"Experience at Hotel EA Sonata, Prague
Our booking for this hotel was made over the telephone by Fred Travel as part of a package deal for flights and accommodation with this hotel sold as 4*.
We arrived at the hotel late afternoon on 8/12/25 entering a small reception area where the receptionist was seated behind the counter. He gave us a card key for our room and directed us, still seated, to the lift for the 3rd floor which we found and entered the room with no problem. A notice by the reception desk stated that reception would be available from 7.00 AM to 7.00 PM. - outside those hours phone numbers were listed and the name of another hotel, EA Downtown, where assistance could be obtained. That hotel was stated as 30 meters distant (not much more than the width of one of the 4 roads where Hotel Sonata is located) but no indication as to which direction it referred and it certainly was not visible.
The room itself was spartan with a desk and one hard chair as well as a bed and a place to hang clothes where there was also a safe which worked. A television which could not be switched on with the handset was situated above the desk. A bathroom with shower, complete with a soap dispenser and towels was adjacent. There was adequate hot water. Adequate double glazing prevented street noise from the busy 4 road corner. The bed proved to be clean and comfortable but all the lights which were rather dim operated from one switch by the door and one by the bed. It was not possible to isolate a single bedside light - it was full light or nothing.
The buffet breakfast was available in a smallish room, too small for when a large tour group was present at the same time. Sharing tables with strangers was the order of the day. The food was plentiful in regards to quantity but the quality was mediocre. Fortunately the dining room staff were efficient in clearing tables.
The above is a fair description of what one could expect from a low to medium quality 2* hotel - we expect much more from 4* hotels and, at a minimum, staff available at least until midnight to attend to any problems that may arise. 4* hotels have better appointed rooms complete with a selection of toiletries, a telephone to reception, a TV that works, more places to sit than 1 hard chair, tea and coffee making facilities, a "please do not disturb" notice to place on the door handle - our room had been serviced whilst we were at breakfast which is not acceptable. This list could continue.
On our return to Hotel Sonata on the first night the card key worked well on both the front door and our room. The following night we returned to the hotel at 9.15PM only to find that our key would not operate the front door. After waiting some time, another returning guest facilitated our entry. Then we found that the key would not operate our room door and we returned to the reception area to work out what to do next. I then "explored" each of the 4 roads for at least 200 metres and found EA Downtown on a corner almost 200 metres away of the 4th. The receptionist there closed reception and accompanied me back to Sonata where he reprogrammed our keys. He also informed us that problems with the keys happens often. I would question now whether the receptionist in Sonata actually had programmed the keys correctly on our arrival but he was not there at 9.15 PM to correct the error.
During my stay I observed that the only means of exit from the third floor, other than the small lift, was a spiral staircase where, as can be seen on one of the hotel's promotional photographs, there is no handrail on the outside curve of the staircase. In the event of a fire or other emergency requiring a swift exit those stairs would be a hazard to all guests other than the most nimble with a good head for heights. This hotel should be given a thorough safety audit because if such a serious hazard was so obvious one can only wonder what else needs attention (such as a lift breakdown between 7.00 PM and 7.00 AM when those stuck in the lift could not walk to EA Downtown to get assistance) for the safety of guests.
We checked out the following morning, returned our keys and were dismissed by the receptionist with, "You can go now" as if he was dismissing a servant. He was then told of our dissatisfaction with the standards of the hotel particularly with our being unable to access the hotel and room the previous evening. His reply was initially to blame us for not phoning stated numbers on the board which our phone was not able to do and that we had been told to go to the other hotel. When the inadequate directions were pointed out to him he started to blame the management for that and for the keys - nothing was his fault and a proper courteous manner, including a lack of apology, to hotel guests was not part of his skills base.
If you are contemplating staying at this hotel I would advise that you look elsewhere since there are good quality 4* hotels in Prague. Don't be fooled by some of the high quality reviews because many of them are identical and lack specifics."
