Hotel Askania

We ended up paying for two hotels because of the way this booking was handled. I was traveling with children and, after being told the payment hadn’t gone through and then getting no reply, I booked somewhere else to make sure we had a place to sleep. The reservation was non-refundable, and I’d provided my card details. The hotel said the card couldn’t be used and insisted that I send the full amount by SWIFT bank transfer before arrival. When the transfer failed, I contacted them several times by email, WhatsApp, and Telegram asking for help. They ignored me for seven full days. They finally responded on arrival day and charged the same card they had said wouldn’t work. They refused to cancel or refund the booking, saying it had remained active the whole time. To explain the silence, they said they received too many messages to answer them all immediately and that I should have called, even though email and the messaging apps were listed as official ways to contact them. It was an avoidable, stressful mess. If they’d charged the card at the start, or simply replied to say they’d charge it, I would have been happy to stay.

The receptionist was polite and looked uncomfortable, caught between common sense and the owner’s instructions. The problem was the management’s refusal to understand basic international travel rules. A hotel hosting foreign visitors should know these things, and guests shouldn’t be pressured over a document that doesn’t exist. I hold a Taiwanese passport, and Taiwan is officially visa-exempt under Czech government rules. We don’t need visas, but the hotel repeatedly demanded to see one. We spent nearly half an hour at reception explaining this. I asked them to check the official Czech immigration site, where the information is public, but the owner still insisted on a visa. I don’t know what the owner was trying to achieve. The demand was unreasonable, uninformed, and very unprofessional. The situation was frustrating, avoidable, and deeply disrespectful. I hope the hotel educates its management so other travelers aren’t put through the same thing.

I was happy with what I got for the price. The service was great, and the old style of the hotel is beautiful. My room was clean, though there could have been a bit more shower gel. The mattress was on the firm side but still comfortable.

We were held up at the front desk for over half an hour because the manager kept insisting we show documents we didn’t need. She wouldn’t let us check in without a US Green Card, since our current address was in the US. Thankfully, we had one as well as our Taiwanese passports. This has never happened to us at any hotel or in any other country, and it was completely unprofessional. We handed over our passports, but she kept asking for a visa, even though Taiwanese visitors can stay in the country for less than 30 days without one. The customs officials had welcomed us, and we showed her Google information and asked her to check the customs website. She still wouldn’t let us check in until she saw the Green Card. The hotel manager has no knowledge or logic for running a hotel. This was the worst hotel we’ve ever stayed in, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend it if you want a pleasant trip.