Fairmont Golden Prague Hotel

Fairmont Golden Prague
Interactive map of the Fairmont Golden Prague area
General information
LocationPařížská 30
Prague, Czech Republic, 110 00
Coordinates50°5′28.95″N 14°25′6.17″E / 50.0913750°N 14.4183806°E / 50.0913750; 14.4183806
OpeningOriginal - December 7, 1974
Reopening - April 15, 2025
OwnerR2G Heritage
OperatorFairmont Hotels
Technical details
Floor count9
Design and construction
ArchitectMarek Tichý
DeveloperČEDOK
Other information
Number of rooms320
Website
https://www.fairmont.com/prague/

The Fairmont Golden Prague, formerly the InterContinental Prague, is a historic luxury hotel and Brutalist building in Prague, Czech Republic. Designed by Czech architect Karel Filsak and built between 1968 and 1974, it stands on the Vltava riverfront at the northern end of Pařížská Street.[1]

The building underwent an extensive reconstruction between 2021 and 2025 and reopened on 15 April 2025 as the Fairmont Golden Prague, operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. The nine-storey building comprises 320 rooms, suites and serviced residences.[2]

History

The Inter-Continental Praha was built between 1968 and 1974 in the Brutalist style to designs by a team led by Czech architect Karel Filsak. The project was developed by the state travel agency ČEDOK in cooperation with Intercontinental Hotels Corporation and became the first international five-star hotel in Czechoslovakia. Its architecture, interiors and artworks were conceived as an integrated whole, with the interiors designed by teams led by Jan Šrámek and František Cubr.[3][4] Trial operation began in August 1974, and the hotel officially opened on 7 December 1974.[4]

Following the fall of communism, the hotel passed into the ownership of Czech banks during the privatization process. It underwent substantial renovations between 1992 and 1995, in which architect Roman Koucký participated.[4] By 1999, more than 90 percent of the hotel was held by Komerční banka, Česká spořitelna and Živnostenská banka.[5] Later that year, it was acquired by Strategic Hotel Capital, the predecessor of Strategic Hotels & Resorts.[6]

Strategic Hotels & Resorts sold the hotel in 2010. In 2013, Slovak hotel company Best Hotel Properties acquired a 90 percent stake in the property.[7] In January 2019, the hotel was acquired through R2G Heritage by Czech businessmen Oldřich Šlemr, Pavel Baudiš and Eduard Kučera.[8]

The hotel joined the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts portfolio in May 2020 and subsequently closed for an extensive reconstruction.[9] Work began in autumn 2020 and involved stripping much of the building back to its concrete structure and addressing significant structural problems.[10]

The reconstruction was led by architect Marek Tichý of TaK Architects and sought to restore elements of Filsak's original design that had been obscured by later alterations. Exposed concrete, the ceramic façade and significant works of Czech post-war art were restored.[11][12] The hotel reopened on 15 April 2025 as the Fairmont Golden Prague.[13]

In November 2025, Baudiš became the majority owner of the company that owns the hotel, increasing his stake to 70%. Kučera retained the remaining 30%, while Šlemr left the ownership structure.[14]

Architecture and art

Art was conceived as an integral part of the hotel's original architecture and interiors. Among the contributors were several prominent figures in post-war Czech art. Sculptor Zbyněk Sekal designed the ceramic elements of the façades, while René Roubíček, a leading figure in modern Czech glass art, created the glass lighting for the conference hall.[15][16]

Sculptor Hugo Demartini designed gilded light fixtures, and Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová, whose work was influential in the development of monumental glass sculpture, created architectural glass works for the hotel.[17][18]

The reconstruction also introduced new site-specific works by contemporary Czech artists. These include a series of glass sculptures by Zdeněk Lhotský, whose work continues the Czech monumental-glass tradition associated with Libenský and Brychtová.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Architecture 1958—89: Intercontinental Hotel". Prague City Tourism. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Fairmont Hotels & Resorts expands in Europe with the opening of Fairmont Golden Prague". Accor. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Hotel Intercontinental" (in Czech). National Heritage Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Hotel InterContinental was the first five-star hotel in the country". Archiweb. ČTK. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Hotel Intercontinental Praha up for sale". Hospodářské noviny. 28 April 1999. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Strategic Hotels & Resorts, Inc. filing". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Potvrzeno: skupina J&T koupila pražský hotel InterContinental". e15 (in Czech). 20 December 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announces its first hotel in the Czech Republic". Accor. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announces its first hotel in the Czech Republic". Accor. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Kottová, Anna (28 May 2021). "InterContinental oholený na beton. Podívejte se, jak pokračují opravy slavného hotelu". iROZHLAS (in Czech). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Architecture 1958—89: Hotel Intercontinental". Prague City Tourism. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Vaculíková, Adéla (16 April 2025). "Hotel Intercontinental otevřel po rekonstrukci. Má nový název Fairmont Golden Prague, zůstal tu brutalismus i umění". EARCH.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Fairmont Hotels & Resorts expands in Europe with the opening of Fairmont Golden Prague". Accor. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Mareš, Michael (14 November 2025). "Miliardářská škatulata. Baudiš si se Šlemrem prohodil podíl v pražském hotelu Fairmont a PFNonwovens". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Reconstruction of the former InterContinental hotel". Archiweb. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "René Roubíček – 99. výročí narození" (in Czech). Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Architecture 1958—89: Intercontinental Hotel". Prague City Tourism. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Jaroslava Brychtová and Stanislav Libenský". Prague City Tourism. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  19. ↑ Ličková, Inka (17 July 2025). "Umění architekturou prorůstá od počátku návrhu. S architektem Markem Tichým o nové podobě hotelu Fairmont". Material Times (in Czech). Retrieved 28 August 2026.
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