Hotel Jalta will be extended with additional spaces

Prague - Hotel Jalta at Wenceslas Square in Prague, built in the spirit of so-called Stalinist baroque, is set to expand towards the rear section. The current administrative building will be transformed into new luxury rooms and a fitness center. The hotel is also considering becoming a non-smoking establishment.
    "We have big plans, and our wishes are even bigger. We are planning about 20 rooms in the administrative building, which is located behind the hotel towards the courtyard," said hotel director Jan Adámek at today's meeting with journalists.
    The reconstruction, costing 40 million crowns, which will create large luxury rooms of approximately 60 square meters, will not start this year. "We would also like to negotiate with the neighbors to see if it would be possible to rent or purchase some area from them, so we can also build additional rooms or a conference room there," Adámek outlined the hotel's further plans.
    In the hotel's retro-style rooms, guests may also no longer enjoy a cigarette. "We are seriously considering becoming exclusively a non-smoking hotel; this positioning seems ecological to us, it’s in line with the times, and it’s the right thing to do," said Adámek.
    The hotel, built at the request of President Antonín Zápotocký, has been accommodating visitors to Prague for half a century. The building recently underwent a facade renovation, and the final touches on the rooms are now being completed. The renovation of all 94 rooms cost 20 million crowns.
    Hotel Jalta filled in the gap at Wenceslas Square after the bombing during World War II in the 1950s. Originally intended to be a third-category hotel, thanks to architect Antonín Tenzer, it became a building that is considered a failed example of socialist realism architecture. President Zápotocký also influenced the appearance of the facade, recommending Spiš travertine and marble for it. The budget of 40 million Czechoslovak crowns for the construction was a huge amount at that time. In today’s prices, the construction itself has been estimated at 750 million crowns. Many prominent artists contributed to the decoration. Jan Jiřikovský designed the sculptures on the columns of the facade, while Václav Markup created the carved circular wooden staircase.
    The hotel, which was to serve as the command center for the Warsaw Pact in the event of a war conflict, welcomed its first guests on June 1, 1958. Among them were arms dealers from the Comecon. At that time, guests ordered Russian specialties from the menu, such as trout in cream flambéed with vodka. Even at the time of opening, all rooms had a television, and guests also had access to personal Škoda 1201 cars.
    The second basement served as a prominent anti-nuclear shelter, which was equipped with a hospital including an operating room and a room for electric shocks. The underground also hides a special water tank, which would provide water for protected individuals and hospital staff.
    The square itself has also undergone changes besides the hotel. When the hotel began operating, trams still passed around it, while now it is near the main road. In the future, the surroundings of the four-star hotel may also change again. "We are starting discussions about the relocation of the north-south main road and the reconstruction of the building of the Federal Assembly," said the Mayor of Prague 1, Petr Hejma. It is not ruled out that trams may return to the square. "I am saying no to trams; let’s build a beautiful boulevard, another Champs-Élysées," Hejma stated.
    Jalta first belonged to Restaurants and Canteens, then under Čedok since 1955. In the 1970s, the building housed the West German embassy, and there was a nightclub and later a disco. After the coupon privatization, the hotel was acquired by Nomura Bank and travel agency Miki Travel. In 2003, the facility was purchased by Flow East.
     
Artists who contributed to the design of Hotel Jalta, chosen by architect Antonín Tenzer:
Jan Jiřikovský – design of sculptures on the columns of the facade
Jaroslav Ducháček – execution of the sculptures
Václav Markup – ceramic relief, carved circular staircase made of red oak
Stanislav Libenský – etched glass with figurative motifs as fill for 16 windows in the restaurant, reliefs made of industrial glass as part of lighting fixtures above booths in the wine bar
Jaroslava Zahradníková-Brychtová – wine bar
Milada Trčková – restaurant
Jindřich Soukup – ceramic cladding for columns with segmented tiles made from fired clay
Jindřich Wielgus – wooden relief for the reception area
Antonín Kybala, Věra Drnková-Zářecká – designs for textiles and carpets
Josef Růžička, Miloš Sedláček – grilles covering the ventilation and broadcasting systems