Prague: Check Out Josef
P
R A G U E . . .
CHECK
OUT
JOSEF &
CHECK IN
MAXIMILIAN
TEXT:
FRANK KUZNIK
PHOTOS: JULIA
CALFEE
When
Austrians Rudolf and Christian Ploberger visited Prague in 1990, just
after the
Velvet Revolution, they were struck by the lack of a fine personal
hotel.
Rudolf had such a hotel in Wels, Austria, the Best Western Hotel
Ploberger, a
charming 92-room property near the city’s historic town center. He and
Christian decided to create similarly stylish, sophisticated
accommodations in
the heart of Prague that would suit the needs and tastes of modern
travelers,
yet reflect the grand architectural traditions of the Bohemian capital.
Today, Hotel
Josef and Maximilian Hotel stand as
gleaming monuments to their efforts, smart design hotels that seamlessly
combine comfort and class in the midst of Prague’s historic attractions.
Under
the guidance of General Manager Manfred Tobolka, who brings a high level
of
service standards from Vienna, both hotels offer unique settings,
thoughtful
amenities and a captivating travel experience to match the beauty and
charm of
their surroundings.
To realize
their vision, the Plobergers enlisted noted Czech architect Eva Jiricna.
Born
in the Moravian town of Zlin, Eva followed in her architect father’s
footsteps,
studying in Prague and London, where she was forced to stay by the
Soviet
invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. But she turned misfortune to
advantage,
designing residential, retail and public projects for clients ranging
from the
London Docklands Development Corporation to Harrods, for which she has
won many
awards, including a recognition for lifetime achievement from the Czech
Ministry of Culture in 2009.
In addition
to her work for the Plobergers, Eva has made other significant
contributions to
Prague architecture. Her glass and steel orangery at Prague Castle added
a
contemporary touch to a landmark set of heritage buildings, and her
renovation
of St. Anne’s Church in Old Town for former President Vaclav Havel’s
VIZE 97
foundation established an important philanthropic and cultural center
that reflects
its new name and mission: Prague Crossroads. Her firm, Eva Jiricna
Architects,
is noted for its innovative use of classic materials — glass, steel and
stone — in a harmony of architecture and
engineering, a holistic approach exemplified by the Hotels Josef and
Maximilian.
HOTEL
JOSEF
Unlike most
of its Old Town neighbors, Hotel Josef, which opened its doors in June
2002, is
not an old structure dressed up to look new. It was designed from the
ground
up, inside and out, by Eva with an unusual attention to detail. From the
Thonet
chairs and tables in the breakfast room to the Baleri armchairs and
Philippe
Starck fittings in the guest rooms, the hotel is a compendium of modern
design,
assembled with great thought and care to create an airy yet substantive
environment. The overall design captures elements of Bohemian crystal
and the
city’s famed Cubist and Functionalist architecture, blending them with
elegance
and purity of tone.
Entering the
lobby, one barely feels indoors, with the floor-to-ceiling windows
spilling in
plenty of light and acting as a frame for the activity on the
cobblestoned
street. Front-panel lighting on the reception desk and the lobby bar add
a
soft, radiant glow to the white and cream color scheme. The centerpiece
of the
lobby is one of Eva’s favorite design elements, a glass and steel spiral
staircase, engineered so neatly into a compact space that it manages to
be both
stunning and unobtrusive.
The hotel’s
109 rooms are split between two buildings, the front “pink house” and
the rear
“orange house.” The two structures are connected by a glass walkway that
affords a view onto the landscaped courtyard, a soothing patch of green
in an
urban environment. The breakfast room, with its classic canework and
steel tube
seats designed by Marcel Breur for Thonet, also look onto the courtyard,
where
guests can dine or just relax at outdoor tables during the warmer
months.
The rooms
offer everything a modern traveler expects: a plasma TV, DVD-CD player,
free
high-speed Internet, mini-bar, bathrobe, hair dryer, tea and coffee
facilities
and air-conditioning. Most of the rooms face the courtyard and are
soundproof.
A majority of them are non-smoking.
Splashes of
color brighten the dominant white and neutral tones of the rooms, which
offer
some distinctive touches. Eva personally designed the desks and beds,
and in a
whimsical stroke, gave the bathrooms in 35 of the rooms glass walls,
frosting
those that hold the WC and shower as a nod to modesty. The coat hangers,
the
flowers, even the menu cards were all selected to fit the overall tone
and
design.
Business
services, though discreetly placed, are also up to four-star standards.
There
are three air-conditioned conference rooms, one of which offers access
to a
private garden. Located conveniently off the connecting glass walkway, a
work
center offers free use of PCs and a printer. Translation and secretarial
services are available, and busy executives can also take advantage of a
limousine service, laundry and dry cleaning, a fitness area with
exercise
machines on the sixth floor, and a sauna and massage room. There are
also
guarded indoor parking spaces.
Perhaps the
most striking feature of Hotel Josef is its clean, uncluttered look,
brightened
throughout by light, natural colors and the ubiquitous use of glass. The
unbroken lines and airy feeling open up all the spaces, making them seem
larger, and offering the eye and mind a respite from the visual overload
on
Prague streets. After a busy day sightseeing or in meetings, the Hotel
Josef is
like an oasis, calm and cool, a relaxed, luxurious retreat from the
cares of
the world.
If you are
staying at the Hotel Josef in early June, chances are you will run into a
famous author. That’s when the Prague Writers’ Festival, which is
celebrating
its 20th anniversary in 2010, brings an A-list of international
literary figures to the city for insightful talks, lively discussions,
book
signings and other encounters with their readers. Guests who have
appeared at
the festival over the years include Nobel Prize winners Nadine Gordimer
and
Harold Pinter, Pulizer Prize winners Jeffrey Eugenides and Michael
Cunningham,
Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, Arab poet Adonis, American cartoonist
Robert
Crumb and German poet and essayist Hans Magnus Enzensberger. Among the
luminaries appearing at the 2010 festival are Nobel Prize winners Herta
Müller,
Gao Xingjian and Derek Walcott.
The president
of the Prague Writers’ Festival, Michael March, is a poet himself, with
five
collections of published works. You can read a sample of his work, “When
She
Danced,” which is posted in the lobby year-round.