Eastern Europe: Accommodations Listings
Included in this section:
56. Czech Out Prague
57. Charming Kraków
56. Czech Out Prague
Sleeping in Prague
(20 Kc = about $1, country code: 420)
Peak season for hotels in Prague is late April, May, June, September, and early October. Easter and Christmas are the most crowded times, when prices are jacked up a bit. I've listed peak-time prices — if you're traveling in July or August, you'll find rates generally 15 percent lower, and from November through March, about 30 percent lower.
Prague is awash with fancy rooms on the push list; private, small-time operators with rooms to rent in their apartments; and roving agents eager to book you a bed and earn a commission. You can save about 30 percent by showing up in Prague without a reservation and finding accommodations upon arrival. However, it is a hustle, and you will not necessarily get your first choice. If you're coming in by train or car, you'll encounter booking agencies. They can almost always find you a reasonable room, and, if it's a private guest house, your host can even come and lead you to the place.
Athos Travel has a line on 200 properties (ranging from hostels to 5-star hotels), 90 percent of which are in the historical center. To book a room, call them or use their handy website, which allows you to search for a room, based on various criteria (best to arrange in advance during peak season, can also help with last-minute booking off-season, tel. 241-440-571, fax 241-441-697, www.a-prague.com, info@a-prague.com). Readers report that Athos is aggressive with its business policies — while there's no fee to cancel well in advance, they strictly enforce penalties on cancellations within 48 hours.
Hotel Julián is an oasis of professional, predictable decency in an untouristy neighborhood. Its 32 spacious, fresh, well-furnished rooms and big, homey public spaces hide behind a noble Neoclassical facade. The staff is friendly and helpful (Sb-3,680 Kč, Db-3,980 Kč, Db suite-4,800 Kč, extra bed-900 Kč, discount for booking online, 15 percent discount off rack rate with current edition of Rick Steves' Best of Eastern Europe guidebook, free tea and coffee in room, air-con, elevator, plush and inviting lobby, parking lot; Metro: Anděl, then an 8-min walk; or take tram #6, #9, #12, #20, or #58 for two stops; Elišky Peškové 11, Praha 5, reservation tel. 257-311-150, reception tel. 257-311-145, fax 257-311-149, www.julian.cz, casjul@vol.cz). Free lockers and a shower are available for those needing a place to stay after checkout (for example, while waiting for an overnight train).
Best Budget Options in Prague
Hotel u Šemíka, named for a heroic mythical horse, offers 25 rooms in a quiet residential neighborhood just below Vyšehrad Castle and the Slavín cemetery where Dvořák, Mucha, and Čapek are buried. It's a 10-minute tram ride south of the Old Town (Sb-2,000 Kč, Db-2,650 Kč, apartment-3,350–3,700 Kč for 2–4 people, extra bed-600 Kč, ask for the "direct booking" Rick Steves 10 percent discount; from the center, take trams #3, #17, or #21 to Výtoň, go under rail bridge, and walk 3 blocks uphill to Vratislavova 36; Praha 2, tel. 224-920-736, fax 224-911-602, www.usemika.cz, usemika@usemika.cz).
Guest House Lída, with 12 homey and spacious rooms, fills a big house in a quiet residential area farther inland, a 15-minute tram ride from the center. Jan, Jiří, and Jitka Prouza, who run the place, are a wealth of information and know how to make people feel at home (Sb-1,380 Kč, small Db-1,440 Kč, Db-1,760 Kč, Tb-2,110 Kč, Qb-2,530 Kč, cash only, family rooms, top-floor family suite with kitchenette, Internet access, parking garage-200 Kč/day, Metro: Pražského Povstání; exit Metro and turn left on Lomnického between the Metro station and big blue-glass ČSOB building, follow Lomnického for 500 yards, then turn left on Lopatecká, go uphill and ring bell at Lopatecká #26, no sign outside; Praha 4, tel. & fax 261-214-766, www.lidabb.eu, lidabb@seznam.cz). The Prouza brothers also rent four apartments across the river, an equal distance from the center (Db-1,600 Kč, Tb-1,900 Kč, Qb-2,100 Kč).
Pension Větrník fills an attractive white-and-orange former 17th-century windmill in one of Prague's most popular residential areas, right next to the Břevnov Monastery and midway between the airport and the city. Owner Miloš Opatrný is a prizewinning Czech chef who sailed the world feeding cruise-ship passengers. On request, Miloš will prepare a feast you'll never forget. The six rooms here are the pride of the Opatrný family, who live on the upper floors. The garden has a good-hearted bear of a dog and a tennis court — rackets and balls are provided (Db-2,200 Kč, suite-3,300 Kč, extra bed-550 Kč, U Větrníku 4, Praha 6; airport bus #179 stops right in front of the house, tram #18 goes straight to Charles Bridge, both take 20 min; tel. 220-612-404, fax 235-361-406, www.pensionvetrnik.wz.cz).
