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I’d been eagerly anticipating the re-opening of Prague’s former Intercontinental Hotel as the new Fairmont Golden Prague for some time now – ever since the hotel closed in 2020 and plans for the new place were first announced. You see, me and the old “Interconti” have history. Back in the late-1980s, I stayed here on several occasions on reporting trips while working as a journalist in Vienna – and the place always fascinated and repelled me in equal measure (more on that in the story).

I also have a soft spot for the hotel’s signature Brutalist architecture. In the 1970s, when the “Inter-Continental” first opened, the hotel brought together many of Czechoslovakia’s leading designers, glass-makers, painters and sculptors. It was a living museum of modern art that had unfortunately gotten tarred – like many other Brutalist buildings here (some already demolished) – by associations to the old regime. I was dying to see what a sensitive restoration could look like and whether that might change local minds as to the value of this architectural heritage.

The hotel re-opened under its new name in April 2025, and I finally got my chance to tour the place in June. To cut to the chase, I was blown away. The updated design – incorporating original and contemporary elements -- not only gives Prague a new landmark property blocks from the Old Town Square, but promises to unlock all that artistry from its political past and give the public permission, in a sense, to appreciate the aesthetic in an entirely new light.