Spa Hotel Felicitas

I was very happy with this hotel. I took a weekend trip here on my own from Prague (where I live). If you are in the CZR for a short trip, I would not put Poděbrady a the top of my list, but it is a very charming and relaxing little spa town that is a quick train ride (one hour) from Prague. This hotel is a very short walk from the train station. Basically, if you are not familiar with Czech spa towns, they all have feature a large park that runs through the city, called the colonnade. In Poděbrady, the train station is at one end of the colonnade and the hotel is kind of in the middle. Spa towns were originally destinations centered around mineral springs for rich people who would come for long, restorative stays. Mostly walking and drinking the mineral waters in the towns. They are now focused on health — many Czech people come to them for long stays prescribed by their doctors post-surgery/injury or for other medical reasons. But a lot of people come for a short relaxation. I booked the stay through Booking.com, and got a pretty good rate (with breakfast). Hotel itself is quite modern. Everything was perfectly clean and the bed was comfortable. My room did not have AC, but I discovered after arriving that there are upgrade rooms that do have AC. I was fine with the fan that was provided and an open window, although if you are very hot at night, I would suggest looking into the AC rooms. I booked two spa services directly with the hotel — a 50 minute aroma massage and a facial massage with mask. Massages in the CZR are just different from in the US. Not as much of a “spa” experience, where the focus is totally on your relaxation/comfort, and there is not the draping that we are used to. Both services were pretty good, though — the facial massage was more like the “spa” treatment I am used to in the US. There is a small indoor swimming pool in the hotel, and the wellness center has a sauna. Given that it was rather hot when I was here, these were not appealing, but in the winter they would be nice. The wellness center is modern and had a nice “relaxation zone” — chaise longues with tea/water provided. The breakfast was a very large selection (eggs, cooked meats, deli meats, multiple choices of breads and pastries, cereals, oatmeal, juices, coffees) and was good. I did not book the “half board” (polopenze), which would include dinner, and I would recommend not booking that. There are lots of restaurants on the colonnade very close by, and if you end up wanting to eat at the hotel restaurant, you can just do that and pay for it separately. In terms of things to do, basically walking or renting bikes would be the main activity. The Elbe river runs through the town, so you could probably walk along that (I did not). I saw the small museum that is located in the castle/chateau (chateau is called zámek in Czech) — the Polabské Muzeum. It has a description of the history of the castle, which dates back to the 1200s, and some artifacts. Not a must-see, but if you are here, why not? I ate at Cafe Oliver (food good, service poor) and at Cucina (food good, service good).