Old Town Apartments

Good facilities, and a handy base for visiting the tourist sights.

It was a really nice stay.

Being right by so much makes the location stand out: the Kafka statue is behind the building, Charles Bridge is three blocks away, the Dancing House is five blocks off, and Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square are about ten minutes away. There's also a shopping center and supermarket around the corner, with excellent transport links. The rooms are roomy and bright, but the attic windows face the street and let in a lot of heat and light. There are no blackout curtains. The living room gets especially hot, and some of its angled windows don't open, so air barely moves. Two fans and a portable air conditioner were provided, though the air conditioner seems newly installed because the attic gets so hot. There are plenty of radiators for winter. The bathroom was renovated and very clean. The apartment itself was orderly but far from spotless: the sheets and two sofa beds were dirty, and many household items were too. The layout is awkward, spread over several levels, and the wooden stairs creak loudly enough to wake someone in the next room. The kitchen was poor, with only two electric burners, a hood that doesn't vent outside, a loose tap with weak water pressure, no cleaning cloths, and a tiny fridge that barely cools. We were told there'd be cleaning twice a week, but they didn't actually clean. They only changed towels and took out rubbish, leaving the floor, bathroom, and kitchen untouched. We left the bed unmade to see whether they'd make it or replace the dirty sheets, but they didn't touch it. The same dirty sheet is still there and the bed remains unmade. The place also has floor patches, broken corners, badly fitted skirting boards, and basic, limited, low quality furniture. There's good natural light, at least. We stayed in the penthouse. The lift only reaches the fourth floor, so there's another flight on foot. It's passable, but needs better cleaning and repairs. The Expedia photos gave a completely different impression, and it was very expensive for what we got. Disappointing, and I wouldn't recommend it.

The location was the best part of this apartment. It was on the fifth floor, in a penthouse, and the old lift only went as far as the fourth, leaving the last floor to climb. The bathroom had a sink and shower, plus a door through to the toilet and another sink. Getting into the shower was a bit of a high step. Across from it was a bedroom with two beds and a wardrobe. It was fine but not spacious, and its high windows couldn't be opened. The living room was also the kitchen and dining area. Its two electric burners were extremely slow, the loose faucet moved around, and the extractor sent cooking fumes back into the room. The fridge hardly cooled anything. We had to wash the plates, glasses, and cutlery in the cupboards before using them. There was a table with a bench and four chairs, a tiny coffee table, and two sofas falling apart. The satellite TV was always off during our stay because it had no signal, and the regular TV only had four or five channels. A second bedroom looked out over the dining area. It had a double bed and a small bed, with a step, wooden beams, and stairs up to a little turret that was empty. Its windows barely opened. The living room stairs creaked like they might break, which was a nuisance when someone was sleeping in the lower room and another person needed the toilet. Some slanted dining room windows wouldn't open, leaving poor airflow and making the apartment very hot in summer. They left us two fans and a portable air conditioner, but it barely cooled the place. Cleaning was also disappointing. We were told they'd clean during our two day stay, but all they did was change towels and take out rubbish. They didn't even sweep.