Mandarin Oriental, Prague — Hotel in Prague

We had a fabulous time at the MO in Prague on Friday to celebrate our anniversary. It is our first time at a MO hotel and we would certainly recommend it again. Gorgeous hotel in one of Prague's most beautiful, historic and quiet areas. The grounds and the rooms are beautiful, sparkling clean and elegant. The service is top notch and you can feel that this hotel has a service culture embedded in the staff. We didn't use the spa as we had only one night and wanted to chill out a bit and go out for dinner.

Pros: Beautiful Rooms. Very comfortable bed. The room felt very secluded and serene. Personally, I prefer rooms with both a bath and shower and not just a bath as taking a shower in a bath isn't that convenient. Staff service (though see cons) Breakfast was very tasty and great selection

Additionally, I find the 'Fans of MO' a brilliant concept. Just sign up and choose whatever 2 benefits you want for your stay rather than the usual working up the ladder of statuses to earn benefits.

Cons: The check-in process is over the top. Too long and too formal. I get that it's a top hotel but there was no need to repeat all the details of the booking, my personal details etc. My experience in other 5 stars hotels is that handing over the keys to the guest is the priority and there is no need to verify all the details again if the guest submitted everything online and you collect a copy of their passport to very the guest ID. We felt a bit exhausted at the end of check-in and it could all take a lot less time. Also, when we checked out, a very grumpy receptionist 'demanded' that my wife's CZ driver's license which was copied during check-in wasn't considered a formal ID and that she need another form of ID. We explained that we don't have any and that during check-in, her colleague took a copy of the driving license as he also thought that is sufficient. I must say she was not nice at all and her attitude does not match the one of any other staff member we met during our stay. She eventually 'agreed' to let us show her a copy of my wife's passport she had on her phone. I know this is a 'police requirement' but there is no need to be nasty about it. And if the guest doesn't have another ID, what can we do? Get arrested at the hotel??

Breakfast needs a lot more staff. we waited 20 minutes TWICE to get our coffee during breakfast. The staff all seem to work hard so it's not their fault. Management is clearly working them to the bone and not adding enough waiting staff. Our waitress was visibly 'falling off her feet'. Add more staff! No one should wait so long for food and drinks in the morning. It's not a great start to the day.

It is very disappointing to find that MO, as in other cities 5-star hotels do not offer much of wellness facilities for guests unless they pay extra for it. There were no common grounds offered to the guests. It is pretty common to have a pool, whirlpool, sauna and steam room at hotels, especially luxury ones. We wanted to use the whirlpool and steam room but it can only be booked privately for about 45 EUR per 30 min per facility so to use both (steam and jacuzzi) for 1 hour (well, in and out), you are looking at nearly 200 EUR. We found it quite steep for something that is available in most top hotels for free. I must admit that the private 'vitality bath' does look nicer than a public jacuzzi once it's set up with rose petals and all but again, such private service should be offered in parallel to a 'public' option for all guests.

Overall, we loved our stay and will look to come back but the above is my feedback in case other may...

Was in Prague in July 2015 for a few days to end a week-long vacation in Austria/Czech Republic. We were celebrating my birthday and our anniversary. We chose this hotel specifically because it's hard to find a hotel in Prague with air conditioning and we wanted to treat ourselves with what we considered a luxury hotel brand, the Mandarin Oriental. We have stayed at the Boston Mandarin Oriental and had a great experience. We were just coming from the 5 star Sacher Hotel in Salzburg (which is amazing, btw) and was hoping for a similar experience.

Initially, it was a good start. The hotel had made special arrangements in the room for our evening/late arrival - chocolates and rose petals for the anniversary. We realized in the morning that the "Superior Room" was not like those shown on their website - it had only 1 tiny window about 2 feet x 2 feet which was high and barely let in any sunlight. We requested a different room, and got one with a larger window on the 5th floor. OK, everything should have been OK from here onwards, right? No big deal, right?

Well, that evening we realized that the air conditioning was so poor in the new room that it didn't keep our room cool at all. It was 26 degrees C (about 78 degrees F) in the room and I had to sleep without blankets and in my underwear! We had such a poor sleep that night. The next day, we asked for their maintenance person to check the a/c. After looking at it for less than a minute, he said the a/c was fine and we should keep the bathroom door shut so it would work more effectively. After complaining to the front desk, they gave me 2 electric fans and a bucket of ice. 2 fans and a bucket of ice in a 5 star hotel???!!

The hotel did offer to look for a new room for us, but we were sick of moving and we were leaving on an early flight so we declined. On top of that, I almost forgot to tell you - they accidentally disabled our hotel keys so my wife had to sit in the hot hallway while I ran off to the front desk to get our keys reactivated. The hallways on the 5th (top) floor were sweltering - it's not properly air-conditioned there, either.

After all this, on the next day, only as we were leaving the hotel to go to the airport did the general manager come out and say something to the effect of "sorry for your inconvenience, is there anything else I can do for you?" Sorry, but too little too late.

I am giving this hotel 2 stars since at least the buffet breakfast and the staff there were nice.

Other tips - we felt that the Blue Duck Restaurant near the hotel (which the concierge recommended) was just average. It was full of tourists from the hotel. I wish I had used Yelp more and not asked the concierge for advice.

Overall, we had a very poor experience here and wished we had booked at another 5 star hotel in Prague. Unfortunately, this tarnished our overall experience in Prague. From this experience, we will never book again at any...

My first experience in Prague was amazing and exceptional and it was very much enhanced by the friendliness, personalisation and professionalism of the MO Prague staff. I would have no hesitation in recommending this as the place to stay for anyone looking to stay in a beautiful luxury uncrowded hotel in Prague but still so very close to the action.

Florian the Front Office Manager was exceptional and made sure I was immediately made comfortable after a long flight form Australia with a welcome drink and internet as my room was made ready. I remain ever grateful to him for his kindness. He and his team even remembered my name as I wandered in and out of the hotel at all hours, which is a testament to how closely they look after their clientele.

The room I had was a King terrace room on the ground floor and I loved it, it was like having a personal view of the hotel (former 1400s monastery) grounds and the beauty of the gardens was so peaceful and enjoyable, so I simply must send my best compliments to the gardeners of the grounds. It is my favourite hotel room to date.

Irina was the lovely staff member who gave me a personal introduction to my room which was so spacious and showed me all of the Diptyque amenities which were plentiful, stylish and excellent quality (not your normal hotel supplies but much more elevated). Florian had arranged some freshly squeezed orange juice (my favourite) and a little welcome gift on turndown service as well which was so thoughtful.

I had emailed the hotel a week prior to ask about the possibility of guided tours and the guide they gave me - Amalka - was a local Czech citizen and authentic tour guide who grew up during the times of significant change in Czech history and it was well worth the six hours over two days (three hours per day) to understand, listen, learn and walk all over Prague. Please do ask for her if you need a guide, she was excellent, spoke English fluently so I could understand and her knowledge of dates and events and historical context as well as art and sculpture was exceptional. Also, you should wear good shoes as the cobblestones are everywhere and there are some hefty inclines sometimes.

I also must send my sincere thanks to the concierge staff (Alejandro, Yuriy , Tomáš ) who were so helpful in helping me arrange a booking at Field - the best Michelin Star restaurant I have ever had the pleasure of dining in and my tour bookings. I wanted to go on a cruise but the weather and rain made the water levels a bit challenging so some of the canals were closed.

I will definitely be coming back when I am next in Prague, Congratulations to the team for an...