New luxury hotel on Národní street will cost 1.2 billion.

Prague - The construction of a luxury five-star hotel, which will be located on Prague's Národní Street, will cost the investor approximately 1.2 billion crowns. This was stated by Karel Goláň, a representative of the investment company Central European Financial Management (CEFM), during today's official presentation of the hotel project. The hotel will be created by connecting the baroque Schönkirch palace and a new building on the last available lot on Národní Street.
     It is still unclear which company or hotel chain will operate the hotel. A selection process is currently underway, Goláň reported, adding that the company is in discussions with several significant global firms. CEFM aims to obtain all necessary permits this year, with the actual construction expected to take about a year and the interior modifications an additional six months. The hotel will likely be opened in 2009.
     In the new building facing Národní Street, a conference center will be established, along with restaurants, cafes, and shops. In the monumentally protected rear building, there will be a private, as stated by architect Martin Tycar, intimate part of the hotel. The construction should not be too prominent compared to its surroundings, standing at a height roughly level with the roofs of buildings on the boulevard.
     "The clientele of five-star hotels is conservative, therefore we will use traditional materials and craftsmanship," Tycar stated. The hotel project had to be revised multiple times at the request of heritage conservationists, and it is not excluded that some minor changes may still occur. The architects abandoned the idea of demolishing two wings of the old building; instead, they now intend to restore its baroque appearance and clean it of insensitive modern additions.
     The gap at the corner of Národní and Mikulandská is one of the last available parcels in central Prague. Until the sixties, two ancient houses stood there, which reached up to the tram tracks. Therefore, they were demolished as an obstacle to traffic. The city hall sold the parcel last year for nearly 200 million crowns.
     Interest in building luxury hotels in the Czech Republic among investors continues to grow. While in 2001 there were only ten five-star hotels in the entire republic, by the end of 2006 there were already 34, of which 26 were in Prague. There is particular interest in historic buildings. For example, in December, a hotel opened in the historic building "U Zlatého Anděla" on Celetná Street, and a luxury hotel will also be established in Malá Strana from the St. Thomas Monastery or in the Vršovický Chateau in Prague 10.