Red Lion Hotel

Overview

Look, I’ll be honest – when I first turned onto Nerudova Street looking for the Red Lion Hotel, I almost walked right past it. The entrance is tucked into this gorgeous baroque building that looks more like a private residence than a hotel, which honestly makes it feel way more special once you’re inside. You’re literally staying on one of Prague’s most historic cobblestone streets, the same route tourists huff and puff up to reach Prague Castle (and trust me, you’ll appreciate not having to schlep your luggage up that hill from some hotel down in New Town).

The thing about staying here is that you get this weird mix of feeling like you’re in someone’s elegant Prague apartment while still having proper hotel service. The rooms have these tall windows that actually open – remember when hotel windows used to do that? – and if you’re facing the street, you’ll hear the clip-clop of horse carriages in the morning mixed with tour groups chattering in about six different languages. It’s not exactly quiet, but it’s the kind of ambient Prague noise that somehow becomes soothing after a day or two. The staff really knows their stuff too, which matters when you’re dealing with the maze that is Lesser Town. They’ll tell you which entrance to use for the castle (there are like four of them) and – this is key – where to find a decent coffee that isn’t tourist-trap pricing.

What really sold me on this place, though, is how it sits right in the sweet spot between being central and being livable. I mean, you can stumble back from dinner in Old Town in about fifteen minutes, but you’re also around the corner from that little park behind the Wallenstein Garden where locals actually hang out. The hotel itself feels properly Czech rather than some international chain trying to be Czech – the breakfast has actual bread worth eating, and the whole vibe is more “cultured Prague resident” than “tourist doing Prague in three days.” Sure, it’s not cheap, but honestly? When you’re paying Prague prices anyway, the extra euros for staying somewhere with this much character and an 8.9 rating that actually feels earned – well, it’s worth not ending up in some soulless place where you spend your whole trip trying to figure out where the hell you are.

Apartments in Prague provide travelers with an authentic local experience, allowing them to shop at traditional markets and cook with fresh ingredients from the renowned Czech culinary traditions.