BEWARE OWNERSHIP CHANGE AT THIS HOTEL!! As of April 1, 2026, the hotel Augustine in Prague was…read morequietly acquired by the Kempinski Group. We made reservations to stay for 7 nights starting yesterday (May 6, 2026). The front desk did not inform us of this but the changes began to emerge, very unpleasantly. First was their refusal to take American Express, which is always honored at every luxury hotel in the world. Second was fact that while they honored the room rate quoted me when I made reservations under Marriott Bonvoy, they quietly removed the paid for inclusion of breakfast buffet. Same room rate but no breakfast. Third were major service staff incompetencies. I went to an ATM outside hotel and withdrew 2,000 CZK (about $50) for tips, and the machine gave me one bill lfor 2,000. I asked desk clerk to break that into smaller bills for me. He told me to go to the bar, which I did. When I entered the bar and asked the waiter to help me, he stated firmly that they were not allowed to do that. I told him that the front desk clerk directed me to the bar but he was insistant, "it is not allowed". Walked back to front desk and said that I was very disappointed that they were not able to get their stories straight about breaking down ONE CZK bill of 2,000. Then I asked about the included breakfast that I had paid for and she said it was not listed in my reservation. It was THEN that I asked and was informed that they are no longer a Marriott Bonvoy affiliated hotel. I went back to my room ans asked an AI app to discover who now owns it. Apparently they are intending to quietly take over, then do major renovations at the end of the year. In the meantime, they have stripped any paid amenities that the guests made under Marriott while claiming to honor the same room rates. I cannot tell whether they now have new employees or whether they have imposed such strict new rules (not honoring AMEX, no bill changing at the front desk, no included breakfast buffet, and so forth). I told the desk clerk that while i normally use credit cards for all my transactions while travelling, my desire to have small local currency was entirely for TIPS for hotel staff. That did not seem to make any impression on her, and the staff seem very rigid and locked into the new rules established by their new owners. This does not bode well for the future of this magnificent medieval former Augustinian monastery. I tried reaching out to the Kempinsky Group through their website but their contact form only allows for certain types of queries such as "investor relations", etc. There is NO ability to give feedback on the policy of their newly acquired property, NOR is the Augustine hotel listed among their properties! This stealth takeover gives off all the wrong messages, considering that they have stripped away the included amenities from the hotel rate that was confirmed by Marriott. To say that I am shocked AND disappointed is an understatement.