Built in 1914, Art Deco Imperial Hotel Prague is bursting with the glamour and decadence of the roaring 20s and associated Art Deco period.
The centrepiece of this majestic five-star hotel in Prague is a striking statue which encapsulates the daring excess of the era. Above the statue a grand staircase swirls majestically upwards towards the 126 rooms and suites.
Also on site is the incredible Café Imperial with its opulent and intricate ceramic interior. A popular and renowned Prague dining spot in its own right, the café serves it’s own unique dark beer, which is quite delicious!
Read on for our full Art Deco Imperial Hotel Prague review…
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Location
The hotel is nicely located in the heart of the Prague action, being around 20 minutes walk to the iconic Charles Bridge, a walk which can be nicely combined en route with a visit to Old Town Square (which itself is around 10 mins walk from the hotel).
Closer attractions to the hotel include The Museum of Communism (a couple of minutes away) and the 15th Century Powder Tower (about 5 minutes away). The House of the Black Madonna with its fantastic museum of Czech Cubism is also about a 5 minutes walk from the hotel.
The drive from the airport was about 30 mins. We had booked a car for this, however the public transport network is good and you can take a train from Prague airport, with the hotel being around 10 mins walk from the station.
The hotel does have parking, but you will need to contact the hotel in advance to arrange this. Worth noting, although it is unlikely that you will be using a hire car to visit Prague. Our driver dropped us off outside, and had to circle round the block a couple of times to find somewhere to drop us, as the street outside was very busy.
Check in
There is a very spacious reception area with some attractive artworks, and plenty of comfortable seating for guests who might be waiting for their rides back to the airport. Umbrellas are provided in reception for guests in case of rain when they go out exploring.
There were two receptionists on duty. We were seen to straight away and although we had arrived at 11am expecting just to leave our cases for later, we were allowed to access our room after a short 20 minute wait, which we spent sampling a delicious apple cake in the next door Café Imperial.
Facilities
As mentioned, Art Deco Imperial Hotel Prague is a five-star hotel, and has the aforementioned Café Imperial on site, as well as a separate small bar area. There are two lifts, which always seemed to arrive almost immediately during our stay, no matter which floor we were on!
The hotel has a concierge service, with the offer of arranging airport transfers, sightseeing, brewery tours, etc. This is not something we took advantage of, as I am confident in arranging our own itinerary.
There is a fitness facility as well as sauna and steam room. These are only open midweek 16:00 to 22:00, and on weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 22:00. In case you were wondering what the sauna etiquette in Prague is, you do NOT wear swimwear in the sauna or steam room in this hotel at least!
The gym is quite small, with a couple of treadmills and some resistance equipment. The sauna and steam rooms are also small, with room for 2-3 people in each. All were well maintained and clean during our visit. I was not able to photograph these facilities without inconveniencing other guests, however you can see more photos of the hotel facilities, including the sauna and gym here.
The room
We stayed in a deluxe room, which was clean and nicely laid out. The décor in the room was more restrained than the rest of the hotel, but the Art Deco flourishes – such as the shape of the bed’s headboard – remained.
Being on a top floor we actually had a view of the castle in the distance, which was spectacular during sunset. Whether you are lucky enough to get this view will depend on which room you book or are allocated however.
The bed was large and very comfortable, and we slept really well. In the room an iron and ironing board were provided, along with a desk, safe, tea and coffee making facilities, and a minibar. Water was present but was chargeable, at a price which seemed on the high side, despite my lack of familiarity with the Czech Koruna currency.
The television (not a smart TV) had its own menu and a selection of channels from different countries, mainly German. Free WiFi is provided, but it dropped out a few times while in the room.
The bathroom was clean and had clearly been modernised. Toiletries by Rituals were provided in large pump bottles, along with a sign making it very clear in the politest possible way that you would be charged should any of these go missing!
Food
Daily breakfast is served in the Café Imperial, and consists largely of a typical European buffet, with pastries, cold meats and cheeses, fruits, cereals, etc. Fresh coffee is served, and egg dishes can be cooked to order. There were plenty of staff on duty at breakfast time, and service was very good, as was the food.
In the interests of thorough research for this review, we had an evening meal in the restaurant too. Chenai absolutely loved the chicken broth starter, then had duck which was well presented but not entirely to her taste. I had a schnitzel, which was perfectly good as schnitzels go. Again, the service was really good.
The café’s strongest offerings in fact are the cakes which are served during the day. We had cake from here a couple of times during our stay, and both times they were really excellent. Also, as I mentioned in the introduction, the exclusive dark beer served at the hotel is really refreshing and tasty.
Of course, a major draw of the café is the magnificent orange and white tiled décor of the interior, which really elevates the experience of eating here, and makes it a highly “Instagrammable” local spot.
Final thoughts
If I’m being fussy, I would have liked our evening meal in the café to have blown us away a bit more than it did, however I would absolutely recommend that you include daily breakfast as part of your stay, as it is very good and totally worth it to spend time in the sumptuous interior of the Café Imperial. Also, a more reliable WiFi offering is really a must in 2025, and if you don’t have a good data package this could be an annoyance.
Overall though, staying at this hotel is a real pleasure and feels special. The experience is elevated hugely by the grand Art Deco interiors and by the use of the adjoining Café Imperial at breakfast time. We felt as if we were immersed in a glamorous past era of the Czech capital, before World War 2 and the oppressive Communist era which followed came along and spoiled the party.
Of the many luxury hotels in Prague, a stay at the Art Deco Imperial Hotel Prague is a special experience that gives you a hint of the decadent life in the Roaring twenties, and we highly recommend it.
APPT rating : 8.5/10
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