Czech Republic Prague Corinthia Panorama

[Rhine-and-Roses]

The Corinthia Panorama was fine...

Check in: We had called 2 days prior to arrival to upgrade our room, but when we arrived, upgrade had not been made. We eventually were upgraded to executive level for 30 Euro per night.

Executive upgrade: You get a special dining area for breakfast, as well as a few extra items available (for order) at breakfast, including steak and champagne. You also get access to the executive lounge which has cold and hot drinks all day, a small TV, and two computers with printers. There are small horsd'oeuvre in the evening. Nothing fancy, but we did take advantage of the free drinks instead of paying 3-4 Euro in the room bar. We also got a basket of fruit and bottled water, which we had to ask for, although it was supposed to be waiting for us. Fitness room, hot tub and pool free with executive room. We used all, so the upgrade more than paid for itself.

Room: The executive room could not possibly have been a larger room- there were twin beds, pushed together like a king, a tiny table with a pair of lilliputian chairs, and a desk with a flat panel TV. You could hear the woman in the room next door, the TV, and the alarm, all as if they were in your own room. Luckily it only happened one morning. The noise may have been worse than through a normal wall because there was a door connecting the rooms- noise may have come through the door, not the wall. The bed was hard, kind of like a box springs without a mattress, but not quite that uncomfortable. Even though it was hard, we slept fine. The pillows (foam and feather) and duvet were very nice. The room had individual temperature controls and was comfortably heated. We were on the 17th floor. There was a view, but of the suburbs. We got lucky and did not face the huge construction site on the other side of the hotel. The room was immaculate and everything, including the carpet, appeared new. The halls also appeared to be very recently refurbished.

Bathroom: The bath was teeny, but brand new everything- tiles, fixtures, towels. Perfectly clean. There was one robe and a pair of slippers. Two large towels, wash cloths, and hand towels.

Check out: At executive lounge and speedy.

Location: NOT in Prague, if you are thinking of tourist Prague. It is 4 stops from Muzeum, 6 from the old part of town. It takes from 10-30 minutes to get in, depending on the trains. Warning- this hotel would be hard to find from the subway at night! When you come out of the subway at Pancrac (pronounced Pankratz) you will see a tall building immediately on your right. The Corinthia Panorama is behind the building, but is TOTALLY obscured from view. You will have to go to the corner, then walk around. There is a shortcut, but I don't think most people would want to take the dark shortcut through a construction site at night.

I am very glad I took a mini-van from the airport. (The mini-van was offered to me as I left the terminal.) When he said 20 euro for two of us, I snapped it up. Then when he realized it was not in central Prague, he went on and on about the good deal he was giving me. The bus/train to/from the hotel was easy- took us about an hour on our return to the airport. But back to location- I would NOT stay at this hotel again due to location. It was just too far out to go back to the room for a little rest or to drop off souvenirs.

Other than location and smoking in lobby, I was happy with this hotel. If you stay here, expect a business type hotel, catering to groups, which appeared to be largely loud German tourists and businessmen. Oddly enough, I live in Germany, and here Germans are very quiet in public. Wonder what happens to them abroad??

The hotel sells day passes for public transportation for 100 CzK per day. Pick them up from the concierge. The hotel accepted euro for payments, as did most of the restaurants in Prague and the tourist shops.