Discount car rental prague

The following is a listing of some of the hotels, B&Bs, etc., in which ITN readers have stayed over the past year or so plus restaurants or sights nearby. Prices are those paid at the time of the visit and conversion

rates are approximate.

When writing to ITN about accommodations, always include the PRICES and addresses/ LOCATIONS, along with the DATE (month/year) of your visit. Also, please state whether the price is per person or per room and, if it is per room, whether it's for a double or single room.

Lastly, we welcome pictures with your write-up, whether they are interior or exterior shots of the hotel or just sights in the area. Color or B&W prints or slides are fine. Thank you.

Write to Accommodations Worldwide, c/o ITN, 2120 28th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include your surface-mail address).

Europe

My husband and I prefer an apartment to a hotel when we visit our favorite, city of Pads, FRANCE, so in October '03 we signed a contract with Barclay (www.barclayweb.com) and made full payment for a one-week stay in April '04. Two weeks before our trip, the apartment was removed from the market and Barclay was unable to find an equivalent place.

However, we had the great good fortune to find, on the Internet, France By Heart (Box 614, Mill Valley, CA 94942; phone 415/388-3075, fax 415/388-3074, e-mail josette@francebyheart.com or visit www.francebyheart.com).

Ken and Josette Varcoe, who operate this site, were great to work with and found us a charming one-bedroom house on the rue Tournelle in the Marais (fourth arrondissement). It was just perfect, and at $1,625, all inclusive, it could not be beat.

We will be happy to give further details by phone at 202/363-8230 or by e-mail at estchar@aol.com.

--ESTELLE & CHARLES FELDMAN, Washington, D.C.

Four of us took a 5-week trip to Germany, Switzerland and Austria, June 3-July 10, '03. We had first-class railpasses and by the end of the trip had taken 74 trains, 12 local buses, one tour bus, seven taxis, five trams, eight boats, four subways, four funiculars, two cable cars, five personal cars and four vans. The following establishments were the ones that were most outstanding.

* At Gastehaus Am Romerbad (56856 Zell-Mosel, GERMANY; phone 06542/41602), the landlady, Elizabeth, was very sweet and hospitable. We had a private room with shower, toilet and sink. It was immaculate! We paid 40 [euro] (near $47) per couple and it included an excellent breakfast with eggs, hard rolls and bread plus butter and jelly, three kinds of meat, cheese, and coffee in a carafe.

* Restaurant Rusticana (Oberstrasse 40, 55422 Bacharach/Rhein, Germany; phone 06743/1741) had very friendly and helpful owners, John and Astrid. They even gave us ice for beer (on our second visit). Dinner was excellent, including great apple strudel with ice cream. The cost for four dinners, two desserts, two coffees, two beers and two wines was 49 [euro] ($58).

* Ristorante Pizzeria da Vincenzo (Rathausstr. 9, 55430 Oberwesel, Germany) had excellent pizza--perfect crust. The staff was helpful. We asked for and received a pitcher of ice water (not sparkling). The facility was spotless, with clean restrooms. We paid 30.68 [euro] ($36) for two pizzas, six beers and one wine.

Be sure to arrive at the train stations in Germany about five to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departures. Sometimes the trains leave before the posted times.

* In SWITZERLAND we stayed at the unique Locanda Gandriese (CH 6978 Gandria, Switzerland)--in a gorgeous setting. It was fabulous. The rooms were very clean and the staff great. We paid 100 [euro] ($118) per night for a double with shared bath down the hall and a sink in the room (no problem). This included breakfast. Dinners were available from the on-site restaurant.

You can arrive there by taxi or bus or take a boat from Lugano or from various docks. To save money on the boat, buy a round-trip ticket.

* In AUSTRIA we stayed at the excellent Familien Hotel Erika-Schorer GmbH. (Josef-Pirchl-Strasse 21-A, 6370 Kitzbuhel, Austrial-Tirol), a 15-minute walk from the Bahnhof.

It was absolutely beautiful. The place was spotless. We paid 158 [euro] ($187) for a double and that included dinner, afternoon tea and treats and breakfast. The 5-course dinners were excellent. The full breakfast had made-to-order eggs, bread, buns, cereal and fruit.

