Design your meeting or event in Prague with Hotel Josef or Maximilian Hotel
Daily Conference Package includes:
Promotional rate, daily conference package
If you are interested in details contact meetings@hoteljosef.com 
+420 777 818 023
and you will be provided with a tailor-made offer.
Prague Travel guide (06. Aug 2008)
Magazine: Telegraph
Author: Fred Mawer
Prague Travel guide
Visually, the Czech Republic’s capital is in many ways impossible to improve. The Stare Mesto and Mala Strana districts, either side of the Vltava River, together form one of Europe’s best preserved old city centres, with virtually every street an uplifting symphony of cobbles and extravagant Renaissance and baroque architecture.
And Prague is not just pleasing to the eye. It’s also a great city-break destination for classical concerts – wherever you are, you’ll hear the strains of Smetana and Dvořák wafting out of churches and upstairs windows – and for atmospheric cafés and pubs (and cheap beer).
But these days there’s no need to hole up with a Pilsner in a no-frills beer hall. Since the Velvet Revolution back in 1989, the city has transformed itself into a prosperous, sophisticated destination, with more than its fair share of glamorous cocktail bars, fancy restaurants and designer hotels.
1. Charles Bridge
For much of the day, the 14th-century pedestrian connection linking Stare Mesto and Mala Strana is thronged with buskers, beggars, caricaturists and tourists. So, if you can, stroll its length late at night or before breakfast, when you’ll have just the bridge’s blackened statues for company and an unimpeded view of the castle etched on the skyline. In the warmer months you can climb up into the old bridge towers (April-November 10am-6pm).
2. Prague Castle
Encompassing a series of interconnected courtyards, lovely gardens, the Gothic St Vitus’s Cathedral, the medieval cottages of Golden Lane (where Kafka briefly lived), plus many other historic buildings and several museums, the massive complex requires half a day to do it justice. Don’t miss the Story of Prague Castle, a permanent large-scale exhibition that opened last year in the Old Royal Palace.
During the day, the castle is always mobbed. To truly appreciate its haunting Kafkaesque quality, return in the evening. You do not need a ticket to access the courtyards, which stay open to midnight (11pm in winter).
00 420 224 373 368/224 372 434
www.hrad.cz
April-October 9am-5pm, November-March 4pm
Various tickets available
3. Jewish museum
Prague’s Jewish quarter, the Josefov, is now an elegant neighbourhood of art nouveau buildings and designer shops and cafés. The museum is spread over five synagogues dotted around the quarter, only one of which – the Old-New Synagogue – is still used for religious services.
The rest are exhibition centres and contain a huge collection of artefacts that movingly tell the history and persecution of the Czech Jews. It also includes the Old Jewish Cemetery, a forest of 12,000 lopsided tombstones squashed into an improbably small plot of land. Try to visit first thing: by mid-morning, everywhere gets swamped by chattering tour groups.
Josefov
00 420 222 317 191
www.jewishmuseum.cz
April-October Sun-Fri 9am-6pm; November-March Sun-Fri 9am-4.30pm
290Kc (£7), or 470 Kc (£12) including the Old-New Synagogue
4. Strahov Monastery
Other than to escape the castle-going crowds, the prime reason for visiting the Premonstratensian monastery is to gawp at the library – its frescoed and booked-lined Philosophical and Theological halls are glorious, ornate wonders. Elsewhere, there is an impressive display of religious art. Return to the city centre via the idyllic orchards below the complex.
Strahovske nadvori 1
00 420 233 107 730
www.strahovskyklaster.cz
Library: daily, 9am-noon, 1pm-5pm. Art gallery and convent: Tue-Sun, 9am-noon, 12.30pm-5pm
Library 80 Kc (£2); art gallery and convent 60 Kc (£1.50)
5. St Nicholas Church
This is the grandest of Prague’s many baroque churches and was built in the 1730s. It has an over-the-top interior and monumental dome decorated with hundreds of golden cherubs, swooning virgins and elaborate trompe l’oeil frescoes.
Malostranske namesti
www.psalterium.cz
March-October daily 9am-5pm; November-February daily 9am-4pm
60 Kc (£1.50) Rates are based on two people sharing a double room and include breakfast and taxes.
Maximilian
This good-value hotel was designed by a leading Czech architect, Eva Jiricna. Bedrooms are sleek and Cubist influenced, while public areas, such as the glass-walled library and drawing room with a help-yourself honesty bar system, are striking yet relaxing.
The location, on a cobbled square on the edge of the Old Town’s upmarket Josefov quarter, is excellent.
