Miss Sophie's New Town — Hotel in Prague

What a great stay ! I am a tour guide , fellow traveller , spent most of my time staying in hotels ; never stayed in a place like this . Our room was a standard room without a view ( looking at a courtyard with sufficient light ) but it was so well organized/furnished , we never felt like we needed a larger room. BOOKING : We booked directly from their web site got a discount for staying 3 nights plus a last minute booking fee ( I wouldn't risk it if you are staying at high season.) ARRIVAL : The young receptionist spoke great English ( and all the others ) giving us a very warm welcome , a great map with lots of great info and very tourist friendly . ROOM : We stayed at room 10 with double bed / courtyard view. Good light and nice size . Nicely furnished , simple yet elegant and very ergonomic , wonderful details ( see my photos ) . Finding a hand written letter for us really made us special , very touched . And sparkling wine , champagne glasses , crackers , nuts , choclate cookies , bottled water , filter coffee packets , Ahmad Tea bags , cattle felt like we came to Four Seasons. Comfortable bad , quality linen , extra pillows . Dawn pillows were too soft for me but I am sure they would supple others if I requested but I never did due to extra small pillows. BATHROOM: Stylish , nice size , hot water , nice towels , quality shampoo , body wash and other nice details . BREAKFAST : They served breakfast at the trendy guest house across the road . Circa 8 Dollars for cold and 11 Dollars for hot breakfast ( this has omlet , bacon , sausages , mushrooms and peppers ) . Everything was fresh , good quality . Good coffee , fresh fruits . Don't bother going else where , great value and atmosphere . STAFF : The staff was mostly international students part time working , but you wouldn't know if they didn't tell me . Great language skills , kind and professional . Thank you all. TICKETS : It was great help , reception providing tram/metro tickets at its original price. LOCATION: Loved it . Direct tram to the Castle ( No:22-23 ) , to the city center . Sometimes we took it , sometimes we walked ( circa 20 minutes ) WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED : The change office recommended was a scam ( the one near the metro stop ) . He wanted to charge 28 % commison ( yes 28 % ) . When I said this is redicilious , he said he will do 15 % . I said no way , then he was shouting 'THIS IS CITY CENTER , WHAT ELSE DO YOU EPECT ' as I was leaving the place . Next day right in the city center I got a great rate and no commission ( 21 Crone for a dollar ). My recommendation is may be have 50 dollars/Euros worth crones ready for change at a reasonable rate to make life easy for your clients . This EXCHANGE incident was the only negative experience we...

It's a great little hotel, I respect how well the parent company BoHo and mr Schwender have approached this. Truly well-done and clearly a booming business which is good to see and I congratulate them on their success.

However, I think the management (a polite young Ukranian lady called Mirka) needs a little reality check and perhaps upskilling in decision making and basic economics, apologies for sounding patronising.

My case is unusual, as I tried to keep everyone happy. I checked in for one night, booking.com, at a price of 1150 per night. Later I spoke to the receptionist, asking if I could extend another night, same price with them, pay directly, helps them avoiding booking.com commission (clearly me, trying to put the money directly to them). We agreed. I returned late at night, checked booking.com the hotel was still available, and same price, I didn't want to come down and bother the receptionist, so I went to sleep.

In the morning, I was told (by a different receptionist) the price was 1550. They argued prices change (probably by some obscure algorithm nobody wants to question). So, instead of having the room occupied at a fair price without paying the commission, they chose to gamble the possibility of a marginally higher earning.

I checked out and did not stay another night as my fairness in dealing with them was not reciprocated.

Checking their availability later on the same night, they had exact same vacancies as in the morning, meaning they did not actually get any additional guests willing to pay the 1550 (over booking.com). Bottom line, they lost revenue and chose to have vacancy rather than business.

Management decision I would recommend them making is that it is better to have 1150 in the bank (cash on the desk), without commission, than gambling on a possibility of a marginally higher gain 1550 (off which you'd still pay around 200 in booking.com fees). I explained this to Mirka, but they decided to still request the 1550 (which I could have paid over booking and they would still have less profit from that).

My message to the management is, study upside / downside, human behaviour, and make decisions without thinking like a robot, I think you'll have a brighter future ahead.

Anyways, in Prague, they probably think they'll always have business. I hope that's true... funny how quickly covid closures and economic "bad times" are forgotten in some minds...

I...

Love this place and will stay here again if we are ever in Prague! The staff were warm, kind, knowledgeable about the city, and accommodating. The room design is funky and fresh, with especially well-designed bathrooms. They share a bar and light restaurant with their attached Hostel, and conversation at breakfast or at happy hour is lively and fun. Their register at the restaurant will buy euros but not USD at a good rate. All of their employees offer service with a smile.

They offer a cold breakfast for 150 Kc or a hot breakfast for 200 Kc (about 6-8 USD or euros) and the breakfast is basic but nice. The roast mushrooms and tomatoes offered with the hot breakfast are really yummy. They also offer a happy hour from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the evening with good local beers at a very nice price.

Their location is perfect. Far enough away from the tourist areas to give you a sense of the "real" Prague but within walking distance of popular tourist areas like the Charles Bridge, Wenceslaus Square, and the Jewish Quarter. They are located about a quarter mile from the IP Pavlova metro station on one side and the Karlovo Nameste metro station on the other. The hotel is easy to get to from the airport if you're confident with public transportation (Take a bus to the Prague bus/rail station and then take the metro 2 stops south) but if it's your first time in Prague it's safer (if more expensive) to ask the hotel staff to arrange a ride for you or get an Uber. Be wary of Prague taxis!

The hotel has a little spa in the basement that offers a little rest and relaxation after all the walking you'll do in Prague (the best way to see the city, IMO). The spa doesn't offer massages or other "attended" spa services but they offer you exclusive use for up to three people of a relaxing space with a sauna, jacuzzi, water massage, and a self-serve minibar for 90 minutes, all at a very reasonable price. Bring your phone if you want your own music as they have a bluetooth set-up for their speakers.

Prague is a wonderful city to visit, and Miss Sophie's makes a wonderful home base for beginners and seasoned...