Prague Day 2 - The day didn’t start well
Our first appointment was meant to be at the hostel Centre but we acknowledged their cancellation only half an hour before to show up. While Jovita is doing her emails, I call the Hostel Marabou to apologize about our non show yesterday and leave a message to Ana. After that we decide to call the Hostel Krakovska to find out if we can just pop in to visit. They agree.
10.30 am
Mouaran, one of the Hostel Krakovska managers, the other one being his wife Dana, welcomes us with a big smile while he opens the door. He knows our names!! I’m surprised!! The building is in a perfect location. Between the museum and the dance clubs, not to mention the stripers….It is perfect for stags, for families or school groups. They are quite small though…Only 50 beds but they have constantly upgraded the number of their apartments since they opened in 2002. They now rent 10 of them.
The panel of their rooms goes from twin to 7 beds max. They are redoing the cable network and the electricity so there were holes on the walls. There are obviously rebuilding the place. The apartments look clean and simple.
It is spacious, quiet and warm, with wooden floor and single beds in every room. No bunk beds. It is pretty decent. Mouaran shows us the future room for the reception. Something they don’t have at the moment. Dana offers us a tea in their home which is located in the building. Mouaram ask our advices about the reception and ask us if we think dorms would be a good idea or not. I told him to try maybe with one at first and see how it goes. After answering all of their questions and delivering the T-shirts, posters and flyers, we make our way downstairs and outside and say goodbye.
That place is definitely only apartments for now and not a hostel yet, no chill out room, no shared kitchen or space where you can meet people, but I sense the managers want to give some personality to the place.
Noon
Hostel Le Papillon is just located 15 minutes away from Wenceslas square, this hostel looks like a family hostel. With 60 beds, dorms, private rooms, apartments a small kitchen and reception this hostel feels very warm, cosy and tight. Suzanna, the manager confesses that she completely forgot about us and takes time out of her schedule to invite us in and take a seat. She tells us how well she knows Martin and Mareck, owners of the Golden Sickle and many other hostels in Prague. Then she decides to show us the rooms. We start with a dorm next door to the reception which looks cosy with wood and warm colours. After a quick look at the kitchen right next door, Suzanna takes us to the second part of the building where she shows us a couple of 2 beds apartments. For the price of 20 euros per person per night, for a two beds apartments and centrally located I would say this is pretty convenient and affordable. They are open to business for groups. Funny enough Mirella had called 10 minutes before we showed up and managed to find availability for her group.
1 pm
Located on the main shopping street, Vaclavske Nameski,the equivalent of Oxford Street for London, or Las Ramblas for Barcelona, Apart house 20 offers 8 affordable apartments for 2 to 6 people. We showed up on time. Ana the receptionist welcomed us and told us Yana, who is the manager and also Mareck’s wife, would be there in 15 - 30 minutes. She asked us to wait outside as they didn’t have any waiting room, and the reception was big enough for only one person. Jovita went straight to the Pizzeria downstairs and found her table straight away. The food was good and very affordable. Right after we paid the bill Yana came to look for us. She introduces us to Mareck who is the owner of the Golden Sickle. Mareck show us the apartments. There are 2 apartments per floor. The building looks old and it is actually the first hostel in Prague which doesn’t have an elevator when it is necessary to have one. The rooms are clean, furnished with old second hand furniture, but it does the job. During our interview Mareck offers us to quickly visit Yana second property, Hostel Albert. Although it wasn’t in our schedule Jovita persuades me that we have enough time, plus, Mareck offers to drive us there with his car and will drop us to our next destination after that.
2.45 pm
To be honest I haven’t seen much of the Hostel Albert , just the reception. I tried to make conversation with Mareck but we found ourselves lost in translations. The location of the hostel is not as central so the price is more affordable. They have 50 beds here. No spirit in the place really. I hope the pictures will describe the place better. It is clean as far as I’ve seen.
It is only 5 minutes away from the VysehRad Castle which is one of the most famous monument in Prague. It was a very quick visit. We jump back in the car, drive us to Jecna Street, say thank you and goodbye
3 pm
We arrived at Hostel City Centre. We actually managed to make it on time. We look for the entrance and a sign but we can’t see the name of a Hostel. So we pick the first entrance which looks quite classy. After walking the stairs on a red carpet we arrive at what we think is the reception only to find out that this place is actually a strip club. I wish it could have been a hostel. That might explain why I was so disappointed with the hostel. Anyway, we go out and finally find the right entrance. The entrance says the Hostel name in very small writing and Hotel de l Opera in big letters. Both names are for the same place. This is a hotel, not an hostel at all. They just dedicate one floor to Hostelbookers availability, and the rooms are not really clean. The carpet looks used, old and of poor quality. There is no spirit what so ever. The location is not very central. The funny thing is the breakfast room that they use is an old opera room. But apart from that there’s nothing really special to mention.
Comprehensive list of Prague Hostels
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