Review - Corinthia Hotel Prague, the Czech Republic
The GREAT - Fantastic staff. Everyone understands and practices genuine customer service. From the bellman, concierge and front desk to engineering, housekeeping and dining*! I honestly do not think you could ask for better or more sincere service.
*a special mention of Dominik in the breakfast dining room. I am gluten free. Dominik made sure that I was well cared for including a daily dose of superb gluten free bread, gf muesli and a thick slice of heavenly chocolate laced gf cake made by one of the hotel chefs!
The GOOD - as you would expect of a 5 star European hotel, the Corinthia Prague is immaculate and has a gorgeous lobby. If you have read my other hotel reviews, you know that my wife and I generally eschew fancy lobbies for lower room rates. We were at the Corinthia as part of a Viking River Boat cruise (reviewed at www.cruisecritic.com). Free wi-fi and excellent, but very limited English language TV. A wonderful breakfast buffet with custom omelets and super chefs. Our room was very large and comfortable once we got the air conditioning fixed.
The NOT SO GOOD - other than immediate, across the street, access to the terrific Prague subway system, this hotel is near nothing. While less than 2 direct miles from the Old Town Square and two main shopping streets/dining areas, I cannot imagine walking it because of major highways in the way. NOTE: Prague, itself, is eminently walkable if you don't mind cobble and smaller paving stones. But, from this hotel even to get to a nearby restaurant requires crossing over two major highways.
As many, many other European hotels, our room had a high sided bathtub with a narrow, wedge shaped, bottom difficult for entrance and showering. Plus, also very European (perhaps Europeans bathe rather than shower?), there was a glass wall that only enclosed less than half the tub. Regardless of the occupant's care in showering, water goes everywhere! The honor bar refrigerator did not seal well causing condensation leakage and lack of full refrigeration for the bottled water we put in. Finally, in this section, we had a king sized bed with a mattress that was pure mush as were the pillows. The duvet was dense and heavy and, we felt, inappropriate for August. Maybe these are personal preferences? My wife and I prefer firm mattresses and pillows and lighter comforters for Summer. The awesome staff did bring and install 2 boards under the mattress, but mush is mush regardless of what is under it.
The BAD - It is a shame to need to make these observations in view of the wonderful customer service, but my review would be neither honest nor complete without them. On arrival there was almost no air flowing from the high vent even at full fan speed. We requested service while we were out our first day. Whatever was done was inadequate. A second request brought a very nice and understanding maintenance engineer. He disassembled part of the system, removed and cleaned an absolutely filthy air filter. This is routine maintenance that I would EXPECT of a 5 star hotel. Once the filter was cleaned and reinstalled, the system worked as well as what I suspect is a chilled water system can work.
Finally, the room was very noisy even late into the night. Very disappointing for a 5 star hotel. read more