Hotel Svamberský Dum

Room 4 was tidy and clean, with a very clean bathroom and toiletries provided. It's also the only room with a balcony. The catch is that there's no elevator, so you'll need to carry your luggage up the stairs. I skipped breakfast, which is served at another hotel across the main square, about a five-minute walk away. The place is a short walk from the town square in the heart of Cesky Krumlov. I completed online check-in days ahead and got a code to pick up my room key. I never met the owner, but the process was easy. I'd seen some bad reviews, but based on my stay, I'd recommend it.

Our room in the very old building was lovely, furnished with a tasteful mix of modern and historic pieces. Since we visited in the off season, the included breakfast was served at a nearby place, which was absolutely fine with us. They also kindly let us leave our bikes in the entrance hall. A wonderful spot in the middle of the medieval old town of cesky krumlov!

The blond waitress seemed more interested in reading her phone conversation aloud to another staff member than serving us. Then, while people were about to eat, staff started chopping wood and sweeping the chimney, filling the room with dust. That cleaning should happen at another time. The food was awful. The Svickova sauce had a disgusting color and texture, and the dumplings were dry, as if they'd been left out for days. The chicken steak was greasy underneath, burnt on one side and dry in the middle. There was melted Camembert and cranberries on top, and only the cranberries were edible. The side salad looked long past its best. The beer was beer, so at least that was hard to get wrong. Even if this were the only place open, I'd rather go hungry than eat here.

We stopped in for a quick dinner by the fireplace. It's a cozy, friendly restaurant and the food came out fast. My Chicken Caesar salad was tasty and quite generous, and I loved the cheese on it.