The InterContinental Prague is located along the bank of the river Vltava at the end of Pařížská street, near the main square end across the river from the Prague Castle, about as centrally located as you can get in Prague. The hotel was one of the first ‘western’ hotels in the former Eastern European socialist states and was constructed between 1968 and 1974 in a Brutalist design by the Czech architect Karel Filsak. It has been listed as an architecturally significant building by the Conservation Office of Prague City Council.
When we entered the hotel to check-in it was extremely crowded in the lobby as there was also a big Wedding party checking-in, but we were nonetheless quickly assisted and given our room keys.

The Room

We received a twin bedded room on the 4^th floor with a beautiful riverside view looking out on the park at the opposite side. The manager called us later in the day to apologize they couldn’t put us in a bigger room as the hotel was completely full. The beds where very comfortable and a pillow menu was available if you preferred to have a different kind of pillows. Near the window where two chairs as well as a small coffee table on which they put the welcome gift I received as an InterContinental Ambassador, it consisted of some fruits, an assortment of nuts and a bottle of wine next to the complimentary bottles of water. In the room where also tea and coffee making facilities and a complimentary ‘Handy’ smartphone to take with you into the city to help you navigate, we used this service a lot while in Singapore and found it a very good idea however in Prague we just used our own smartphones as the roaming inside of the European Union is much cheaper thanks to recent EU rulings. The biggest downside of the room was that there were no power plugs near the bed, the Wi-Fi reception was spotty either rather slow or not able to connect at all and the TV reception was possibly even worse with a grainy image and sound and image sometimes even dropping out completely.

The bathroom was nicely appointed with marble cladding, sufficient towels and Agraria toiletries. In the bathtub you also had a choice of 2 different shower heads, each controlled by a different tap. As with most Intercontinental bathrooms you also had a line to hang your clothes to dry, which was ideal for Ivan to hang his running clothes after his morning walk.

The Lounge

The lounge was located on the 8^th floor and much smaller and cosier then most Intercontinental lounges I visited before. This gave a much more intimate atmosphere, also much helped by the fact there were only a small amount of other guests using it. As the lounge was so small there was only 1 staff member appointed to the lounge that was not always present because they also had to restock food and beverage but if you needed them you could always phone them using the phone provided in the lounge.
The lounge itself was subdivided in 4 main parts, you had the entrance hall with a reception desk and some couches, at the left there was a room with tables and 2 computer desks, at the right you had another room with tables and the food area followed by a small toilet and another room at the back which could be used for private meetings.

The food offering was also relatively limited, with the basic breakfast items in the morning and an egg menu to choose from, later in the day there were some sandwiches and cakes, joined in the evening by some hot food and alcoholic drinks. The food and drink offer was very tasty and always kept fully stocked so you did not have to fear for things running out. The Wi-Fi in the lounge also worked much better than in the room, but on peak times could not cope either.

The spa area

During our stay the spa area was being refurbished, and while the plans and artists impressions that were put on display promised a very nice area when finished, we still had to make do with the area under construction. Luckily for us the pool area was still opened, but it would be closed 2 days after we left for 2 weeks while undergoing their part of the refurbishment. Because of the construction going on you could not enter the area directly from the hotel but had to make a detour through the indoor garden, which might explain why there where very little guests making use of the facilities even though the hotel was fully booked. The pool area was one of the nicest I’ve had in an InterContinental so far with a large pool under a glass dome to swim in and some large loungers at the side, the jacuzzi here was also fully functional so we spent quite some time there. The gym equipment was put in all little corners they could find some room awaiting their final positions to be finished, unfortunately due to the construction the sauna and steam room where not available.

Breakfast at the main restaurant

On one of the mornings we opted to try out the breakfast at the main restaurant, to see how it compared to the lounge offering. The restaurant was divided into 2 seating areas, first a quieter seating area through which you entered, followed by the main buffet area with seating at the garden side. As was to be expected there was a huge offering and a lot of difficult choices to make. With plenty of hot and cold options as well as a live cooking area where you could get your eggs and pancakes made to order.

All in all I was very pleased with my stay at InterContinental Prague, despite the small shortcomings, and would not hesitate to stay there again on a next visit to Prague.