It's rare, I know. My young son, Josh (Bless 'im), who is now 4 years old doesn't feature in the body of this review since he stayed with his Grandmother whilst I treated Amanda to a St Valentine's / pre-40th birthday trip to Prague. Had the weather been warmer, I reckon that he would actually have loved it, since Prague actually has quite a lot on offer for kids, even if it's billed as a fairly adult location. We spent two nights there, stayed at the Hilton, and concentrated on more grown-up things. I'm certainly not saying that we hired the prostitutes that, apparently, are two-a-penny. I'm just saying that we didn't watch a single episode of "Scooby Doo" during our very pleasant stay. And, frankly, that was something of a relief (with full apologies to Scooby, Scrappy and the rest of the litter).

I had booked on-line through the Hilton website, and this was efficient and, dare I say, tickety-boo. It's always nice to arrive at an hotel, safe in the knowledge that one's booking is secure, and ours was. Very much so!

...The Prague Hilton. A huge, blue, glass cube on the south bank of the river Vlatva. You really can't miss it. It's even got its name on the top of its 8th storey atrium. With 788 rooms on 8 floors, it's the biggest hotel in the Czech Republic.

The first test of a five star hotel? Does it have a liveried doorman? Yes - and the guy was standing outside in full uniform and a rather nice fur hat in the kind of sub-zero temperatures that kept the town pleasantly quiet. We were offered help with our bags. This was not to be a first time; we declined and strolled through the giant revolving door and into the hotel.

Check-in was calm, quick, efficient and, as a Hilton Hhonors Gold VIP member, being allocated to room 8037 - was a delight, because floors 7 and 8 are Executive floors. The room was a long walk from the 6 swift lifts (or elevators - two of which are of the expozed glass type). So we got full Club Lounge treatment. In simple language, that's free, high quality, drinks all night. Add a huge plasma TV with cordless headseats so that other guests don't need to share your particular sounds, and you have such a winning combination that Prague's nightclubs, bars or Jazz clubs begin to lose their appeal. Excellent, though they are!

The bathroom was great. Deep bath, and a shower that - for once - showers ON you, rather than AT you. In my humble opinion, this makes a real difference! Toiletries were high quality, as were the fixtures and fittings - and there were two fluffy bathrobes. Always a nice touch, and I have never understood why hotels have provided only one in a double room.

Cooked breakfast was fine (2nd morning). On the first morning, however, I went for the continental version and it was, quite repulsive. I never knew that packaged cereal could be so much of a let-down! Maybe that's just Eastern Europe for you!