Romantic renovation

Written by: Klára Smolová
Photo by: Věroslav Sixt

Pachtuv Palace is a Prague architectural landmark with a long history. Originally an 18th century baroque villa of the Pacht family from Rájov, and a classicist apartment building from the 19th century, it was purchased four years ago and reconstructed by Orco Property Group. Now a luxury long- and short-term residence, it contains 50 rooms where guests can enjoy modern comforts alongside vaulted ceilings, wall frescos, and other era-evoking details.

The reception area on the ground floor of the classicist building, with an entrance from Karoliny Světlé street, had already been in commercial use, so its open space was excellent as an entrance hall. The original customized furniture was made by the Dutch company Deca.

The wooden staircase in the main baroque palace is decorated with the original stucco and statues that were restored during the reconstruction and impregnated with a special material to increase their durability.

A room and balcony with a view of Prague castle. The restored wooden floors are covered with Indian carpets, and the other textiles were imported from Italy and France. All interiors were designed by the London firm RPW.

All apartments are different. This so-called honeymoon suite boasts frescos from the 19th century. The canopy bed is featured in all rooms except the attic.

The bathrooms exist in three color schemes. Italian sink and tiles are supplemented by so-called Venetian stucco.

The original main entry gate to the Pachtuv Palace courtyard from Anenské Square. It was necessary to maintain the building’s character, so the company had to order replicas of all the windows and doors. It took a whole year to make the 250 windows.

The main entrance to the complex through the newly designed gate of the Jirásek house.

Photo: Vojtěch Vlk from the outside Marek Tichý, architect, TaK During the reconstruction you had to maintain the site’s historical aspects while fulfilling the demands of modern luxury living. How did you manage that? ” Difficult, but interesting, was mainly the fact that the usual construction processes and technologies could not often be applied. On the contrary, many processes and details were atypical, always considering the significance of the monument and the fact that it’s a long term project – so you can not allow half-solutions, only reasonable compromises. That applies not just to the exposed parts – facades, roofs, isolations, windows – but also to internal installations and technical equipment.”

Photo: archiv from the INside Jarmila Migelová, general manager How do guests react to accommodation in such a unique environment? ” Our guests are very demanding when they travel abroad, and they don’t like hotels with an impersonal approach. Pachtuv Palace offers the contrary: a relaxed and friendly atmosphere and services of a very high international standard. Therefore, guests value Pachtuv Palace as unique not only for its beauty and originality of space or sense for detail, but also for the quality of services provided. The fact that they come back, and recommend us to family and friends, is proof of their satisfaction.”