Past Meets Chic at Andaz Prague—A Hidden Gem in the City’s Storied Heart

Opened in 2022, Prague’s Andaz hotel—ensconced in the historic 1916 neobaroque Sugar Palace, with a facade adorned with cubist-classicist decoration—is a sweet refuge on the quiet edge of the city’s Old Town.

Once a refuge for the national assembly during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and a bank after the fall of communism, the building enjoys a rich pedigree reflecting the eclectic nature of this vibrant metropolis. Original marble, soft carpets representing the nearby River Vltava, and blue ceilings standing in for the sky make even the journey to your room an experience as you pass by lions, horses, and other figures painted on the walls.

Photo: Courtesy of Andaz Praga

While the hotel is a short walk from the astronomical clock (with its 365 saints), Charles Bridge, and a warren of winding, cobbled streets teeming with tourists, it’s a sleek and private refuge from the hubbub. Sitting areas are intimate and inviting. Artworks reflect Czech legends such as the two-tailed white lion.

One-hundred-and-fifty-two rooms and 24 suites are hip, rich, and intriguing in design and decor, thanks to the vision of Madrid’s Brime Robbins and based on their in-depth study of Czech history.

Photo: Courtesy of Andaz Praga

The welcoming feel is enhanced by attentive staff who sport tattoos, creative hair choices, and other forms of self-expression under the reasoning that every guest will find someone on property they can relate to. With many hidden passages in the building (as in the city itself), staff seem to appear whenever needed and then disappear back into the architecture.

The hotel’s Zem Restaurant is a strange mix of disparate influences that shouldn’t work together but somehow do. Andaz describes it as “an avant-garde Czech bistro, contrasting the aesthetics of Prague’s traditional coffeehouses with 1920s retro-futuristic Czech art, literature and engineering.”

Zem Restaurant / Photo: Courtesy of Andaz Prague

I have no idea what that means, but when a restaurant is able to serve up a terrific spicy chicken and waffles breakfast and then convert 12 hours later into an eatery that meshes old-school Czech culinary art (using less butter and cream) with Japanese izakaya, someone has figured something out.

So we began our dinner at Zem with a tuna tataki starter with yuzu caviar, mango, chili, and sesame, as well as a pork gyoza with ginger, shiitake, spring onion, and ponzu. Entirely switching cultures, we followed these with short ribs and an enormous, juicy pork knuckle. Dessert was a complicated pear granita with the fruity sorbet accompanied by caramel, vanilla ice cream, and dark chocolate liqueur.

Photo: Courtesy of Andaz Praga

Again, not flavors I would have thought to mix, but somehow they came together like opposing political parties with an agenda item in common, for the good of all. Our waiter explained that the menu’s common denominator is elevated pub fare from the two cuisines of inspiration. Other diners ran the sartorial gamut from dinner jackets to jeans and sneakers, so anything goes.

Prague itself is a frenetic and singular wonder, and its many building styles—particularly its preponderance of art nouveau structures and decorations—survive. Every stroll is full of discovery, but perhaps one of the best introductions is offered through the hotel on its Walk of Myths tour.

Photo: Courtesy of Andaz Praga

A private guide will steer you through the labyrinth of Old Town while proffering stories behind statues of brave but lonely knights and pointing out doorway icons such as shoes or anvils that indicated to a formerly illiterate populace what they could find inside.

We viewed both Kafka’s house and the theater where Mozart premiered Don Giovanni. Our three-hour tour on both shores of the Vltava provided depth and context to the rest of our week in the city and also to much of the artwork in the hotel itself.

Best For

An immersive stay in a storied structure on the edge of the city’s Old Town.

Verdict

This private and sleek hotel is ideal for getting to know the history and cuisine of Prague. hyatt.com