Hastalska 14
00 420 225 303 111
www.maximilianhotel.com
The DOX Center for Contemporary Art presents Manop, The Final First, a project by Barbora Slapetova and Lukas Rittstein, inspired by their several journeys to New Guinea where they met with a Stone Age people living in the rain forest. The project, comprising monumental photographs and sculptures, is not only the recounting of exotic stories and travelling through space and time.
Today, when more and more people tend to think dangerously alike, art’s capacity to suspend, even for a moment, our habitual ways of seeing may be its greatest value.
DOX is an independent initiative whose mission is to present contemporary art in the context of issues that shape and are shaped by today‘s world.
To encourage the growth of the local artistic community by facilitating collaboration and partnerships among regional and international artists and institutions.
To examine critical issues that cross boundaries between different fields such as architecture, design, sculpture, painting, photography, film and new media.
To create an environment for interaction, development and inspiration of different views and opinions.
The aim is not only to present exhibitions and works of art, but also to create a dynamic forum for social interaction.
Founders/ Initiators
The DOX Centre was initiated in 2002 by Leoš Válka, along with several partners (Robert Aafjes, Richard Fuxa and Václav Dejčmar). The goal of this initiative is to serve the wider public by creating a living arts centre, becoming a platform for the exhibition of Czech and international contemporary art.
Leoš Válka left for Australia in 1981 and came back again to permanently live in Prague in 1995. His field of enterprise is construction and interior design; his lifelong passion is architecture and contemporary art. He is the current director of the DOX centre.
Jaroslav Anděl, artistic director of DOX, produced numerous exhibitions and publications on modern and contemporary art at home as well as abroad.
Vicente Todoli, Director, Tate Modern, London
David Elliott, former Director of Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul
Willis Hartshorn, Director, International Centre of Photography, New York
Henry Meyric Hughes, Director, AICA, London
Suzanne Landau, Chief Curator, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Reyn van der Lugt, former Chief Curator, Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam
Jonas Mekas, Founder and Artistic Director, Anthology Film Archives, New York
DOX Prague, a.s. is a non-profit company pursuant to section 56 (1) of the act no. 513 / 1991 Coll., Czech commercial code as subsequently amended.
New York, February 9, 2009 – Tablet Hotels the world’s leading source for unique luxury and boutique hotels, today announced that Maximilian was awarded the 2009 “Tablet Hotels Selection” Award. This award, which is being presented for the first time, recognizes Maximilian’s excellence in service, accommodations and guest satisfaction – maintaining a consistent online guest rating above 17 out of 20 points.
“Tablet Hotels has distinguished itself as the hospitality industry’s authority in the selection and presentation of special hotels worldwide,” said Laurent Vernhes, CEO of Tablet Hotels. “Our award winners have played a vital role in Tablet Hotels’ success, and we are proud to show our appreciation for the high standards they set for themselves and for the industry each day.”
Three-hundred hotels received this year’s award. Together they reflect, at the highest level, the qualities and the kinds of experiences that Tablet Hotels looks for and values in each of the hotels selected. They represent hotels of all sizes and from every geographic region – from bustling cosmopolitan centers to picturesque villages nestled into the farthest corners of the world.
“The ‘Tablet Hotels Selection’ Award confirms that the spirit of the whole team of Maximilian Hotel ‘The guest comes first” is appreciated by our guests,” is the statement of Manfred Tobolka, general manager. “It inspires us all to continue in offering a tailor made service.”
About Maximilian
Hotel Maximilian (www.maximilianhotel.com) by Eva Jiricna provides comfort, style and location with ease. Just settle in and be spoiled by our staff and the magic of Prague. At our Zen City Spa guests enjoy the floating centre and Asian Zen Massages.
About Tablet Hotels
Tablet Hotels in 2002, is the comprehensive online reference for unique and extraordinary hotels worldwide. It features 1,500 properties across the globe, offering verified guest reviews, integrity in hotel selection, the lowest prices available online and the highest quality user experience in the online travel industry.
This year’s performance, Glenn Miller Orchester meets the Giants of Jazz, Swing and Entertainment, will offer you more of the most popular swing and jazz compositions by Glenn Miller (Moonlight Serenade, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Over The Rainbow and others) plus music from other musical legends as George Gershwin and Cole Porter. And for the first time here in the Czech Republic the orchestra will also feature compositions that invoke the spirit of Christmas. For tickets please contact concierge@hoteljosef.com
Check the Weekend Specials at Hotel Josef The Municipal House is in three minutes walking distance from Josef.
