Rainbow-Inn

Friendly staff, and the place was clean.

My boyfriend and I booked this through Jochen Schweizer’s city break service, expecting a nice hotel where we could relax. Instead, it was a guesthouse with unprofessional staff, food and smoke smells everywhere, and rooms decorated in really bad taste. We felt so uncomfortable that we moved to another hotel. What a shame!

Breakfast had plenty to choose from, whether you prefer sweet or savory food. Fried or scrambled eggs were available if you asked, for an affordable 100 crowns (3.60 euros). The whole hotel was very clean, and the staff were friendly, helpful, and attentive to guests’ questions. That made it much easier for us to plan our day. I’d highly recommend it.

I’ve been taking short trips to Prague for years. For my first few visits I always stayed at the Villa Mansland, until its sensationalist advertising for amateur events and poor value for money in a run-down building became too much. Then I switched to the Rainbow Inn gay hotel. It had a pleasant atmosphere, spacious rooms with friendly furnishings, and a fair price: CZK 1,820 for a double room with breakfast for two. It was a comfortable base for enjoying Prague. On my second-to-last visit, I noticed that “gay hotel” no longer seemed to describe the guests. They were heterosexual couples using travel deal vouchers for €159, which included breakfast, dinner, and 24-hour tickets for two people. My last stay at the Rainbow Inn was in April, and I mean LAST. I already knew the hotel/guesthouse owner's questionable sense of humor, and friends had told me about his outbursts at guests. This time, I experienced one myself. I’d booked four nights and was looking forward to relaxing in the Golden City. As a regular guest, I brought some locally produced gifts. I was welcomed warmly, and during a pleasant conversation the owner complained about negative reviews of him and his establishment. He said the positive reviews weren’t reflected on the website. I used to pay the full bill on departure, but this time I was given the room bill on the first evening. I noticed the price had gone up by 250 CZK. They were still charging me the old rate because the change hadn’t been made on all the hotel websites. Breakfast was now extra, at about €5 per person, bringing the total to €93 per night. That no longer felt like fair value. At the all-inclusive price of CZK 1870, I’d accept the breakfast as served, but I wasn’t willing to pay extra each day for the same bland, unimaginative food. The cold cuts and cheese were from discount stores, some seemed to be from the day before, and their natural taste was masked. “Enjoy” isn’t the right word. Instead of a boiled egg, there was industrially produced egg salad, and drinks were served sparingly. Compare that rate with other travel deals. Breakfast hours had also changed. It used to start at 9:15 a.m., but now it ran from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. The next morning, six other guests and I were eating there and got talking. Since I visit Prague often, I shared some tips with newcomers, using my laptop at 9:30 a.m. After the other guests left the lounge, the owner came out of the kitchen, where he usually hid from them, sat down to eat, and yelled at me. He demanded to know how I dared to disrupt the business. Sorry, but breakfast was still being served. Later, his employee explained that the hotel's philosophy was for guests to get out into the city as quickly as possible. The owner never apologized for his outburst, either during my stay or afterward. He’d arranged to meet me the evening before my departure, but that meeting likely didn’t happen because he was incapacitated. I also heard about several incidents involving the owner and other guests. Swiss hospitality doesn’t always seem to be what it claims, even with the “Swiss Management” label.