Questions and Answers

We’ll be heading to Prague for a weekend getaway this January. I can’t decide between the Augustine Hotel and the Four Seasons. I usually avoid staying at a Four Seasons as it’s usually too much like visiting grandma’s house. However, the views from the Four Seasons look awesome and the service is anecdotally better than at the Augustine. The Augustine has a proper–and apparently gorgeous–hotel bar; whereas, the FS only has a bar tacked onto its restaurant. I love hotel bars so this distinction is important.

Does anyone have any experience with the Prague hotel scene?

Hi! I was [I]just[/I] in Prague, and stayed at the Augustine. It’s a darling property, and we had a great experience in the bar, which seemed popular with upper-class locals as well. No views, but the rooms are well done.

The service was… very Czech (that’s the nicest thing I can say about it, honestly).

Have you considered the Mandarin? Ben and I had an incredible dinner there a few years ago, and the service was fantastic.

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 22293, member: 7″]Hi! I was [I]just[/I] in Prague, and stayed at the Augustine. It’s a darling property, and we had a great experience in the bar, which seemed popular with upper-class locals as well. No views, but the rooms are well done.

The service was… very Czech (that’s the nicest thing I can say about it, honestly).

Have you considered the Mandarin? Ben and I had an incredible dinner there a few years ago, and the service was fantastic.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Tiffany! I’m a bit disappointed by your service experience at the Augustine. I know Czech service culture is based on the old Soviet model; but, I would have expected more from a hotel as respected as the Augustine.

I did, indeed, look at the Mandarin Oriental as MO is the pinnacle of luxury hotel chains, imo. However, on the website the MO Prague appears to be amazingly dull. And it, too, lacks a proper hotel bar. I don’t appreciate a hotel that tacks on the bar to the restaurant as it it was an inferior stepchild.

I’m now leaning towards the Four Seasons. The views do look incredible and I bet Prague is especially lovely looking in winter. And the service would probably be better at the FS. Though, I may give the Mandarin another look.

Tiffany, I have read reports that the bath towels at the Augustine were of a Motel 6 quality. Is this true?

Mmmm, they weren’t Motel 6 bad, but they were definitely noticeably inferior. I remember being surprised that such an obvious detail was missed, but they weren’t unusable or anything.

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 22306, member: 7″]Mmmm, they weren’t Motel 6 bad, but they were definitely noticeably inferior. I remember being surprised that such an obvious detail was missed, but they weren’t unusable or anything.[/QUOTE]
Thank you Tiffany. Your observations have been invaluable. The Augustine’s design aesthetics strongly appeal to me; that bar looks stunning! But the thing with the bath towels is a deal breaker. Well, that and the subpar service. So off to the fussy Four Seasons we go! I hope you enjoy Baku! It’s quite a pleasantly surprising city.