The andel’s Hotel Prague and Vienna International Hotels & Resorts (VI) are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 4-star hotel as well as the birth of the andel’s design hotel brand. Even today, the hotel continues to represent a new dimension in terms of design that has been popular from the beginning with locals, business guests, design enthusiasts and individual tourists from all over the world. Since the opening of the first andel’s hotel in 2002, VI has opened three further hotels of this brand.
Ten years ago, in 2002, the first andel’s Hotel opened in the modern and lively commercial district of Anděl in the centre of Prague. The neighbourhood gave its name to a brand that would soon be exported to Poland (Cracow and Łódź) and Germany (Berlin). The successful design concept, bearing the mark of British architects and interior designers Jestico+Whiles and managed by Vienna International Hotels & Resorts, looks back: nearly 1,300 andel’s rooms and 2,600 andel’s beds are transporting the Prague-based success story out into the world.

James Dilley, Associate Director of Jestico + Whiles, is proud to have been part of the design team that helped to create the andel’s hotel brand 10 years ago: “Sense of place is important, and our contemporary design makes use of subtle references to the tradition of Bohemian glass manufacture, with a modern emphasis on style and comfort, so we used it in glowing, jewel-like boxes carved into roughly split locally quarried limestone. We designed the reception desk as a floating block of honed stone, the staircase as a flying ramp and the rooms as extremely comfortable, warm and reviving. Now, 10 years later, we are delighted that the concept for a new way of living is still fresh, optimistic and refreshing.”

It did not take long for the successful concept to receive several awards: the andel’s Hotel Prague won the FX International Design Award 2002 shortly after its grand opening, it was chosen into the TOP 100 Luxury Hotels in the World for the Travelers’ Choice Award in 2006 and 2007, and it received the TripAdvisor® Travelers‘ Choice™ Award 2008. Many more awards followed for the other three andel’s as well, such as the European Hotel Award and the Design Hotel Award for the andel’s in Łódź and the honour of being selected Poland’s Trendiest Hotel for the andel’s Cracow.

Since its opening, about half a million guests representing more than 50 different nationalities have spent the night at the andel’s Hotel Prague. In addition to 5,000 events, meetings and conferences, 30 couples have celebrated their wedding at the andel’s. Over the years, famous personalities such as French actress Annie Girardot, American singer Suzanne Vega, the first Miss Czechoslovakia Ivana Christová, models Eva Herzigová and Tereza Maxová, Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica, Czech cyclist Roman Kreuziger, the Hungarian football team, Hungarian-American businessman, investor and philosopher George Soros, and the Czech Republic’s most recent prime ministers – not to mention a long list of Hollywood filmmakers and their crews e.g. for the productions of Hannibal, Narnia II or Wanted – have appreciated the hotel’s unique design, central location and first-class service.
10th anniversary festivities

On 18 October, more than 500 guests celebrated 10 years of the andel’s Prague and the birth of the design hotel brand. In keeping with the design aspect, one of the main acts was a fashion show by Cuban-born fashion couturier Osman Lafitta, who lives and works in Prague.

Dr. Andreas Karsten, CEO of Vienna International Hotels & Resorts, is proud of the hotel’s success: “We are delighted that the andel’s Hotel Prague has done so well on the hotly contested Prague hotel market from the beginning. This is a confirmation of the uninterrupted demand as well as of the guest satisfaction.”

Dr. Christine Dornaus, Managing Board Member of Viennese insurance company Wiener Städtische, describes the following as the recipe for success of the 4-star hotel: “The combination of modern design, outstanding service of our management partner, and extremely good location in Prague’s business district is the key to the success of this beautiful hotel. We are proud to have purchased this special building at the end of 2005. At the time, we were convinced that we were acquiring a property capable of long-term success. Under the professional management by Vienna International, our expectations have been fulfilled.”

Partnership with VAMED
Effective immediately, patients of the VAMED Malvazinky Rehabilitation Clinic who do not require inpatient post-operative care, but have to go for repeated check-ups, can stay at the andel’s Hotel Prague or Le Palais Hotel Prague.

The andel’s Hotel Prague at a glance
The andel’s Hotel Prague is more than a home. With 239 light-flooded rooms, the hotel restaurant Delight, Oscar’s Bar, and 650 square metres of conference and event space, the 4-star hotel is one of the most attractive design hotels in central Prague. Thanks to the direct access to the public transportation system, it is quick and easy to reach the Old Town, the airport and the fairgrounds. Guests also have access to a wellness and fitness area as well as an underground hotel car park.

Building on the success of the first two years, 51 suites were opened in 2004 directly adjacent to the andel’s Hotel Prague. The andel’s Suites are an alternative for longer hotel stays: they offer the full comfort of a hotel and come with a fully equipped kitchen.

Jestico+Whiles
British based architecture and interior design practice Jestico + Whiles has an established, international reputation for excellence and innovation in hotel design.
Working from an HQ in London and from Prague on only a small number of selected, special projects at one time, the specialist hotel design studio has won an unrivalled number of prestigious international awards and prizes, several of which are for Andel’s hotels the European Hotel Design Award and the MIPIM Special Prize.
Andels’ Prague was the first of five extremely successful Andel’s Hotels, which have successfully established an entirely new precedent for the quality of new hotels across central Europe.

WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung AG Vienna Insurance Group
With a market share of approximately 14 per cent, WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung AG Vienna Insurance Group is the largest insurance company in Austria. The company is steeped in tradition – the origins of Wiener Städtische go right back to 1824 – and it operates in all segments of the Austrian insurance market. Wiener Städtische offers its customers peace of mind in numerous areas of their lives, both as private and as business customers.
Roughly 3,500 employees and 140 branches, Wiener Städtische offers its comprehensive insurance solutions in all Austrian states. WIENER STÄDTISCHE Versicherung AG Vienna Insurance Group is the largest single company within the international insurance group VIENNA INSURANCE GROUP AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe, which has its head office in Vienna. As an independent entity, the company’s activities focus entirely on the Austrian market.

Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG
In the Czech Republic, Vienna International Hotels & Resorts represents 7 hotels in Prague: Diplomat Hotel, Le Palais Hotel, Palace Hotel, andel’s Hotel, andel’s Suites, angelo Hotel, Chopin Hotel Prague and two hotels outside Prague: angelo Hotel Pilsen and the Spa Hotel Dvorak Carlsbad.
Vienna International Hotelmanagement AG was founded in 1989. On the basis of individual management contracts, Vienna International operates and is developing a total of 29 first-class hotels & resorts and 2 hotel projects. The portfolio, which includes one Leading Hotel of the World, comprises city, resort, spa and conference hotels in nine European countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, France, Germany, Romania, Slovakia and Russia. In addition to holiday and leisure products internationally, e.g. in Loipersdorf, Salzburg, Carlsbad and Opatija, the focus of the destinations is on business centres such as Salzburg, Munich, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Cracow, Łódź, Bucharest and Ekaterinburg.
The hotels managed by VI generated approximately EUR 175 million in revenues from 2.4 million bed nights in 2011. The group currently employs about 2,500 employees.
More information about VI is available online at www.vi-hotels.com