Essence

"Wonderful hotel. Great location. 10-15 minutes walk from Old Town, 20 minutes to Charles Bridge. Lots of eating options in the area. The Thai restaurant on the ground floor is excellent. Clean rooms. Room service is really great. Made sure our coffee machine was stocked daily. If you run out, the front desk has extras. Bring a thermos and you can fill your bottle at the lobby. Convenient and good for the environment! We stayed in a one bedroom suite with a pull out queen size sofa bed for our 11 year old. This allowed my wife and I to have some separation. For Good Friday, they even left us Easter Cookies in our room. Friendly and helpful front desk and the two ladies in the restaurant made sure the breakfast buffet was fully stocked. The selection is more than satisfactory. Perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and even pre made eggs sunny side up. Sausage and ham/bacon with potatoes and steamed vegetables. Pastry section with danishes, croissants and strudels. Yogurt with different cereals and a cheese and sliced meet section with fresh vegetables are also available. One coffee machine with various options with a separate juice station. There could be a line at times so be patient. Great breakfast to start your day. The bathroom is stocked with an all in one shampoo and body wash. Not sure how I feel about that but you can bring your own. Conditioner and lotion provided. Water is hot and shower water pressure is good. The best feature in the bathroom is the heated towel bar. Such a luxury to dry off with a warm towel after a shower. The bed is comfortable. The sheets, comforter, and pillows are soft. Another nice touch is our queen bed came with two separate comforters. My wife and I don’t have to fight for the covers. Our room was so quiet, even with the windows open. We sleep hot so having a window that opens was a nice option. Blackout curtains worked great. Plenty of closet space for longer stays. Well lit with plenty of lighting. Truly a comfortable stay and I would stay here again if we visit Prague again. Thank you for a wonderful experience and for making our family feel so welcome."

"I stayed at Hotel Essence recently and honestly… the hotel looks nice, but it definitely doesn’t deserve such a high rating or 4 stars. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10, but if you come around 9, there are usually no free tables. When we asked the staff, we were told to come back in 10 minutes or eat in the lobby (this happened on more than one day). On top of that, during breakfast there was often no coffee or milk available — you constantly have to ask for basic things. During our 3-day stay, this happened twice. The room itself also had issues. There was a bad smell coming from the bathroom drainage, and one day there was no hot water in the shower at all. When we arrived, the room was very cold, and it took almost 24 hours to warm it up. There was only a small radiator, and the bathroom stayed cold until the end of our stay because of the large windows. The location is definitely a plus, and the staff are nice and helpful — no complaints there. But the overall hotel quality and organization just aren’t at a 4-star level. It really needs improvement. Parking is located on floor -3 in another building. In Prague, parking is always a problem, so that part is fine — but there is no elevator. How are older people or guests with health issues supposed to manage this? There should be clear information about it. What makes this even more disappointing is that before arriving here, we stayed at another 4-star hotel in a similar price range with similar reviews — and the difference was very noticeable. Compared to that, Hotel Essence feels more like a 3-star hotel and should definitely be cheaper. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t come back."

"We spent three nights at Hotel Essence while visiting Prague and were very happy with our choice. The location is very convenient to the central train station, which was great both arriving and departing Prague, and there are multiple tram stops nearby if you need to travel by public transit. It's also a very quick walk to the old town center, Wenceslas Square, and other sights frequented by visitors. The hotel itself was very clean and well-maintained, both in the public areas and in the rooms. Our room was spacious, quiet, and had a lovely view of the square (technically a triangle) out front. We didn't interact with many staff members, but the gentleman who checked us in was extremely friendly and spoke impeccable English. There are quite a few excellent coffee shops in the surrounding blocks, as well as plenty of restaurants, ATMs, etc. Overall this was an excellent place to stay."