2 Best Hotels in Prague, Czech Republic

Perhaps the most unique hotel in Prague, a night in this luxuriously decked-out, 80-square-meter capsule room at the top of the communist-era Žižkov TV Tower is quite an experience. You enter the hotel via the ground floor, and an elevator whisks you up to the pod (the other capsules have a bar and restaurant, as well as reception). The glass-walled bathroom is stocked with L'Occitane products and looks out at the twinkling lights of the Golden City. There's a very cool television integrated into the bathroom mirror, and the bed is covered with hand-sewn horsehair upholstery from the Swedish brand Hästanes. Of course, all this glamour and eccentricity doesn't come cheap.

Though it has plenty of competition at the top end of the market, the Prague outpost of the Four Seasons luxury chain keeps up, not least because it simply has one of the best locations in the city: right on the river, close to the Charles Bridge, giving guests beautiful views from many of the rooms and a general fairy-tale feel. It has a mix of old European-style and more modern rooms across its different wings (there are four buildings in all; the modern structure is joined by existing buildings from the baroque, neoclassical, and neo-Renaissance eras). It's classic Four Seasons throughout: exceedingly comfortable, stately, perhaps-a-little-too-traditional decoration combined with all modern conveniences, a knockout spa and pool, and formal, conscientious service. There's a lavish breakfast spread that, alas, is not included in the basic rate. Both the Italian and Japanese in-house restaurants (the latter on the roof) are brilliant, too. Try to reserve well in advance (three months) to get a better rate.