The Golden Wheel

An intimate little hotel at the foot of Prague Castle, blending period features with modern design

Guests of the Golden Wheel (U Zlateho Kola in Czech) can be forgiven feeling a little smug. The hotel is small, sleek and wonderfully placed, while its interior reads like an architectural timeline. More to the point, the hotel remains relatively unknown, which is a real bonus in a city as popular as Prague.

Originally a medieval blacksmith's, the hotel stands in a row of handsome Baroque houses on the main drag up to Prague Castle. Crisp, modern rooms are scattered higgledy-piggledy about the building, and yet there's something artful about the layout; little stairways link different levels, while medieval nooks and crannies are transformed into bijou exhibition spaces for modern sculpture. Period features, such as decorated beams, Baroque stucco ceilings and a medieval well are set against modern design statements in glass: a new central atrium, glass-walled lifts and a tiny glass-floored balcony.

Prague Castle looms above a small walled garden to the rear. If the flag flies at full mast, you may even catch a glimpse of the Czech President himself, whose quarters overlook the hotel.

Highs

• With only 17 rooms, the service here is excellent and personalised
• The hotel combines the tone of a friendly guesthouse with the comforts of a top-end hotel (well, most of them)
• One of the main perks has to be the hotel's position right at the foot of Prague Castle, though unusual features such as the tiny walled garden and the little glass-floored balcony add to the charm

Lows

• Only five of the rooms have air conditioning
• Food options are limited to the snacks served at Arcadia café