Europe - where to stay in Prague

Visiting Prague for the first time in October.
Looking for suggestions on what area to stay in .
Old City? New City? across the river?
Want a quaint,less touristy area but can still walk to most attractions and some restaurants

PS why are the 4-5 star hotels on Hotwire so cheap? $78 for a 5 star?

I am guessing off season is the reason for the cheap rates.
Quaint is old town, but then again, it is also touristy. Most of the rest of the city is fairly modern. (At least that I saw in 3 days there).
Public transportation makes it fairly easy to travel anywhere in the city.
I stayed at the Sheraton, which was a 15 minute walk to the city center. So so neighborhood. Nice hotel.
I would opt for the cheap 5 star and travel to where you want to go.

I stayed at the Sheraton as well and thought it was a decent location and a great hotel.

If you want something outside the old town and not around Wentzel's square, look at Andel's hotel. Modern building with metro station (in case you need), walking to old town possible.

I've had good experiences with both the iBis and Novotel at Wenceslas Square. They are rather centrally located, right by the IP Pavlova metro station and within walking distance to several restaurants.

If you are driving, be aware that parking in the city and in the hotel lots is expensive (plan on 20 euro/day).

I stayed at the Sheraton as well and thought it was a decent location and a great hotel.

Yes, especially if you're looking for a hooker next to the park at Karlovo Namesti :D.

As for the OP, I usually stay at the Park Inn just below the Vysehrad fortress. It has pretty reasonable rates, and sits between two trams stops. One--Vyton--is for the #17 trams (which follow the river, and stop at the Holesovice train station in the north, as well), the #7 trams (which cross over the river to Smichov), and the #3 trams (which go through Stare Miasto). The other--Albertov-- is for the #24 trams (which go near the Central station Hlavni Nadrazi ) , the #18 trams (which go through Stare Miasto before crossing the river near Prague Castle), and the #53 & #55 night trams. The rooms are modern and good sized. I also like the Holiday Inn next to the Vysehrad metro station. I hate staying in the Stare Miasto section even though it is convenient because it is accesible by foot to a lot of the sites. It's way too crowded with tourists for my liking. However, I usually don't visit the tourist sites in Stare Miasto since I've been to Prague a few dozens times. But since this is you're first visit, you might be better off in that area. I've stayed at the Marriott and at the Hilton (when it was a Renaissance) next to Namesti Republiky. And also the Inter Continental next to the Cerchuv bridge. All three are nice. But also more expensive. The Smichov part of Prague (across the river) is also a nice area. The Andel metro station (in the center of Smichov) is also served by a number of trams that connect you with most of Prague.

Deleted. Duplicate post.