Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa

Unfortunately, I need to write a negative review. Nearly two weeks ago, we attended a wedding held at this hotel. The hotel itself looks nice, and we were looking forward to fully enjoying the experience. Our only concern was whether there would be gluten-free options at the wedding feast, as my partner has celiac disease and cannot consume any gluten without becoming seriously ill. For that reason the bride had multiplied informed the hotel’s wedding manager about my partner’s dietary restriction. We were told that the wedding buffet would have paper tags indicating whether each dish contained gluten or not. However, when we arrived at the buffet, we noticed that only two dishes had tags identifying gluten content. This was confusing, especially since there were fried shrimp in breadcrumbs labeled as gluten-free, which didn’t seem accurate. We asked a waitress to confirm with the kitchen which dishes contained gluten. The manager of the wedding celebration, then came over to explain to my partner which foods were safe to eat. When he asked if she was certain, she assured him she was. Trusting her, he started eating. After a while, she returned to inform us that the meatballs, which she previously said were gluten-free, actually contained breadcrumbs—something obviously made from gluten. As a result, my partner had to leave immediately, knowing that eating the meatballs would make him very sick for several days. When the bride’s mother spoke to the manager, the manager claimed she had warned him not to eat the meatballs unless she personally confirmed it, which was not true. Someone with celiac disease would never eat anything without clear confirmation that it’s gluten-free. The bride and groom spoke to the manager, who promised to come apologize to us at the wedding celebration, but she never did. They followed up the next day, and she said she would call me to apologize—again, this never happened. Two days later, I received a message that seemed clearly auto-generated, showing no real responsibility or concern for what happened. This experience ruined the wedding celebration for me and my partner, and he suffered from illness for three days afterward. I found the hotel’s handling of the situation extremely unprofessional. I am writing this review mainly to urge the hotel to take allergy and intolerance concerns more seriously and to consider how such oversights can deeply affect guests.

Lovely and luxurious property with excellent staff. The junior double room was massive and beautifully decorated. Great amenities. The staff is excellent- nothing is too much for them. It is close to many attractions and opposite the American embassy and therefore very safe. The breakfast could be better though. There is literally no cereal option but their omelette and oat meal were excellent. All in all a fantastic place to stay and would fully recommend this hotel.

We stayed here for 10 nights and this hotel is fantastic, the location is brilliant, you are in the city but not in the height of it, it’s a beautiful hotel and what really makes it is the staff, they were all brilliant, so helpful and friendly, lovely decor, great breakfast, we had lunch a few days in the hotel and this was great, really good coffees and cakes in the little bit at the front, we didn’t eat in the main restaurant at night because we always go out and eat in cities as a rule, all in all we could not fault this place and can’t wait to come back, very impressed.

This hotel exceeded my expectations for sheer beauty, customer service, comfort, convenience to main attractions, and food. It is absolutely lovely and far larger than what meets the eye from the front of the hotel. We stayed for 3 nights in a twin bed suite which was quiet and relaxing. The breakfast buffet had an excellent variety of foods to select from as well as a glass of wine if you are inclined for one. The pool was lovely. It was about a 15 minute walk to the castle uphill and the same distance to Old Town via the Charles River. I was not aware it is next door to the US Embassy so our rental car was scanned for security reasons and then valet parked for our stay. Certainly a wonderful experience!

I initially came upon the Alchymist in my Fodor's Travel Guide and was amused by its description as "a baroque fever dream." It also came recommended by Forbes, Travel + Leisure, and The Telegraph. It checked a lot of boxes for our family of 2 adults and 2 teen children on our recent trip to Prague in terms of location, vibe, and cost and we stayed here for 4 nights to begin our 10-day trip in the Czech Republic. We would definitely recommend and are glad that we stayed here. PROS: -It is, indeed, a baroque fever dream housed in four former 16th century bourgeois homes with 27 rooms and 19 suites and felt really unique -The location was fantastic--it was in tucked away on a quiet street in Mala Strana directly across from the American Embassy, but was centrally located within a 20-minute walk from most of Prague's major sites. -The Family Suite, consisting of 2 rooms and 2 BA was competitively priced and a more attractive cost option for us than 2 rooms or suites at other hotels for 4 of us. Our room rate also included a buffet breakfast -Daily afternoon wine and cheese served for guests in the lobby -Fitness center, indoor swimming pool, and spa -Great views from our room and lovely courtyard restaurant/bar area -They delivered water, wine, and a fruit plate to our room and greeted us with drinks of our choice upon our arrival CONS: -The decor and vibe will not be very everyone and in some spots, could have used a bit of a refresh -While we were happy to have a buffet breakfast included, it was good, not great and was the exact same every day and had limited options -The 2-floor Family Suite was a bit cramped in the downstairs area