We ended up in Prague because I was doing a search on European botels (floating hotels). We had a weeks stay on the Admiral Botel and we got a pretty good deal from the Prag-cityguide, which is a German site, but all of our negotiations were conducted in English - by fax, email, and telephone.
Our stay had some good things and some bad. First, it's been stated enough that the rooms are small. It's true, but they are boat cabins, and since my husband and I used to live on our boat, it was nostalgic for us. The plus is that there is more storage space (i.e. mounted shelves and cabinets) in that small room than you would find in any average hotel room on land.
Th bathroom has a basic shower, basin and toilet. There is absolutely no problem for good hot water and the water pressure can be as strong as you like.
I found the bed very uncomfortable.
The botel Admiral is not a floating hotel. It is a hotel built in the water; on the river bed. That means that when there was walking around in the restaurant above or the guests in the next room (the walls were not very thick, I should say) you can hear hear and feel the vibration of their steps coming through the hard bed. The box spring on the bed was more 'box' than 'spring',and the top matress had to be no more than 4 centimeters (approx. 1 1/2 inches) thick.(No exageration here!)
We asked the receptionist for an extra mattress and the request was denied. They weren't even able to come up with an extra quilt to put under my mattress. In all fairness, it could have been my lack of preparedness in looking up key words in my Czech phrase book (the staff all speak fairly good English in general subject, but perhaps didn't understand what I really wanted.) or it could have been that I was expected to tip before getting a favor done as opposed to 'after the fact' - which is what I was planning on doing anyway.In any case, I ended up folding the extra blankets stored in our closet under my mattress which had a very minimal effect.
The good side is that we absolutely loved the restaurant on the top floor. Even if we never return to lodge in the hotel, we will definitely have a nice romantic dinner in the restaurant on our next visit to Prague. The menu is very varied and international (you can read it on their website) and the prices are modest which is a good deal in such a beautifully decorated restaurant with a breathtaking view of the Moldau river and the sights on the opposite bank.
However...another downside is the location. I am very conscientious about travel safety and the road in front of the hotel at night is only moderately lit, and very deserted. Even walking back at 10 p.m. from the tram stops which are 1 1/2 blocks away were nerve-rattling for me. It was not easy finding taxis that wouldn't rip us off, but by the third night we would just haggle with one taxi after another about price until we found one to take us and deliver us safely at the door without trying to become a fast millionaire.
Having said all that, I never saw any strange wandering around by anyone (except maybe a lone prostitute) or any dodgy activity going on on that dim, deserted street in front of the boat, but I try to avoid situations that could set me up for anything that could ruin my holiday. (It just takes one person!)
However, the staff seem to have their heart in the right place, and on the morning we had to leave, one of the receptionists finishing his shift took us to the airport. Of course we paid him a fair taxi fee (which saved us the bother of haggling with a dishonest taxi driver.), but the plus was that we got to enjoy a nice conversation and very comfortable ride with such a lovely person.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
