Penzión Balbín

“Nice place but it was the owner who made it wonderful!”

The Balbin was an unusual place to stay -- not quite hotel, not quite B and B -- but I grew to love it. First though keep in mind that parking is not available there, so a car is an issue. (It's easier to arrive via transit or taxi, but I had a car and had to deal with it and that's the main rea... more

The Balbin was an unusual place to stay -- not quite hotel, not quite B and B -- but I grew to love it. First though keep in mind that parking is not available there, so a car is an issue. (It's easier to arrive via transit or taxi, but I had a car and had to deal with it and that's the main reason -- that and no AC -- is why I did not give it five stars. Had I not needed parking I would have given it 100%.) And you won't need a car because the Balbin is located within a stone's throw of Wenceslas Square and public transit, an easy walk. The hotel takes up only part of the building, as other floors still have tenants in flats and apartments and is up on the fourth floor. If you are looking for air conditioning, keep looking, because like many other hotels in Europe it doesn't have it. ON the other hand, our room had a very large roof window that popped open and let the heat vent itself out. We were there after a heat wave had broken and so the air was pleasantly cool and fresh and we had no need of AC or even a fan. The room was fairly spartan but quite clean, and unlike a lot of places we stayed, actually had a full bath and a bathroom large enough to move around in. The beds were comfortable enough. Breakfast is included with your stay and consists of a classic Continental-style meal of cold cuts, different types of bread (excellent rye bread) cheeses, fruits, sweet rolls, and to my unexpected delight -- olives. The dining room is on the next floor down from the rooms, but only does breakfast. The structure, as said before, appears to have been a number of flats and was built in 1887, If I recall correctly, and has wide stairways, high ceilings and a teeny elevator which I rarely used, being somewhat claustrophic. If you're looking for 'new', this isn't for you. But it has its charms. But what really gets this place its high marks is the amount of care and trust and knowledge of Prague that the owner has. The desk is not manned 24/7, but there is a fridge stocked with pop and beer and other things that you can help yourself to so long as you write it down on a chit and pay for it later. Worked a charm. And helpful? I have never in my life stayed at a place where the owner/manager bent over backwards so much to make my stay pleasant. He solved my car-parking problems, told us the best ways to get around, called cabs for us, insisted I take up a breakfast tray to my wife who on the first day was just too tired to come to the dining room, discussed Czech literature with me, places to see, and so many other things. And the woman who worked the kitchen and dining room was as sweet-natured a person as you could want to meet. Tiny staff, but big big hearts. Honestly, you could not ask for nicer people. If history is your thing like it is mine, Balbin is sitting right on the front lines of the Prague Spring uprising in 1968. The owner said there are still tenants in the building who were at the barricades made of burned out and tipped over streetcars on Vinohradska Street that blocked Soviet tanks from reaching the Radio Prague building -- which itself is just around the corner less than a minute away. As for the neighbourhood it's largely abandoned by 10 PM. There is an exotic dance club across the street if that's your thing but in the time I was there never saw anybody enter or exit the place. There's an antique shop that's never open next door and a cafe that closes at 10 PM. But on the corner of Vinohradska and Balbinova just a few steps away is a nice Czech pub that serves (increasingly hard to find) traditional food and the real Czech Pilsner Urquell, and is open a little later if you're not an early diner, or looking for a hangout for drinks. So a short review of Balbin -- conveniently located, clean, simple but perfectly adequate, quaint, saturated in history, and run by the greatest innkeepers I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with.

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“Well worth the money ”

We paid around 140 euro for 4 nights in a twinroom. If you're after a bed and a private bathroom I think this is a great place to stay. The carpet is really disgusting tho, as it looks like it hasn't been cleaned but I'm not picky as long as the bathroom is clean and the bed, which they were. I ... more

We paid around 140 euro for 4 nights in a twinroom. If you're after a bed and a private bathroom I think this is a great place to stay. The carpet is really disgusting tho, as it looks like it hasn't been cleaned but I'm not picky as long as the bathroom is clean and the bed, which they were. I would not recommend this place to anyone who might be in bad shape as there are quite a few flight of stairs and a tiny elevator. However, it's located in a good spot, takes about 7 minutes to the metrostation Muzeum. You can hear people outside of your room which is annoying and I'm happy there aren't too many people staying here at the moment. We got a room in the attic and I can imagine it's getting pretty hot in the summer. However, they do have two windows you can open of needed. Nice and friendly staff. I give this place 4 out of 5 only for what it is, if you want something big and fancy - this is not the place.

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“Convenient Location, basic accommodation”

My husband, myself and my adult son stayed in the Ballbin in May of 2018. It was an easy walk from the subway. My only issue is that when we arrived we pressed the bell several times to no avail. We then went to a nearby cafe and my son had to incur roaming charges to call. The pension is run... more

My husband, myself and my adult son stayed in the Ballbin in May of 2018. It was an easy walk from the subway. My only issue is that when we arrived we pressed the bell several times to no avail. We then went to a nearby cafe and my son had to incur roaming charges to call. The pension is run by one person and he was busy vacuuming and couldn’t hear the bell. We had a room on the top floor of the building. There is no AC, however there was a skylight that opened and the owner provided us with a fan which was very much appreciated as it was quite warm during our stay. The accommodations are very basic but also very clean. The extras are minimal. We were each given a towel and a minuscule bar of soap so be sure that you have all of the other things that you need, shampoo, etc. The front desk is not manned 24/7. The first night I washed my hair and found that there was no hair blower but the owner provided us with one the next day, so be sure to check when you arrive if this is important to you. There was a refrigerated unit by the front desk with reasonably priced beer and wine available. You just filled out a chit with what you took and left the money for it in the room. We had breakfast included. The breakfast was quite nice. All in all not bad. My son went out the first night on his own. We only had one set of keys so the owner provided him with a code so that he could enter the front door and once he was to the fourth floor he had access to the wifi and could send us a text so we were able to open the door to our floor and let him in. I would stay there again, maybe not in the middle of the summer but any other time of the year.

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“Old but nice”

Booked online just 30 minutes before arrival. When I got there no one was there so I had to wait an hour. When the male owner came there he was very nice and cleaned out a juniorsuite really quick and upgraded me to a very nice room. Old facility, but still ok