Editor Pick
Very Quiet, Very Small, Very Nice Room
- May 27, 2009
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Wasatch from heber ctity, Utah
I have three gripes about this place: 1) standard rooms are very small(the photo of a standard room on their web site shows a room at least three feet longer than the one we had); 2) you can’t exchange money in the morning until somebody in a certain office shows up around 10:30am; 3) Europe was under heat wave, temperatures– the lower 70s– were 15-20 degrees above normal, but the hotel’s air conditioning was not on because it was not yet A/C season! This is a five star hotel? Fortunately, it was easy enough to cool the room off at night by opening the window, but still, should not a five star hotel have the air conditioning on when it hot?
Everything else was faultless, starting with the choice of six different kinds of pillows, three of which were on the bed. I decided to try the therapeutic pillow (not on the bed), called housekeeping to request it, and it was very promptly delivered. She was happy with one of the three pillows on the bed– the medium density feather pillow.
The bed was king size and exceptionally comfortable. Unfortunately,’ like all beds in Europe, it came with comforters rather than blankets. Comforters make us too hot at night, so we deal with them like this– we remove the comforter cover and use it as a sheet and thin blanket. It has the weight of 2-3 American sheets. There was also a blanket in the closet which we got out but did not use, having found the perfect night time temperature setting on the thermostat.
Now the smallness of the room became a problem. There were five extra pillows on the bed and two comforters that had to be stored for the night and not enough floor space to pile them. We did not think to call housekeeping and have them carted away. Instead, we made big piles of bedding on the two smallish chairs in the room.
The bathroom was about as disproportionately large as the bed room was small. The shower did not leak water onto the floor. A fine spread of shampoo, soap, lotion, sewing kit, shower cap, etc was provided. There were two sets of lights in the bathroom, so that if you used it in the middle of the night, you could flick on a dimmer light and not be blinded by glare that hits you in most bathrooms. The bath included a large tub with shower.
We asked for room in quiet location, and got one of the most quiet hotel rooms we have ever had, clearly a top recommendation if you want quiet (and don’t mind a stuffy room when there is an untimely heat wave). The mini bar was exceptionally quiet. I never heard it run (if I hear the mini bar, I turn it off or unplug it or call housekeeping to remove it from the room-- don’t like noise).
The window curtains did an excellent job keeping light out.
The Intercontinental Prague includes High‑speed Internet access, in all rooms; Dual‑line, direct‑dial telephone, with voice mail; Socket for PC modem connection; Television system with 36 satellite / movie channels; Bill viewing and express check‑out facilities; In‑room TV and Internet with email access; Newly renovated bathrooms, with Italian marble; Bathrobes, hair dryer, and trouser press; Fax machine, in all suites and Club Floor rooms; Air conditioning and central heating; Writing desk; Minibar; In‑room electronic safe; Direct dial dual‑line telephones, dataport and voicemail; 24‑hour room service is available.
The flat screen TV, probably a 37", had several channels in English including CNN, MSNBC, Sky News, & BBC.
Staff was friendly and very helpful, a big surprise after the many negative comments we read about the Intercontinental's staff on the internet.
The Intercontinental Prague has a good location on the banks of the River Vlatava (the Moldau) about a 10 minuet walk from the Old Town Square, the tourist center of Prague. The closest metro station is 10-20 minute walk, or you can grab a tram(#18) or bus(#640) to the metro at the tram/bus stoop across the street from the hotel. The hotel has a very expensive penthouse restaurant with views over the old city. Rooms in the front and on one side of the hotel face Prague Castle on its hill across the river, but it is not a great view of the castle, looking at its narrowest side.
When you exit the hotel, the street on the right is Parizska, a direct shot to the Old Town Square and one of Prague’s most ritzy shopping districts. Walk away from the river to get to Old Town Square.
There is an OK pizzeria and Italian restaurant across the little square at the back of the hotel.– or maybe this the front as it is where the entrance is, but it seems to me that the front ought to be the side facing the river and the major street along the river. There are several restaurants on Duloa, where we were very happy with dinner at Lary Fary and Au Gourmet for breakfast an afternoon ice cream.
Just before Easter, 2009, the room, with advanced purchase, was 135 Euros, or around $180.
The Intercontinental is next door to the President Hotel, and there is a lively debate on travel web sites as to which is better. On this trip, we stayed in both because we went early and were told by AMA that the tour group would be in the Intercontinental, so we booked a pre-paid, no refund room to learn a few weeks later that the tour was going to stay in the President. Having experienced both, here is how they stacked up. Staff was friendly and very helpful at both, except for the President reception desk that never made our wake up call on check out day. Both rooms were very comfortable, but not directly comparable as the President upgraded us to very roomy suite while the standard room at the Intercontinental was small. We asked for quiet location at both and both provided a very quiet location. The A/C at the Intercontinental was not on, and should have been. The A/C at the President was broken. It took two trips by the maintenance staff to fix it, which was not accomplished until 10:45pm. The Intercontinental had excellent window curtains, the President’s were flimsy and let in a lot of light. Intercontinental had a flat screen, large TV with a good picture. The President's TV was an old 19" CRT with a fuzzy picture.
So where to stay? I think I would opt for the Atrium Hilton. On average, the Hilton is not as nice, but it avoids the rather glaring flaws of the other two and it is much more convenient to metro.
From journal Prague to Budapest on the Beautiful Blue Danube