Prague

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Hotels

With 1,400 new rooms opened in 2006, it’s clear Prague can’t open hotels fast enough to meet demand – which partly explains why rates are traditionally so high. Sleeping here, unlike eating, carousing or shopping, costs no less than in Paris or Rome in most instances. One way around this is, of course, scouting out spare rooms with families or barely reformed socialist pensions. A less agonising tactic is to ignore the official rates and contact good hotels directly or hit their websites. Very often even the most sniffy new ‘design hotels’, apparently not yet filled with Johnny Depps and their ilk, will cough up impressive discounts in order to fill rooms.

The number of restored palaces, 17th-century inns and characterful villas with international standards of service, meanwhile, seems to double every year as owners, often from abroad, look for ways to get returns on real estate investments in the old centre of town. Note that service is not what Prague’s famous for generally, but that stunning architecture is – with little extra effort you can score a Renaissance-looking room with Wi-Fi for the same price as a standard-issue Best Western box. Family facilities are more common than ever too, such as babysitters or free rates for kids who share your room.

Money matters
Many hotels quote their rates in euros and, though the Czech Republic is not yet in the euro zone, will happily take them. Note that if you pay in Czech crowns, the price often won’t be calculated at the official exchange rate and you’ll take a hit. Many places, however, offer discounts for cash, so it may be worth proffering euro notes if you don’t mind carrying them.

Many hotels quote room prices exclusive of VAT. Always check.

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