Trip Report: Central Europe in Category One Hyatts

Sure, Hyatt is great for booking beautiful luxury hotels, but its award chart contains many sweet spots across its different categories. Hyatt has a fixed award chart by price category, and assigns each hotel to a category. The cheapest category, category one, prices nights at 3,500, 5,000, or 6,500 points a night. The price is dependent on if the night has standard, low, or high season pricing, but this can change from one night to another with little sense. The next cheapest points option in each city can be two to five times as expensive per night, so category one hotels are a great deal.

Central Europe has a few of these hotels, which are Hyatt Place Krakow, Lindner Prague, Lindner Vienna, and Lindner Bratislava. I visited Krakow, Prague, and Vienna, and instead of paying 50,000 points for one night in a luxury hotel, I paid 51,500 points for ten nights across the three cities. The cash value of these stays was approximately $1,425, or 2.7 cents a point. The cash prices were collected at time of booking. These hotels can also be a great way to get started on the Hyatt Brand Explorer award, which grants a free night at a category one through four hotel, for every five Hyatt brands you stay in.

Hyatt points can only be transferred from Chase or Bilt. I transferred my points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Hyatt Place Krakow

Points price: 21,500 points - 4 nights

Cash price: $705 - 3.2 cpp

Pros: This hotel was opened in 2021, and it shows, compared to the other hotels on this trip. It also has a room option that can be booked for up to three adults, unlike the other hotels, which only allow bookings for two adults in their standard rooms. This room could be a tight fit, as it’s a king bed plus a small sofa bed, but the extra space is also nice if you’re just booking for two. There’s a tram stop in front of the hotel, called Reymann station, which will take you right to old town. 

Cons: For some, the location of this hotel may be less ideal. It’s close to a public park, which is more of an expansive meadow, and you’ll need to travel to any tourist activity. However, transportation in Krakow is cheap by American standards. Tram tickets cost ~$1, Ubers will cost $5-15. One night was also at peak pricing, and I didn’t really know why until I arrived and the hotel was 100% booked for a rugby tournament held at the stadium next door. 

Food recommendations: I enjoyed Miod i Malina in Old Town, and Emalia by the Schindler’s Factory Museum. Check out ‘milk bars,’ or bar mleczny, for a cheap, traditional lunch. These were subsidized lunch spots during the Communist era. They’re not particularly famous among Polish people, but a tourist interest.

Touristy things to do: Wawel Castle, at least the grounds. Czartoryski Museum for a work of Leonardo da Vinci that isn’t surrounded by 100 people. Kazimierz neighborhood for Ulica Szeroka (‘Wide Street’) and Krakow’s synagogues, such as the Old Synagogue or Tempel Synagogue. For history, a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the Schindler Factory Museum (you don’t necessarily need a guided tour for this one). Wieliczka Salt Mine is a must, and book your tour ahead of time to skip the long lines in person. In Old Town, see St. Mary’s Basilica, Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), and the Underground Museum if you have time. For a unique memento, check out the famous Polish ceramics ‘Boleslawiec Ceramika’ - this is a type of ceramics, not a single store, and you’ll be able to find several stores that sell it throughout Poland.

Splurge option: If you’re not looking for a budget stay, I’d recommend the Hotel Saski, located in the main square and typically about $200-250/night. It’s a Hilton hotel, not Hyatt, and standard pricing is 50,000 points a night, which I wouldn’t recommend as a redemption with those cash rates. This hotel is part of Amex’s Hotel Collection, which grants $100 property credit and a room upgrade.

Lindner Hotel Prague Castle

Points price: 20,000 - 4 nights

Cash price: $447 - 2.2 cpp

Pros: Lindner Prague offers a large room and bathroom. It’s close to one of the mai tourist attractions, the Prague Castle, the scenic tram number 22. It’s significantly cheaper than the Andaz Prague, the other Hyatt option in Prague, and generally, still one of the better points options for hotels in Prague. 

Cons: The room and hotel are quite dated, the oldest of the three hotels. The only nearby major attraction was the castle, and it was still quite a bit of a walk. For the old town, you’ll need to cross a river, in either tram or taxi. Bolt, an app similar to Uber, is a cheap transportation option, and its intro offers will be more competitive than Uber. Prague as a city is a bit less walkable due to its hilly landscape and winding streets, so plan accordingly.

Food recommendations: Lokal, Kuchyň by the Prague Castle, Cafe Letka for a good café to work in, Venue for brunch.