Enjoy new weekend specials at the design Hotel Josef in Prague. iPod docking station, sauna are free of charge.
Contact concierge for a tailor made weekend.
 |
| enlarge |
 |
| enlarge |
 |
| enlarge |
 |
| enlarge |
| Hotel Josef Rybná 20 Prague 1 Tel.: 221 700 111 Web: www.hoteljosef.com Opened: June 2002 Owner: Haštalská a.s. Guest rooms: 109 Conference rooms: Three |
How do you describe something that is, well, indescribable? Saying the Hotel Josef is “light and airy” is completely true, but that does not give an accurate picture of the atmosphere surrounding this design hotel in Old Town. “The term ‘design’ is so misused,” says Milena Findeis, who’s in charge of public relations for the hotel. “There has to be a strategy; small things have to fit.”Like a well-executed puzzle, everything fits at the Hotel Josef. It was designed by renowned Czech architect Eva Jiřičná, who is known for melding light and glass into all her designs. The hotel is owned by the same company, Haštalská, which owns the Hotel Maximilian around the corner. Originally built in 2002, Jiřičná was in on Josef’s planning from the very beginning.“Design here is more of an atmosphere and what you feel. It’s a kind of harmony,” Findeis says.This so-called harmony helps carry you from one light-drenched area to the next. The lobby is barely an indoor space — the front wall comprises floor-to-ceiling windows, flooding the room with a constant natural light. Directly to the left of the entry is a small bar, offering a bit of color with its backdrop of bottles. White stools line the clear, Plexiglas counter top. To the right is the seating area — filled with cream-leather chairs and couches and small round glass tables with stainless-steel legs. The color here is provided by framed display boxes filled with butterflies. The reception desk is at the back, but it’s nearly forgotten as your attention is immediately drawn to the dominating feature of the room — the magnificent glass and steel spiral staircase, which curves down to the hotel’s conference rooms. Unexpected art installations like this add to Josef’s stylish setting.The hotel’s two buildings are connected by a glass passage with garden views. The short walkway is playfully lined with colorful plastic club chairs. It ends near the guest breakfast room — again another tribute to the architect’s steadfast obsession with glass and light, which gives patrons the delightful feeling they are dining outdoors. Everything throughout the hotel is rather basic. There are no frills or clutter. It’s just light and bright.“There are so many impressions in Prague, interesting architecture. Your head is full,” Findeis says. “Your eyes need a rest. The hotel cleans your mind.”The hallways are painted white with inset lighting. The room numbers are whimsical, large and set low against the door. An inset spotlight illuminates them from below. The rooms are no bigger than your typical four-star hotel room, but there’s an indescribable feeling of largeness here. Is it the white walls combined with a large window that makes them seem so big? Or the lack of wall art? What about the use of natural colors — beige, orange, moss and white? Or the Plexiglas desk and chair and glass closet? Perhaps, though, it’s the glass bathroom that gives these rooms their edge. You read that right. In 35 of the hotel’s 109 guest rooms, the bathroom is mostly constructed out of glass, with glass walls and frosted glass cabinets containing the toilet and shower for the more modest. Nothing stands out, but the overall look is one of illumination and calm. The owners specifically chose Jiricna to design their hotel, because, as Findeis explains, they wanted a Czech architect to contribute to the architecture seen around Prague today. Under Jiřičná’s watchful eye, even the most minute detail was perfectly executed. She designed the guest rooms’ desks and beds; the armchairs there are Baleri and the tables and chairs in the breakfast room are Thonet. Findeis says that is an essential part of a true design hotel — the small details.“It takes such a long time when we have to choose anything — the flowers, the coat hangers, the menu cards,” she says. “We have to find something that is made from the same material as in the rest of the hotel.”So, from the lobby to the central courtyard to the glass bathrooms, everything seems to shine under the same radiant light.“I think it’s simple but with quality. Simple as in pure,” Findeis says. “I think it’s more visible than you can describe with words. It’s the impressions of the rooms. It’s the idea of lightness, and you can see it in every detail.”
From Brussels to Barcelona and from Stockholm to Sydney, Teresa Rodriguez Williamson, a 38-year-old writer from Half Moon Bay and jet setter, has collected real-life stories, tips, advice and plenty of humor — and put it all together in “Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone” (Perigee Trade, $15).
I met Teresa during her stay in Prague, winter 2005 (a cold one), she was crossing Europe, at the Hotel Josef and had the pleasure to introduce to her Eva Jiricna, a great designer and architect. Moments full of spirit. Now I will have a look, to find Tersina’s book for to get some inspiration for my summer holidays.