57. Charming Kraków
Sleeping in Kraków
(3 zl = about $1, €1 = about $1.40, country code: 48)
Healthy competition — with new, cleverly run places cropping up all the time — keeps Kraków's accommodation prices reasonable and makes choosing a hotel fun rather than frustrating. I've focused my accommodations on two areas: in and near the Old Town; and in Kazimierz, which is a local-style, more affordable neighborhood that is home to both the old Jewish quarter and Kraków's most happening nightlife.
Rates are soft. Hoteliers don't need much of an excuse to offer you 10 to 20 percent off, especially on weekends or in the off-season. If you're traveling with a laptop, most places will let you get online in your room for free — some with Wi-Fi, others with a cable (which they can loan you).
Donimirski Boutique Hotels, with three different locations in or near Kraków's Old Town, set the bar for splurge hotels in Kraków (website for all: www.donimirski.com). All Donimirski hotels offer my readers a 15 percent discount. You can expect any of these hotels to have some of the friendliest staff in Kraków and all of the classy little extras that add up to a memorable hotel experience (like a fluffy white bathrobe for every guest). Hotel Maltański — my home away from home in Kraków — has 16 rooms in the beautifully renovated former royal stables, just outside the Planty park and only two blocks from Wawel Castle (Sb-560 zł, Db-590 zł, cheaper Nov–March, parking-30 zł/day, ulica Straszewskiego 14, tel. 012-431-0010, fax 012-431-0615, maltanski@donimirski.com). Hotel Pugetów, with seven plush rooms and a fun breakfast cellar, is on the other side of town, in a slightly dingy but convenient neighborhood between the Main Market Square and Kazimierz (Sb-350 zł, Db-510 zł, Db suite-790 zł, cheaper Nov–March, ulica Starowiślna 13–15, tel. 012-432-4950, pugetow@donimirski.com). Hotel Gródek — by far the fanciest and most central of the bunch — offers 23 rooms a three-minute walk behind St. Mary's Church on a quiet dead-end street overlooking the Planty park. This place is easily the best splurge in town, with a handy location, gorgeously decorated rooms, and a top-notch breakfast surrounded by a mini-museum of artifacts discovered while they were building the place (Sb-700 zł, bigger "deluxe" Sb-850 zł, Db-740 zł, bigger "deluxe" Db-890 zł, cheaper Nov–March, free Internet access and cable Internet, good Cul-de-Sac restaurant serves tasty international cuisine from a prizewinning chef in the cellar, parking-50 zł/day, Na Gródku, tel. 012-431-9030, grodek@donimirski.com). If you have a car, ask about rooms at their countryside castle, Zamek Korzkiew.
Hotel Wawel, with a swanky marble lobby and the history of the hotel painted on the walls, has 39 rooms in a good location. Some of the rooms are nicely renovated, a great value, and cost the same as the slightly musty older rooms — but it's a crapshoot, since they can't assign your room until you check in (Sb-300 zł, Db-430 zł, big "retro" Db-520 zł, Tb-450 zł, 30 zł extra to turn on air-con — but not in all rooms, elevator — but doesn't go to top floor, ulica Poselska 22, tel. 012-424-1300, fax 012-424-1333, www.hotelwawel.pl, hotel@hotelwawel.pl).
Best Budget Options in Kraków
Bed & Breakfast is your last resort, with 30 cheap, ramshackle rooms, a treehouse floor plan, thin walls, and mix-and-match furniture in a great location (S-100 zł, Sb-130 zł, D-190 zł, Db-210 zł, Tb-290 zł, extra bed-70 zł, they'll do your laundry for 15 zł, ulica Wiślna 10, tel. & fax 012-421-9871, www.accommodation.com.pl, wislna@wp.pl). The 10 rooms a few blocks away, on the equally well-located ulica Św. Anny, are a bit cheaper (Sb-115 zł, Db-180 zł, Tb-250 zł).
La Fontaine B&B, run by a French family, offers eight rooms and five apartments just off the Main Market Square. Tastefully decorated with French flair, it's cute as a poodle. Each room has a little lounge with a microwave and fridge (most on the hall, some inside the room). If you don't mind lots and lots of stairs (it's on the fifth floor), this is a fine value (Sb/Db-269 zł, extra bed-60 zł, apartment for up to four-460 zł, apartment for up to six-659 zł, cheaper Nov–mid-March, air-con, low slanted ceilings, free cable Internet, guest kitchen and self-service laundry machine, ulica Sławkowska 1, tel. 012-422-6564, fax 012-431-0955, www.bblafontaine.com, biuro@bblafontaine.com).
Updated for 2008. For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' Best of Eastern Europe and Rick Steves' Prague guidebooks.