Hotel Dum - Prague, Czech Republic     

I have stayed in this hotel between December 17 and December 22 of 2007. I would not recommend the hotel because of the following reasons: 1. My room was dirty upon arrival. The situation did not change within next 5 days. Frankly, I do not understand what exactly housekeeping lady did in the room 5 times – but she definitely did not clean. Numerous complaints to the front desk made no difference. Manager was never available. 2. Bath tube is shallow. It is impossible to take the bath. On top of that, occasionally there was a problem with hot water and I had to wait 15 – 20 minutes before cold water was “converted” to warm enough for shower. I have been told that every room has the same problem. 3. There is only small soap in bathroom – no shampoo, conditioner, body lotion etc. 4. Staff speaks poor English. They think they speak English, but it takes time to understand them. Their accent does not make the job easier. 5. Breakfast consists of sausages, eggs, dry bread and rise. No dairy, “menu” is same every day; food is not tasty, apparently not fresh. Afterwards you get hungry very quickly. And you cannot take the food to your room – not that you need it anyway! 6. The room consists of living room and bedroom. TV set is small and in living room. There was no English channel – Russian, Czech, Polish, German, but not English. The table was broken and they could not replace it. 5 days they could not replace the table!! 7. There was no air conditioner. The heater was not strong enough. I had to use a few blankets in order to be able to sleep. Every night I came back to cold room. 8. Everything is extra: hair fan, show brush, glasses, hangers etc - they are not in the room. If you need any of this - you pay. You will have to pay if you leave your luggage in the hotel luggage room after check out – you may need it if you fly from Prague in the evening. 9. Hotel is 15 km from the city centre. It is complicated to return with public transport after sunset, not to mention wee hours. You can find similar price much closer to the tourist area. 10. The neighborhood is scaring and it is definitely not for lonely women. Too many times I saw drunken people and suspicious teenager gatherings near the hotel. 11. Internet is not free. No currency exchange. 12. Staff is not friendly and the hospitality level is low. And they do not care. Poor value for money regardless of the rate!

Maybe I was just lucky... I had mixed feelings when booking this one, having read many negative reviews. I failed to find a nice guesthouse and since I did not want to spend too much budget on this tripI booked it. I must say I was very glad about my choice. The room was spacious (technically speaking you can call it a suite, although furnitures are very basic and old), very clean, it was not noisy, did not smell anything. Bathroom very clean, hot water any time and good pressure... There is a big fridge to stock you drinks. The location is quite remote but you get easily in town with a bus (stop is 50 meters away) then metro/tram. Breakfast is basic, as in any budget hotel. There is also a restaurace and supermarket at doorstep. All in all I would definitely go again.