 Kc) for a single room. It is a no-frills hotel; the room was small, but perfectly clean. It included TV, small fridge, Internet access and breakfast. I did not have breakfast, because I had to leave at 5:00 am, but they gave me a 'breakfast box' instead. You can easily take a metro or tram to the city. Or, you can walk. It is about 3 km to Charles Bridge. DAP used to be a military hotel,I think. One reason, I chose this hotel because I rented a car from a local car rental company (VECAR) which is right around the corner, so that was also convenient. I took a taxi from the DAP hotel to the airport which was 330 Kc (about $20).

We had lunch at the Hotel Neruda's lovely rooftop cafe, a few years ago, in a rainstorm. We took shelters under their table umbrellas and had a nice snack while the rain passed. Very friendly and good service.

We liked the look of the hotel very much. We walked around the lobby area and collected their business card. (It is a contemporary look, as you probably know.) If you can get it at that price, I'd recommend it.

Neruda is on a hill, sort of midway between the Charles Bridge, with the Prague castle and convent located at the top. It is a nice area. You will be walking up and down the hill a lot, though, but it sounds like you are good walkers.

Here is a great website with lots of information on Prague:
www.livingprague.com

Here is what it says, "4*. Hotel Neruda. This is a 10-15 minute walk from the Charles Bridge and 5 minutes to the castle. One of the four star hotels in Prague, this place was built nearly 150 years before America was discovered and can suffer from the "small room" syndrome often described as "cosy" but it does meet the requirement for Prague luxury hotels. Prague hotels may offer local Prague deals so their homepage is at www.hotelneruda.cz."

There are dozens of hotels in Old Town, I can't imagine who would say that (that there aren't very many), and while they are more expensive than the outer areas, there are all price ranges. I personally would never want to stay up on that hill near the Castle, I would hitnk it very inconvenient, but that's just me. I wouldn't think a hotel in Mala Strana would be any cheaper than many in Old Town.

I wouldn't want to stay in either of those locations, but I would always want to be near a metro. I've been around Andel, it's okay but I prefer to be center. I use the metro all the time, it is often more covenient than trams, but I use both.

The Old Town area (Stare Mesto) is an official designation of a section of the city and is rather large, I don't know who said there aren't many hotels there and wonder if they don't know where it is.

Check out Star Hotels Prague. We stayed at Bishop's House II and it may be equal or less than the prices you've obtained and is MUCH closer to the center of town (60 meters from the Charles Bridge!) than staying hard by the Castle and it's on a quiet street in Mala Strana so you can still "walk the hell out of the city" just traipsing over the bridge all the way to New Town or Josefov or all the way to Vinohrady.

We just returned for Prague. The Charles Bridge Residence is a whole building converted to a B&B kind-of, right at the Charles Bridge, but on the other side of it, at 12 Mostecka street. Very convenient, well run and much less expensive than any decent Prague hotel, and the breakfast is included (at a small restaurant across the street). It has smaller units for couples, and larger ones for families of 4.... The only drawback is -- no elevator. But we stayed at the 3rd floor and survived.....

Thanks, all. mamamia2: I went to make a reservation at the Charles Bridge Residence, but while I was going back and forth with the manager, I kept getting drawn to the Hotel Josef, and decided to splurge a bit:

http://www.hoteljosef.com/

sounds like a good choice and the location is superb.there is a greta new pub opened up on Dlouha just round the corner.The Prague Beer Museum Pub,well worth a visit.the Obenici Dum (Muniiple House )is jsut nearby and is quite stunning one of my favourite buildings in the city,easy walk to lots of sites and you have Namesti Republiky Metro stop a hop skip and a jump away that will get you anywhere in the city quickly,trams also run real close as well.
Yep a pretty good choice in my opinion.
hope you have a great stay. I just got back from Prague last Friday and it is going to be October till i get back again,just love going there.

Another great web site for information on Prague. www.inyourpocket.com/czeck-republic/prague One of our favorite cities. Richard

I think you made an excellent hotel choice in a great location. Better than your first 2 choices, particularly since you like being central and want to walk everywhere (That's what I did). Have a wonderful time in Prague!