We’ve stayed in Hotel Nabucco in January 2011. The main attraction for us was the price – one does not come across 4* hotel with OK reviews for 30 EUR per night all that often, even in still (relatively) cheap Eastern Europe. However, the very price was the source of major doubts, as my wife could not believe in 4* service for this kind of price. It turned out that we both were right. Hotel does not match North American description of 4* (more like 3*), but worth it’s price and performs as advertised. It is a small place (about 30 rooms) and array of services offered is pretty small.
I’ll start with positive aspects. Price is unbeatable. We were quoted 30 EUR per double room per night (one extra child per room is permitted for 10 EUR per night, but you are advised to mention it during booking, as not all rooms are equipped with sofa beds), hot breakfast included, and that’s exactly what we paid. Rooms are decently sized for Europe (a bit smallish by North American standards, but not painfully so). Sanitary conditions are adequate. Parking in hotel’s yard is secure, but you might need to pay 10EUR per night (depending on the system you booked through, parking is free if you booked through HRS.DE) and you must surrender your car keys (as they might need to move your car across pretty small yard). There’s small bar in the lobby, which might satisfy your craving for a late-night coffee, beer or wine, but does not have any food except peanuts and chocolate bars. Street parking is allowed and free in this part of the city, but finding a vacant spot is not easy. It is 2-minutes walk to a streetcar (tram) stop Namesti Bratri Synku. From there you can take route 11 for 10 minutes (5 stops) ride to Vaclavske Namesti (St. Venceslaus Square) using short ride ticket (18 CK adult, 9 CK teenager aged 10-16, free for younger kids), or route 18 for a slightly longer (about 15 minutes) ride to the heart of Old City (it actually stops next to Charles Bridge) using 75-minute ticket (26 CK adult, 13 CK for a teen, free for kids under 10). The same route 18 with the same 75-minute ticket will take you across the Vltava river to Mala Strana & Prague Castle district. Trams are going every 5-7 minutes during daytime, 7-10 minutes early in the morning and late at night (until approx. half past midnight), but even in the night there’s a night service (be careful, as it uses separate route numbering system to distinguish between day and night routes) every half an hour. The neighbourhood does not look glamorous, but is pretty safe, according to locals. Breakfast is plentiful, if a bit plain, with regular refill. It includes eggs (scrambled, boiled or fried sunny-side up, but not made to order), couple of hot varieties (sausages, bacon, ham), 2-4 cheeses, 3-5 cold meats and your usual suspects of yoghurts, OJ, apple juice, cereals, some fruits and buns/cookies. And surprisingly good coffee machine, making very decent espresso, cappuchino, latte and hot choco.
Main negative aspect, in my opinion, is that it is not a Western 4* place, more like Eastern European 4*. Service, although attentive, is not polished and might hiccup sometimes (I would not blame front-line workers, they’re doing their best, but most of them are quite young and might lack an appropriate experience). Breakfast items are mostly of cheapest variety (I believe that juices are not even juices but “fruit cocktails”), but it is smoothed to a some degree by the fact that Czechs didn’t master Western art of cheap flavourless food just yet, so even cheap sausage tastes like sausage and bread can compete with any artisanal bread sold in North America. Hotel is situated next to (busy) railway tracks, and even modern soundproof windows do let certain amount of train noise in, if your room is facing railway (half of rooms are). Also please be advised that Google maps shows hotel’s location incorrectly, it is on Ctiradova right next to tracks, not within the city block as shown on the map. There’s no swimming pool (there’s a sauna but we didn’t try it).
All in all, I would not hesitate to recommend Hotel Nabucco to anyone, if price is right and one is looking for cheap but decent accommodation.
- Nabucco Hotel Prague
