Radisson Blu Alcron Prague [as of Jan.2019, left Radisson; Almanac as of 2023]
 

Hi All,

First post in this forum. I'm looking into booking two nights at this hotel in Prague. I don't like paying for non-refundable fares and the flexible fare including breakfast is a bit too expensive, considering that I've found another great hotel (Maximilian) for 233 EUR for two nights including breakfast.

However, staying in a 5* with a chance of an upgrade (I'm Gold) is an attractive thought.

What do you think of the value of the cash + point fare below? I have some Amex MR points that I could transfer over. Sorry if it's a dumb question, but I'm new to the hotel redemptions world.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...son-prague.png

The points+cash usually provides terrible value.
I would value CC points around 0.2-0.4p/each and MR's around 0.8-1p/each.

For 10,000 CC points (3,333 MR's) you are saving ~£18. Unless you value MR's below 0.55p/each then its not a good deal.

Thanks nux. I may have got my maths wrong, but this is my reasoning so far.

For the two nights:
Best available rate including tax: 250 EUR.
Points + cash including tax: 20,000 + 150 EUR

That's 100 EUR for 20,000 CC points, which is 0.5c or 0.41p.

Considering that the conversion rate from MR to CC is 1:3, wouldn't that mean getting 1.23p per MR?

Sorry, my calculation was based on the advanced purchase rate. 1.23p/MR would be worthwhile if you want flexibility.

You could also check if there is a 241 rate available.

Unfortunately not, that would've been great :-(

I would like to find out how much breakfast in the hotel would be. I've emailed them but no reply so far!

Have you given any consideration to buying points on the June 17 Daily Getaways? You could get 50k points for $222 if you pay with your Amex.

Thanks, I didn't even know what they were. :) Do you have to be based in the US? Unfortunately I can't take advantage of them as I'm a UK resident.

Breakfast is about 18.5 euro if purchased at check-in.

We stayed on a 241 rate last year, we got upgraded as gold but got none of the benefits of the new room type (breakfast, free minibar etc.) so don't expect too much. The food discount does not apply for the Alcon restaurant. There was a patisserie Valerie around the corner which does good coffee and croissants cheaply!

Does the Points+Cash rate include tax? If so, the delta between the regular rate and the Points+Cash rate is even greater.

Also, I stayed at this property last fall. It's nice, but I'm not sure I'd categorize it as a 5*. The room was large, but kinda sparse. Bathroom wasn't awesome and I had the typical issue with incessant heat.

It was late November and I had the windows open to try and cool down the room. Not my idea of a good time.

Thank you for your feedback. I'll probably end up staying at the Maximilian, which is what I've currently booked. However, spending a bit less cash would be handy, which is why I'm considering the Radisson Blu.

To answer your first question, see my 3rd post.

This is the most recent thread on this property, but it is a discussion of rates and not the hotel itself. Who has stayed and what did you think? How were room sizes? Room comfort? Hotel location?

We stayed in December 2013 (very brief report here).

We didn't find anything particularly special about the hotel, but it was a perfectly serviceable option in a convenient location. Our room was optimistically called a junior suite, though it was pretty tight, and it was the usual European "king = two twins" bed setup. We opted for a courtyard-facing room; not much of a courtyard to look at, but it didn't have the street noise of the first room we looked at.

Otherwise, the staff were nice and the hotel worked for us. To be honest, I'd probably look elsewhere for our next stay; it wasn't bad, just not memorable.

We loved Prague, and took perhaps our favorite food walking tour ever there, don't want to sound like a shill but happy to PM details.

I considered the hotel location to be good for tourism purposes.

Room sizes were pretty good by European standards.

Room comfort was ok, even as it was a bit off for me. But I'm really not sure why I found it off a bit in terms of comfort.

The hotel's car service arrangement to go from the hotel to the airport was something I skipped to choose a decent, cheaper hired car option:

http://www.prague-airport-transfers....FYMK0wodHgQHEA

The hotel isn't anything special, but it worked ok enough for me -- as I was on points and cash rates that saved me money.

Have stayed multiple times. Never failed to get an upgrade (right up to 7th floor castle view suite) even back when I was silver.

It is a very well managed hotel, good staff who managed to greet me by name even though my last stay was 4 months previous. Favorite incident in recent years was a bottle of house white wine appeared as part of the club carlson in room gift, after two days the unopened bottle was swapped to a red...

Breakfast is excellent and continues in its own style despite the changes made in the network in recent years, while it is self service buffet, every one is walked to their table and drinks orders taken, prosecco is included...

The art deco interior is really nice.

The two on site restaurants are excellent, the Alcron holds a Michelin star.

Rooms are good size by European standards.

The bathrooms are compact but most come with double sinks. The toiletries have gone a bit downhill, but this appears to have been a Radisson group policy to standardise.

The bar despite its cocktail menu doesn't really have any vibe to it

Stayed there for two nights this week. Not overly impressed, but it was value for money considering I paid 139EUR/nigh including breakfast.
It seems Radisson SAS refurbed this property in the 90s and chose to follow a 20s art deco style. It has some 5* elements, but the location wrt to downtown and the neigborhood really don't match up. If given a choice I would stay at the Hilton Old town like I did last year.

Here are some thoughts on this hotel based on a very recent three-day stay with family...

Overall we were quite impressed with the value for money proposition of the Alcron. I'm not sure where the 5* rating comes from, as it doesn't present itself as such based on what one would typically expect at that level. It is a good 4* hotel, if that means something to people.

The location is good, very close to Wenceslas Square, and a 12-minute walk to the Old Town Square or Karls Bridge. The public spaces are fine, but nothing too special, it looks as though the last real refurbishment (based on style rather than quality) was in the 90s. The bar has some interesting cocktails but is otherwise pretty boring. The lighting needs to be addressed. The Alcron restaurant is very small (20 covers?) and with no views, but the seafood is delicious. The breakfast at Rotunda is very comprehensive.

The standard rooms are perfectly fine, even with a small rollaway bed in them. The mattresses are very comfortable, there is a great Tempur topper. Bathroom amenities are Molton Brown.

The staff were outstandingly helpful and friendly. A particular nod to Paula, in guest relations, who pro-actively gave my family a whole bunch of insider tips and ideas, and was extremely helpful and willing to assist with anything from restaurant reservations to walking tour suggestions. The front desk and restaurant staff were also very helpful and always asking us if they could do anything for us.

It's all perfectly acceptable, and at EUR 135, including breakfast for all, you really can't complain. Parking, at EUR 35 a night, was a bit on the high side.

Great pity was one of my favorites. There were playing around with new room designs last year

The location was always a bit of an issue, be interesting to see what the plan is with the new Blu