Over the years, I have visited Prague several times, and even in what is supposedly shoulder season or even off season, the city always seems to be packed with tourists. The closer you get to Old Town, the thicker the crowds become, and the menu prices rise in tandem. So this time, when I just had a one-night stay before heading down to Slovakia, I booked a room at Hotel Opera to be in an interesting building that put some distance between me and the clock tower.
The center of Prague is beautiful, of course, and the city is packed with interesting sites to check out. As one of the best-preserved historic cities in Europe, it deserves all the fame and fortune. If you’d like to escape the madness, though, and be in an area where the locals aren’t just hospitality workers, Hotel Opera is in a good spot and is close to public transportation options. There are parks and shopping centers nearby, plus places to eat and drink.
KLM helped me walk around without much baggage when I arrived in Prague since they sent my Prague-bound luggage to Pittsburgh instead, and I didn’t get it back for days. It was an easy 1o-minute walk to the hotel from the main train station since all I was carrying was my daypack with a camera, laptop, a change of underwear, chargers, and a toothbrush. It pays to be prepared!
The first impression confirmed I had made a good choice: the exterior of the building is impressive, in a building dating back to 1890. The lobby is quite nice as well, with plenty of original design elements that haven’t been scrubbed of all character over the years. Calling this a 4-star hotel as they do locally is quite a stretch, but it does start you off feeling like you’ve arrived in a good spot.
Facilities at Hotel Opera in Prague
Since I was only staying for one night and taking a train south in the morning, I mostly just walked around the area and then wound down in my room. The hotel does have a small gym, a sauna, and a large whirlpool, but these all require a reservation and a fee unless you are in one of the top two room categories.
Otherwise, the places to gather here are the bar and the restaurant. I didn’t spend time in either, partly because there was some big tour group that had taken over the whole restaurant, a group that wasn’t staying in the hotel, it seemed. I didn’t really mind, though, because it gave me a reason to go exploring for alternatives in the neighborhood.
- Buy Travel Insurance
- Get an eSim to be able to use your smartphone abroad.
- Get a universal plug adapter
- Get a Car Rental
- Save big on sightseeing with a Prague pass
- Get into top Prague sites with the Prague Megapass.
Breakfast is included in the rates here, though, so I took advantage of that in the morning in the beautiful dining room pictured above. With an impressive Charles Bridge mural on one wall, it brought back memories of the last time I visited for far longer (staying at the great Falkensteiner Prague) and had days to go sightseeing.
Hotel Opera Rooms
I snagged one of the nine single rooms available at the hotel. I was only going to be there for one night, and I knew I’d be crashing hard after a day of flying, so it was fine for me to be cozy with a single bed. That saved me about $30 compared to the price for a double.
As you can see from the photo, it wasn’t all that large, but I had a work desk, a working radiator, a window, a TV, a fridge, and a full bathroom with good water pressure. As I pulled up the official website in July it was directly addressing the heat wave in Europe and the continent’s reluctance to cool off in summer: it pictured a snowflake and said “All rooms air conditioned.” That’s definitely not the case everywhere in the Czech Republic.
The glass-enclosed shower had enough room and shut all the way, which certainly isn’t a given in European hotels, and I was happy to see some supplied toiletries since I had none at this point. Body lotion and ear swabs, even. I also got a real glass for drinking the Czech pilsner I brought back to the room. (There’s a big supermarket a few blocks away.)
The other rooms are all larger, with doubles, twins, suites, and triple rooms in the mix. All are carpeted, with solid wood furniture, and have duvets on comfy beds. The Wi-Fi worked well during my stay, too, handy as I tried to track down my lost luggage with KLM.
The rooms are distributed across four floors, all connected by a nice staircase that’s meant to be used (see below), but there’s an elevator too, so you can easily get up and down with your luggage.
Booking a Stay
The official website says you’ll get a 15% discount for booking direct, but I didn’t notice any difference in the prices when I was getting ready to pull the trigger. I booked it through a third-party service that pays its own transferrable hotel points and paid a bargain $59 for my single room in February, the slowest month of the year. It looks like rates double from those in the high season of summer, so expect rates to start at 100 euros single in high season and go from €120 to €220 double for the other classes.
Check rates for Hotel Opera in Prague online at Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda.com, or Hotels.com.
Rooms are described in detail on the hotel website and most booking sites, complete with the size in square meters. (The smallest is 15-19 square meters, the largest 43.) Taxes and breakfast are included, but not parking. That carries a hefty charge. Prague also charges a €2.50 city tax that’s not included in the rates: a common practice here and in Slovakia for some reason.
Review and all photos by Tim Leffel, the founder of Hotel Scoop, who has reviewed hotels for more than a dozen publications. He paid for his own stay at Hotel Opera through the points-building service Rove Miles. As always, all opinions are his own.
