Fairmont Golden Prague: 1,200 square metres of meeting space in a restored brutalist landmark

Prague has gained a serious new option for corporate meetings and small executive gatherings, after the reopening of a 1974 riverside landmark as Fairmont Golden Prague, a hotel offering more than 1,200 square metres of event space a short walk from the Old Town.

The building will be familiar to anyone who travelled to the Czech capital in the last five decades. Designed by Czech architect Karel Filsak and completed in 1974, it opened as the InterContinental Prague and became a rare Western outpost during the austerity of Communist rule, hosting Pan Am crews, visiting dignitaries and guests including Ray Charles, Richard Nixon, Elton John and, less comfortably for the management, Carlos the Jackal. Its Czech owners have now stripped back the failing concrete façade, restored the golden tiles and reworked the interiors around the country’s design heritage, from glassmaking to the Czech film posters of the 1960s and 70s.

What business travellers get

The meetings offer is the reason this opening matters for corporate bookers. The Grand Ballroom runs to 573 square metres without a single column, seating 300 for a gala dinner or holding up to 450 for a drinks reception. Two movable partition walls split it into separate rooms for conferences, product launches or cultural events, and it has its own entrance plus a direct link to the restaurant and the Crystal Room foyer, which keeps delegate flow away from the main lobby.

Smaller groups are arguably better served. The hotel’s C-Suite boardrooms each come with a private kitchenette, bathroom and terrace, an unusual specification in a city centre where most executive meeting rooms are windowless. Natural light and outdoor space make them a credible choice for confidential board sessions or intimate client networking, and they sit in a market where Prague’s supply of high-end small venues remains thin. The city is also easy to work without a car, with a metro and tram network that puts most business districts within 20 minutes of Pařížská Street.

Rooms, food and downtime

Inside, the brutalist frame has been handled with more care than the style usually receives. Pavilion spaces draw daylight through original abstract stained glass, while globular chandeliers soften the concrete geometry. The lobby bar nods to Czech-born director Miloš Forman with pill-shaped lighting and cinematic references, and ceramic casts of Prague landmarks run along a feature wall.

Guest rooms follow the same architectural language, with restrained colour, textured fabrics and geometric detailing. Bathrooms are cut from warm stone with deep tubs, and amber Czech glassware appears as bedside lighting, drinkware and a rain-textured sliding door. Window seats look out over trams, riverboats and cyclists.

Dining is led by Zlata Praha, the top-floor fine-dining room, where chef Maros Jambor, previously of Sketch and Eleven Madison Park, applies a light touch to Central European ingredients. A river-facing bar handles cocktails and the Greenhouse serves Czech classics alongside Josper grill dishes. The spa holds Prague’s only indoor-outdoor hotel pool, with hydrotherapy jets, three saunas, a steam room and a signature Czech Crystal Beauty facial.

How it fits the Prague market

The opening lands as Prague’s luxury inventory expands. W Prague has already reworked the Grand Hotel Evropa, and IHG is returning the InterContinental name to the old town with a 137-key property due in the first half of 2029. For now, Fairmont’s ballroom capacity gives it an edge for larger UK corporate groups.

The renovation was overseen by chief architect Marek Tichý, according to Accor’s announcement, and the property carries 320 rooms, suites and serviced residences. Full details are on the Fairmont Golden Prague site.