Mamaison Residence Belgická Prague

“Perfect location for avoiding the hordes in tremendous comfort”

I stayed here for 3 weeks in May & June of 2019. It was the first righteous vacation I had taken for 45 years, when I was 13 years old (yes, it's possible for a 13 year old to go on an extended vacation with considerable autonomy). I've developed additional expectations based on travels in the in... more

I stayed here for 3 weeks in May & June of 2019. It was the first righteous vacation I had taken for 45 years, when I was 13 years old (yes, it's possible for a 13 year old to go on an extended vacation with considerable autonomy). I've developed additional expectations based on travels in the intervening years, and this place exceeded all of them, by far. First up - it's not cheap. It's also better than you can get for the money anywhere else in Prague. I've rebooked for 2 weeks in 2020, and I looked at a LOT of other hotels before I did so. It "only" took 8 or 9 hours to realize that everyplace else I looked at for which the room was comparable, actually cost a fair amount more. They've hit a sweet spot. Also, it's not a 5-star hotel that will jump thru hoops to get you anything you desire at any hour of the day - Prague (by its nature) doesn't work that way, and they're not faking it. This is Prague, and Mamaison Belgicka is in a neighborhood well off the one-block-wide tourist trail a couple miles north (which is a beautiful Hellscape once the hordes have woken up). What I got in return was an amazing variety of restaurants within trivial walking distance, a lovely, laid back neighborhood, and incredible access to the best public transportation on Earth (not exaggerating on the last bit, not even a tiny amount). My apartment was much better equipped than I expected - the kitchen, particularly. I still haven't figured out how to get decaf coffee at a grocery store, but when I've mastered that (and health care post-retirement), I could live here. In the interim, there are workarounds (Costa Coffee is 4 blocks away). The separate WC was a very nice touch. While the decor might not be '2019' current, it was certainly fresh enough in 2016. Decor is not dated (never mind my contextual dating of it), this an attractive place - the pictures don't lie. At first glance, the bedding looked like it might not be comfortable. First glance was wrong - I sunk into it every night, pretty sure my back was in much better shape when I left than when I arrived. Compared to my expectations, the apartment was HUGE. They published a square-meter spec for the category of room I reserved, and my jaw dropped when I opened the door. I didn't have a room - I had an expanse. One that in 3 weeks I never managed to fill. Have you ever checked into a hotel knowing that your room was an exact mirror image of the next room? And that there were dozens - if not hundreds - of identical rooms in the same hotel? This is not that hotel. Every room is unique - I forget how many rooms appeared on the fire escape chart for my floor, but I distinctly remember that no two were even remotely the same. My room was approximately perfect, and I requested it again for 2020 (no, I'm not going to tell you the room number, I want to return to it in 2021, and so on, and I want it to be available in advance). Not enough could be said about the food & drink options in the immediate neighborhood. Zluta Pumpa directly across the street is a great place to get a beer - though Tomas at the bar can mix pretty much anything you can think of. They advertise as a Tex-Mex restaurant. They're not - it's a Czech interpretation of Tex-Mex that tastes quite good, but it ain't Tex-Mex. Hlucna Samota, kitty-corner from Mamaison, has good goulash, I can't speak to their other menu items, but I returned for the goulash twice. Cafe Zanzibar, up the hill one block has fantastic breakfast - I went there for breakfast pretty much every day, only downside being that like most things in Prague, they don't open until 9. And the best surprise is Las Adelitas 2 blocks away. What's this? Mexican in Prague? THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY WORK. I dated a woman whose mother was Mexican - not certain that her mom's food wasn't a factor (okay, it was barely a factor, but THAT was Mexican food, and it was outstanding). Las Adelitas is better. It's not just the best Mexican food in Prague, it's the best Mexican food I've ever eaten, and I grew up pretty freakin' close to Mexico (relative to Prague). I singled out 4 restaurants, and ignored 20 within the same distance - not because I know better, but because I loved what I found and didn't look further. Your opinion will differ, and there will be no end of options. This is in the perfect location. There's a convenience store a block away in every direction, I developed a preference for Supermarket Linda on Bruselska for daily basics. For more conventional shopping I'd suggest a longer walk to the Albert at Namesti Miru or Potraviny Vavra on Francouska - the latter seems to have the best non-Czech red wine selection (Czech Republic is basically a vineyard - it's also north of the Canadian border. Can't speak to the whites, but the reds are *adequate*. If you're attuned to Sonoma or Columbia valley reds, Vavra has some nice Argentine selections that hold up well). This part of Vinohrady is neither inundated by too many people nor desolate. It's both quiet and lively (I've read complaints in reviews about the nighttime noise coming from Zluta Pumpa, but in fairness, the proprieters are vigilant about noise, and for 3 weeks this past summer, I was part of the problem most nights - it's just a great, chill place to hang out - and Tomas was reminding us to use our inside voices, like real Czechs do). This is just a hotel of nice apartments in the perfect location in Prague if you're going to stay for more than 15 minutes, and reasonably priced. I have literally only 1 complaint: the tips were broken off of all the pool cues. Didn't go to Prague to play pool, but did need to do laundry a couple times, and there's a pool table in the basement rec room, for while I was waiting - would have been nice if the balls went the direction I pointed them...

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“not all stars as they were restructurating”

nice place, unforunately restructurating when we were there so not everything was top, but we enjoyed the room, the sauna and the fact that the metro is quite close and there are nice places for a dinner out or a drink out

“Great Location, Quirky Hotel”

This was my first experience at a Mamaison Hotel, and this hotel near Namasti Miru was overall very pleasant. It is in a residential neighborhood, though still lively with restaurants and bars around. St Lumila is up the block next to the metro. There is a Czech restaurant on the corner of Namast... more

This was my first experience at a Mamaison Hotel, and this hotel near Namasti Miru was overall very pleasant. It is in a residential neighborhood, though still lively with restaurants and bars around. St Lumila is up the block next to the metro. There is a Czech restaurant on the corner of Namasti Miru that serves good traditional food, too! The apartment itself was furnished nicely, though the color scheme is a bit outdated. The bedroom had an en suite bathroom; however, there is no toilet in there! The toilet is next to the front apartment door....that was the biggest quirk! There was also a lack of closet and storage space in the bedroom for suitcase and clothing. The bed was comfier than most hotel beds, though I did wake up hotter than usual because the apartment did not have A/C or a fan in my room. I opted to open the window over night and heard a lot of noise Saturday night. I enjoyed the breakfast croissant with nutella in the morning, and the espresso machine was good. The hotel could improve by providing tea and instant coffee in the kitchen, though. I rate this a 4 out of 5 because though nice to stay in an apartment style hotel, it has room for improvement.

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“Nice Place to Stay”

My husband, son & I stayed here for a couple of days. It has a kitchen, large living area along with a bedroom. The hotel was nice, but not very convenient to St. Wenceslas Square and other areas of interest. Fortunately, we enjoy walking (it was at least a 20 minute walk to the square) The front... more

My husband, son & I stayed here for a couple of days. It has a kitchen, large living area along with a bedroom. The hotel was nice, but not very convenient to St. Wenceslas Square and other areas of interest. Fortunately, we enjoy walking (it was at least a 20 minute walk to the square) The front desk person on our first day was not very knowledgeable abut the area-frustrating. The second day, the other person was very good. The MAJOR BUMMER -ELEVATOR did not work while we were there-VERY INCONVENIENT because we all had luggage!!!

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