Czech Republic Hotels

One of the few guidebooks that even bothers to mention it calls Kampa Island an "oasis of calm even on the busiest August day." It seems odd the island receives so little attention because, in addition to its quiet park and pretty square, it is home to a number of excellent hotels and restaurants. Today, shaded by giant chestnut trees, the park offers panoramic views of the river and the Charles Bridge, while the main square, Na Kampa, is a focal point for lots of low-key activities.

Na Kampa, in fact, was chosen as the setting for several scenes in the 1996 movie, Mission Impossible, and Tom Cruise actually stayed in the only hotel on the square, then known as the Sidi, but now reopened under the name Hotel U Cervene Sklenice. With only five rooms, it is the smallest and the least expensive of the island's hotels. Furnishings are strictly functional but all is well maintained and comfortable. Each room has private bath, satellite TV, phone, minibar, safe and terrific views of either the river or the square. Room Number 5 is best for river watching. Or ask for the second floor room facing the square and forever be able to assert, as we do, that Tom Cruise once spent the night in your bed.