Mandarin Oriental, Prague

We enjoyed our stay - this was our first experience at a MO. The location was good - quiet but in close proximity to everything. There is a sizeable discrepancy in “room quality”. Our first room was dark and frankly depressing. Very scuffed wood floors - and disappointingly had a shower in the tub. The room was far from our expectations. After discussing our concerns with the front desk, the replacement room was substantially better. In every way. A significant contrast. The staff were professional and the concierge desk was very helpful. We would stay again but would be careful to ensure that we had a room in the same area of the hotel that we ultimately ended up in.

We didn't originally book the Mandarin, but we were so displeased with a competitor hotel that we searched and found the Mandarin before check-in was finished at the other place. Fortunately they had rooms (we got 2) and it ended up being in the perfect location. Prague has trams all over, so many places can be bothered by the noise, but M.O. was quiet and seemed "tucked away". It was always a nice site to walk into after a long day of walking through old-town and little-town. Air conditioning was a must when we were there, as temps were in the mid-90's and their's did the job well. The rooms were spacious enough, but wife would've liked more counter space. Not a huge issue. Breakfast was pretty much standard hotel buffet fare, but the patio on the cool mornings was really nice. The gym was outstanding and turned out to be the best we had on this 2 week trip. If I had to give any criticism, it would be the room lighting. That area gets light very early, but the curtains don't do a great job of keeping the light low. Not a glamorous place, but probably the best of Prague.

The Mandarin Oriental Prague was an excellent hotel choice for us in Prague (and I think the best one we could have made). We had a great time here and were treated extremely well. It’s a beautiful hotel that’s a little older (opened in 2006) but remains in very good shape and is very well kept. Even in May, Prague is a bit overrun with tourists (IF you go to all the touristy spots) but there’s a lot of city to explore that isn’t so crowded. The Mandarin, unlike the Four Seasons (which was our other option), is in a very quiet but not remote location on the west side of the river, under the castle mountain and across the Charles Bridge from the main side of town and the FS. This is all a PLUS. It’s not too far to get to any sites to see on foot, but it feels about a century removed. The fact it’s in a restored monastery helps attain the peaceful vibe. The staff was really great and very nice to us, and that was much appreciated. It’s a beautiful hotel compiled from several disparate buildings into a cohesive whole that’s very elegant. There is a cobblestone courtyard that is hard for Ubers to get into so they usually just drop you at the gate. The lobby is quite small but that’s okay. It was a bit of walk to our room but the front desk was kind enough to upgrade us to a suite on the top floor overlooking the whole hotel so it was totally worth taking a few more steps. The suite was great… huge and scenic… with lots of windows in each room with views over the center lawns and gardens. Each area… the sitting room, the bedroom and the bathroom were all spacious and light and bright. In truth, the beds were just okay but maybe Europeans like them harder? I'm sure we could have asked for a comforter or pad to make it cushier and gotten them quickly, but we were too busy exploring Prague or just enjoying the room. Prague is just as advertised… a truly beautiful and mostly intact small city full of storybook buildings. I think it’s why it’s so popular. Oh so popular. The hotel wasn’t that crowded while we were here but it wasn’t empty. We had breakfast AND dinner in its charming one restaurant on the main level and the food was very good. We had one kerfuffle when a neighboring diner brought out her laptop on the white tablecloth at dinner to make some presentation to her daughter. I asked our server if the guest might remove the very bright laptop or at least go to the adjacent bar to use it but that didn’t happen, so we left. When you’re spending a lot on dinner and trying to have a pleasant, upscale meal, I don’t think this is appropriate behavior and it turns out, the staff regretted allowing it to happen. Oh well. It did kind of ruin one night. But when you’re in a place this nice with people who are very kind and apologetic, you get over it quickly. For two days of our stay, there was a large hedge fund group that took over breakfast but mostly stayed in their meeting rooms all day so you didn’t really notice them till they came into the garden and chat and smoke and vape during breaks. They were far away from us so no issues there but if you had a room on the lawns with a patio, you might get annoyed. One small thing to note… it’s been awhile since the last remodel and I think the bar seating area could use a little spiffing up, as well as the furniture in the small lobby. It just looks a bit dated and shouldn’t. The rest of the hotel was fine. The gym was good and well equipped. Alas, there is no pool. Beyond the restaurant, which is really pretty charming, especially at night (and the bar, which really isn’t due to its dated furniture and an oddly high counter... though the bartender was nice, must say)… there isn’t a lot to do at the hotel. But we had such a great room and enjoyed our dinner 2 out of 3 nights we didn’t lack for things to do. That’s okay as the hotel’s location, though it feels remote, is really close to all the touristy things (maybe a 10 minute walk to most). Some employees deserve special mention by name: friendly Teresa at check-in; charming Katerina, our server the first night; Jose at breakfast, a very kind Begona, who helped get us the great room; Adele, the very nice manager at the restaurant who made sure we were doing okay after the laptop incident; Sophia, a server and Gunerva, another kind front desk employee. Beyond the names I got, I will say, all the staff was very good to us. All in all, this was the perfect, relaxing, beautiful hotel for our stay in Prague (it made our stay!) and I would highly recommend the Mandarin Oriental to anyone visiting. Even though the Four Seasons is on the river and this is a few blocks away from it, I would hands down choose the Mandarin Oriental if you’re looking for quiet luxury in Prague.

Great hotel in the heart of Prague. Wonderful suite in a former monastery. Great restaurant and hearty breakfast.

Really amazing service from start to finish