As a beautiful city gradually being rediscovered by the wider world, Prague is a great place to visit and enjoy, with its historic buildings, majestic open places and warm embrace of the post-Communist world. Many of the fine hotels that have emerged or been sustained in this time offer wonderful places to stay while exploring the Czech capital, with one in particular standing out for art lovers – the Le Palais Art Hotel Prague. The emphasis on art and luxury has to be seen to be believed. Staying here is like residing in an art gallery for a few days. It features the works of Le Corbusier, Milos Reindl, Ludek Marold, Pavel Skalnik, Jadran Setlik, Pavel Brunclik and Lea Vivot, ensuring every room and corridor is decorated with some superb paintings, drawings and sculptures.
If the hotel is one that appears fit for the VIP art lover, the luxury backs this up. There is a limousine service featuring Mercedes cars, while the guest relation service can help guests make the most of their stay with a personal shopper, or trips to go hunting, visiting Prague’s great castles, horse riding or golfing – and much else besides. Of course, this hotel did not get to be so good overnight. First built in 1841, it was reconstructed in the Belle Epoque style of architecture between 1888 and 1897, echoing the joyful optimism of the ‘New Renaissance’ period and featuring elements such as the frescoes by Ludek Marold. The hotel was taken over in 2013 by Italian businessman Dr Nino Altomonte, who teamed up with Czech architect Richard Zachar to transform it into a true work of art. The sheer quality of what is on offer has been widely recognised.
It was already the reigning World Travel Award Leading boutique hotel in the Czech Republic when it was taken over in 2013 and that year saw no less than four awards being conferred on Le Palais. It picked up the European Finest Hotels Award, the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award for the best service, the Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor for Restaurant Le Papillon and the Expedia Insiders’ Select award.This is not just a hotel that looks good, but one that reaches the very highest standards.
