Hotel Josef

Sleek, chic design hotel with standout attention to detail and tucked-away, central location

Designed by Czech-born Eva Jiricna, this is a cool, modernist 109-room hotel that appears on every Prague hip list. The location is fantastic: within 10 minutes’ walk of Old Town square, it’s tucked away in a side street. Although close to the tourist hotspots, it feels like a corner of real Prague.

Reception adjoins a large, open dazzling-white bar-café area, which has a dramatic glass and steel spiral staircase that curls down to the basement. Two buildings, Pink and Orange, face each other across a grassy courtyard. It’s all head-to-toe designer minimalism, with lots of glass, white, perspex, and shots of colour. Jelly-hued chairs by Philippe Starck decorate the glass-sided walkway between the two buildings, differentiated only by the colour of room numbers outside the doors. Striking to look at and tranquil to inhabit, Josef feels welcoming and warm, a sign of good management from Austrian Manfred Tobolka and team. The attention to detail gives it that extra edge, and it feels equally appropriate for tourists and business folk.

Highs

• Great location – so close to the Old Town Square yet hidden from the hordes
• Beautiful, minimalist, cool design
• Attention to detail, from extensive local information provided to the umbrellas supplied in each room
• Smart and stylish but not uptight
• Central 102m² courtyard (unique in Prague) for delicious alfresco breakfasts
• Relaxed café-bar next to reception

Lows

• The international style doesn’t feel innately Prague
• The spa and fitness room are nothing to write home about, though have good views
• Some rooms have fine but unexciting views across the street
• We've heard of some guests being moved to sister hotel Maximillian, due to over-booking at Josef; not necessarily a bad thing, but an inconvenience