Hotel Karlin — Hotel in Prague

In April 2019, I visited Prague for business after many years and searched for a reasonable accommodation close to the company I was about to visit. The hotel Karlin seemed to fulfill all my needs, so I made the booking. The trip started hard as my check-in luggage either did not arrive, or was collected by someone else by mistake. All my clothes, toiletries, medications - everything was gone for time I could not predict (lesson learnt - always put a clean shirt, important medication and basic toiletries in the cabin baggage!). I picked up the booked car from the car rental at the airport (I got a nice upgrade from Ford Focus to Skoda Karoq), boldly refused the navigation relying on my WorldSIM to use Google Maps in my phone (foolish as, for some weird reason, the SIM card operated on 3G, not 4G, hence, too slow to load Maps), got my colleague in, and off we went soon realising we had to rely on my 15-year old memories of the city. Surprisingly, although Karlin looked very different from what I remembered (all the new buildings erected after the disastrous floods in 2005 made it a whole new district, even movies, such as the Casino Royal were shot there), we found the hotel and the trip became more enjoyable. The hotel was very clean, cosy (I switched my booked room with my colleague as I preferred a room with a balcony - the balcony availability was not clear from the hotel website), well-maintained, with staff trying to relieve my difficulties with advice which shops were still open to buy some food and drinks, offered basic toiletries for a reasonable price, and encouraged me the missing suitcase would be found soon. The internet connection was fast, the bed comfortable, the shower hot - I felt more relaxed and the world was a better place again. Both my colleague and me enjoyed the Indian-style breakfast with a nice selection of cheese and vegetables, more- and less-hot dips and a plenty of coffee. Shame on me since, being stressed about the lost suitcase, I did not take any pictures of this nice hotel I can only recommend. Next time I'll do so for sure. And yes, the following day, when I finished my job and returned to the hotel late afternoon, my lost suitcase was waiting for me in the reception. It was covered with strange dirt but did not disclose its adventures, so to date, I have no idea what happened. Mysteries happen to give colours...

Amongst 3-star hotels, this is a very nice one. We've stayed there in January and in August and loved it a lot.

It is resided 20 minutes walk from the very city center, near Krizikova subway station, on a cozy street in a beautiful old building. Nearby there is a park with a playground and a gothic church.

The rooms are finely furnished, with an antique accent in their otherwise laconic design. They provided a super-nice baby cot for free in our standard double room. Reception works 24h and always ready for help. All receptionists speak good English as well as some of them do Russian, and, of course, Czech. They provide a buffet breakfast in a restaurant downstairs included for all people staying in the room. Meal is quite basic: bacon and eggs, cereal, cheese, yoghurt, fruits and vegetables, — though is really tasty and always present during morning time, a very good basis for a whole day walking. Free WiFi in the rooms is stable and high speed.

Some disadvantages that made me not to put excellent were: some problems with cleanliness (linen was not always clean, and so sometimes were towels; though they changed it quickly upon request. Also they don't wash the floor in the restaurant every day); there is no fridge in rooms, so you need to put your food to a single shared fridge downstairs; there is also no air cooler in rooms so hardly comfortable during the heat; and, lastly, the street is quite noisy because of trams buzzing day and night so if your room faces the street, either you close the windows and deprive yourself fresh air or use ear plugs or something.

In total, it's still a great place to stay and definitely my choice when...

I have asked for a reservation and I have trusted this hotel by given my credit card for the transaction. They replied that it was not valid. This is a lie because it is valid. Second time I had given a second credit card for the same reservation. They replied that they can not again do the transaction because of their fault as the pos ( machine for the credit cards) it was "accidentally" out of order. So if I wanted to sleep in their hotel I had to go there and pay them only in cash! I was amazed by their unprofessionalism and the nervousness that had created me by this unethical behavior. I respond that I can not pay them in cash. I had waste a lot of useful time for a simple reservation and also that made me feel nervous. Finally they send me a message by telling me that there is no problem that I will not come ! and they took My Money when they understood that they will not take in cash. I had already called in Booking com and wait to be returned. Away. Do not book in any case in this Hotel. P.S. This trick to ask from the travellers to pay only in cash had done it also with...