Touristy things to do: Check out the beautiful Old Town Square and wait for the hour to turn to see its medieval clock turn. To see some beautiful libraries, see the Strahov library, next to Lindner Prague, or see the Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library. If you want even more books, take a photo in Prague’s book tunnel in Municipal Library. See the Prague Castle, and the beautiful views of the city from the general area of the castle. I did a self-organized walking tour, focusing on the Art Nouveau architecture, and hitting the important spots like Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge.

Splurge option: Andaz Prague, available for ~25,000 points or $350 to $500 a night in cash. This hotel can be booked with Hyatt Privé in cash, a special travel agent program that allows you to earn points and status qualifying nights. At Andaz Prague, Hyatt Privé and offers breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, a room upgrade, and sometimes, a 3rd night free offer, for the same price as the standard refundable room rate. Reach out if you’d like to make a Hyatt Privé booking. 

Lindner Hotel Vienna Am Belvedere

Points price: 10,000 - two nights

Cash price: $272 - 2.7 cpp

Pros: I enjoyed this hotel’s proximity to Rennweg station, which has direct trains to the Vienna airport, and to the Unteres Belvedere tram 71 stop, which takes you directly to the Opera and Innere Stad/1st District of the city in just a few minutes. Suites are more available here than in the other hotels, though I didn’t stay in one. The room is more renovated than the Lindner Prague. You’re next to Belvedere, which is an attraction you’d likely want to see while in Vienna. If you’re a runner, the Belvedere grounds in the morning were a great running location (though, on gravel).

Cons: The room layout is less than ideal. You have a private toilet room, but the sink and shower are in the same room as your bed, and there’s a bit of an awkward divider between the shower and the rest of the room, which doesn’t grant full privacy. It felt as if the bathroom situation kept getting worse from hotel to hotel. The Hyatt Place Krakow had a great, normal, and nicely renovated bathroom. The Lindner Prague had a separate, large bathroom, though as the rest of the hotel, it was not renovated, and the Lindner Vienna’s bathroom was newer but a lot more awkward and small than Prague.

Food recommendations: Glacis Beisl (reservations likely required), Cafe Central (long lines, but don’t miss), Demel. Near Lindner Vienna, Salm Brau for traditional Austrian and a short walk. Bring cash for restaurants in Vienna - compared to Prague and Krakow, a lot fewer restaurants will take cards.

Touristy things to do: For all the Hapsburg history, the Sisi Museum and Schonbrunn Palace (buy your ticket ahead of time, as you may end up waiting 2-3 hours if you buy in person). To pretend you’re a Habsburg, skip the Opera tour and attend the Vienna State Opera, and if you forgot to buy a ticket, buy a standing room ticket day of online or at the standing room box office. These tickets are only 13 to 18 euro, so don’t be convinced by the ticket resellers standing outside the Opera. For Klimt’s beautiful art, the museum at Belvedere Castle. Check the schedule of balls, and potentially attend one. Don't miss St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Splurge optiona: Hotel Imperial (Marriott, 50-90k/night), Hotel Bristol (Marriott, 40-80k/night), Ritz-Carlton (Marriott, 50-90k/night), Park Hyatt Vienna (25k/night Hyatt). These are bookable in cash through Hyatt Privé and Marriott Stars & Luminous, reach out to book with benefits like room upgrades, property credit, and breakfast.

How I Got There & Back

This trip was planned late, and I had a strict schedule to meet, limiting my flight options. On the way there, I used (or, got rid of) my constantly devaluing United miles, part of which I originally earned years ago through the United Quest 100,000 mile sign on bonus. I paid 44,000 miles for EWR-FRA-KRK. Through my United Quest card benefits, I got back 5,000 miles. I was hoping to buy a last minute ticket in United’s premium plus class, which failed, but luckily, the seat next to me was empty, giving me lots of space to stretch out. On the way back, I flew Air France premium economy for 35,000 miles and + $250, transferred from my Capital One card. I could have flown nonstop economy on Austrian Airlines for 35,000 miles, available on Lifemiles, plus $100.

Between Krakow and Prague, and between Prague and Vienna, I took trains - Krakow to Prague for $25 on state-owned trains, and Prague to Vienna on Regiojet, for $30, in their premium seats. 

If you’re looking to go on a similar trip, I would recommend looking at flights on Air France, which start at 20,000 one way standard pricing, or if Virgin Atlantic has those same flights, which start at 12,000 but have higher fees. Reach out through the award booking concierge if you’d like to find flights that work for you.