One buyer is interested in the Thermal hotel swimming pool

Karlovy Vary - One buyer has shown interest in the swimming pool complex of the state-owned Thermal hotel in Karlovy Vary. The deadline for submitting offers to purchase the pool ended on Monday afternoon. "The offer will be opened in the presence of a notary, we expect next week. After that, a decision will be made on the next steps," informed CTK today Radek Ležatka, spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance. However, the sale of the pool raises concerns about the potential damage to the unique complex.
    The Thermal hotel is state-owned. It offered the pool on the rock above the hotel, including more than 6000 square meters of land under the pool and in the surrounding area. The pool is financially unprofitable for the spa hotel and is subsidized by several millions annually.
    However, protests against the sale of the pool, which was built as an integral part of the famous Karlovy Vary hotel, which is also the center of the International Film Festival, are increasing. For instance, the grandchildren of the architects Machonin have expressed their disagreement, according to whose project the hotel was built from 1967 to 1976.
    "The Thermal was conceived from the very beginning as a festival palace, as a congress center, and as a public building for the residents of Karlovy Vary. The pool that is currently being offered for sale was already included in the initial studies. The connection of the hotel's mass with the pool on the adjacent hillside balances the solitary effect of the tower and the cinema halls. The building of the pool anchors the Thermal in the valley, making it not an isolated object. It is one architectural unit that cannot be torn apart," state Marie and Jan Kordovský, the grandchildren of architects Věra and Vladimír Machonin, in a statement.
    They support declaring the hotel as a cultural monument. The city of Karlovy Vary is also pursuing this path, having submitted a proposal as well. Heritage specialists are already assessing a similar proposal from a private individual that was submitted earlier. They have expressed support for it.
    The Ministry of Culture will decide whether the Thermal will be declared a cultural monument. Although the hotel is already located in a protected cultural zone and is subject to heritage protection, being designated as a cultural monument would significantly increase the scrutiny from preservationists and would certainly limit any potential investor's options for altering the appearance or usage of the building.