Czech out the Hilton Prague!
Written: Feb 17 '06 (Updated Feb 17 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An hotel of absolutely superb quality. Deserves its 5 stars.
Cons: Location isn't perfect for tourists - but you can work around this easily!
The Bottom Line: A great hotel. Business-orientated in terms of location and attitude, but still very much worth a visit if you are looking to visit this great city.
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| andymcf's Full Review: Hilton Prague Hotel |
It's rare, I know. My young son, Josh (Bless 'im), who is now 4 years old doesn't feature in the body of this review since he stayed with his Grandmother whilst I treated Amanda to a St Valentine's / pre-40th birthday trip to Prague. Had the weather been warmer, I reckon that he would actually have loved it, since Prague actually has quite a lot on offer for kids, even if it's billed as a fairly adult location. We spent two nights there, stayed at the Hilton, and concentrated on more grown-up things. I'm certainly not saying that we hired the prostitutes that, apparently, are two-a-penny. I'm just saying that we didn't watch a single episode of "Scooby Doo" during our very pleasant stay. And, frankly, that was something of a relief (with full apologies to Scooby, Scrappy and the rest of the litter).
So - down to the review proper...
I had booked on-line through the Hilton website, and this was efficient and, dare I say, tickety-boo. It's always nice to arrive at an hotel, safe in the knowledge that one's booking is secure, and ours was. Very much so!
There are many ways to arrive at the Prague Hilton. I've spoken to several people who've stayed there and I would agree that it's not ideally located if you're a tourist. There are certainly better-located hotels in Prague - but at the end of the day, the location is more of an irritant than a problem. Getting to / from town is cheap and very, very easy. I got the impression that this is a business hotel rather than a tourist one and, in that sense, it's possibly very well located. Whatever. We could have taken a taxi from the airport. For about 50p (about $1), however, an easy combination of bus / metro (The nearest station is "Florenc")got us virtually door-to-door. As you emerge from the metro station, simply look for....
...The Prague Hilton. A huge, blue, glass cube on the south bank of the river Vlatva. You really can't miss it. It's even got its name on the top of its 8th storey atrium. With 788 rooms on 8 floors, it's the biggest hotel in the Czech Republic.
Shameless, we walked to the hotel. No taxi; these guys are well known for ripping you off in Prague. It wasn't far, anyway, and our luggage wasn't particularly heavy; I know - I was carrying it.
The first test of a five star hotel? Does it have a liveried doorman? Yes - and the guy was standing outside in full uniform and a rather nice fur hat in the kind of sub-zero temperatures that kept the town pleasantly quiet. We were offered help with our bags. This was not to be a first time; we declined and strolled through the giant revolving door and into the hotel.
This is a busy place indeed, but what - on the other hand - an absolute oasis of calm! This is an atrium hotel, and whilst there is a sense of purpose, there's also a totally calm karma.
Check-in was calm, quick, efficient and, as a Hilton Hhonors Gold VIP member, being allocated to room 8037 - was a delight, because floors 7 and 8 are Executive floors. The room was a long walk from the 6 swift lifts (or elevators - two of which are of the expozed glass type). So we got full Club Lounge treatment. In simple language, that's free, high quality, drinks all night. Add a huge plasma TV with cordless headseats so that other guests don't need to share your particular sounds, and you have such a winning combination that Prague's nightclubs, bars or Jazz clubs begin to lose their appeal. Excellent, though they are!
Our room was spacious and absolutely superb - in many ways, typically Hilton in its beige decor. There was a very comfortable armchair with suede upholstery, and a comfortable swivel chair by the working desk. The television had a decent number of watchable, informative, multi-lingual channels. Air conditioning was modern and very functional. The bed was supremely comfortable - King-size, with two single, very cosy, duvets; a recipe for a perfect night's sleep.
The bathroom was great. Deep bath, and a shower that - for once - showers ON you, rather than AT you. In my humble opinion, this makes a real difference! Toiletries were high quality, as were the fixtures and fittings - and there were two fluffy bathrobes. Always a nice touch, and I have never understood why hotels have provided only one in a double room.
The second test of a 5-star hotel - turn down service, and - yes, we returned to our room to find the curtains drawn, the bed turned down, chocolates on our pillows, classical music piped through the TV and a weather report for the following day resting on my pillow. I was impressed, if not 100% happy with the predicted temperature of -8C. Hey! One cannot blame the hotel for the weather!
Cooked breakfast was fine (2nd morning). On the first morning, however, I went for the continental version and it was, quite repulsive. I never knew that packaged cereal could be so much of a let-down! Maybe that's just Eastern Europe for you!
The Hilton Prague has several eating and drinking venues. The main restaurant purports to present traditional Czech recipes in a modern format. Pork and Dumplings, at a guess! The Atrium restaurant handles breakfast and lunch, and would have been lovely had we not taken breakfast (Like ya do) upstairs in the executive lounge.
And then there's the Zest bar. Entitled, though we were, to high quality, free drinks in the Executive lounge, I visited the Zest bar, simply to make the report complete. Well, it's great, expensive, makes full use of the atrium, enjoys excellent live music (first night - piano; second night - guitar duet) and, with 68 varieties, apparently has the widest selection of vodkas in Prague.
We enjoyed our stay here. It's a bit off-centre, but it has an awful lot going for it! Try it!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andymcf
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Member: Andrew McFall
Location: Canterbury, Kent, England
Reviews written: 74
Trusted by: 132 members
About Me:
Maths teacher. Father of young Josh. See below!
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