The staff was very friendly and helpful and earned a generous tip. Expression of thanks was welcomed and appreciated by them.

* We ate two times at the Brau Haus in Hallstatt, Austria. It is located right on the lake, toward the salt mine. The food was excellent, served outside by the water on tables with red-and-white checked tablecloths or inside the clean and cute restaurant.

For 66 [euro] ($78) we had dinner for four including garlic soup, pork, homemade noodles, five large beers and one white wine. On another visit for 55 [euro] we had a wienerschnitzel, two soups and one macaroni and cheese with beers and a wine.

* In Vienna we stayed at Pension Anna (Zieglergasse 18/1, 1070 Vienna, Austria; phone +43-1 523 01 60 or e-mail pension.anna@chello.at)--a wonderful conclusion to our trip. (We learned of it in ITN, April '01, pg. 162.) You can walk there from the train if your luggage rolls.

The rooms were clean and well supplied. The rate was 100 [euro] for a double and included a good breakfast. The staff was especially friendly and helpful. They gave us valuable tips on how to get around Vienna. You can get a 24-hour pass (5 [euro] each) for all kinds of transportation in the city (bus, trolley, subway).

We arranged a taxi to the airport (28 [euro] for four of us) and they were on time (picked us up at 4:30 a.m. sharp) and quick.

--JANE & FLIP RICHARDS, Surprise, AZ

During our independent driving tour from Prague to Rome in May-June '03, Europe was experiencing record high heat.

* In Prague we chose the historic Grand Hotel Europa (Wenceslas Square 25, Prague 1, CZECH REPUBLIC; phone 420 224 228 117, fax 420 224 -224 544 or e-mail info@itastour.cz), a 3-star, Art Nouveau-style property dating from 1906. There was an elevator but no air-conditioning.

The rooms were large. 109 [euro] ($137) for a double with bath. A substantial breakfast (included) was served in a beautiful, oval-shaped hall overlooking the restaurant/bar below.

* We picked up our rental car in Prague and began our journey. Our first stop was Nuremberg, GERMANY, where we stayed at the Romantik Hotel am Josephsplatz (Josephsplatz 30/32, 90 403, Nuremberg, Germany; phone 0911-21 44 70, fax 0911-22 44 72 00 or e-mail josephsplatz@romantikhotels.com).

This beautifully decorated boutique hotel is nestled in the heart of town. It has 36 well-furnished rooms and a tiny elevator that would carry either two people or two pieces of luggage (but not both). While it didn't have air-conditioning, our room did have a small fan and two large windows. 60 [euro]-120 [euro] ($75-$151) for a double with breakfast.

Breakfast was a lavish buffet in a pretty breakfast room with an attentive staff. In fact, we really enjoyed the staff, especially one receptionist who had a great sense of humor and with whom we enjoyed chatting and joking.

The next day we chose a German-speaking tour of Kaiserburg Castle. We don't speak German, but one of the men on the tour was gracious enough to interpret for us, even staying afterward to tell us more. He was very friendly, helpful and generous with his time.

On the way to Munich we thought we'd spend an hour at the concentration camp at Dachau. We ended up spending the afternoon--and slept fitfully that night. "Dachau: the significance of this name will never be erased from German history."

--Eugene Kogon

* We selected another hotel in the Romantik chain in Munich, the Romantik Hotel Insel Muhle (Von-Kahr Strasse 87, 80 999 Munchen-Untermenzing, Germany; phone 089-810 10, fax 089-812 05 71, e-mail insel-muhle@t-online.de or visit www.weber-gastronomie.de).

This hotel is on the outskirts of Munich. It boasted huge, comfortable rooms with balconies overlooking a garden with a babbling brook. There was a Biergarten on site with a pond, shade trees and a children's playground. German families came to have picnics, drink beer, play cards and relax. Snacks, ice cream and full meals were available in the Biergarten. In the restaurant, a complimentary cake was provided for my husband's birthday.

106 [euro]-140 [euro] ($133-$176) for a double with bath and breakfast. Free parking.

--KARYN DeMARTELAERE, Chandler, AZ

On a quick trip to Portugal and Spain in November '03, we discovered two beautiful palace hotels.