James recently co-hosted a business development trip to Prague with our partners Wise Bohemian River DMC and Marriott International Luxury Brands. Our VIP client group were excited to take in the delights of the famous Christmas Markets and experience the must-see sights and event highlights of this charming city.
We stayed at the historic Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, located in the heart of the city between Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge. Dating back to 1284, the hotel’s character is shaped by its former life as a monastery, featuring vaulted ceilings, wooden beams, original doors with ornamental iron works and sophisticated architecture. The upper floors of the building housed the monks’ living quarters and in many cases two or three of the ‘cells’ have been combined to create new spacious rooms. To this day the hotel has live-in monks that brew their own beer!
The Augustine’s 101 rooms and suites feature contemporary furnishings inspired by Czech Cubism and we enjoyed distinguished service from the helpful staff. The hotel offers a variety of meeting spaces including a grandiose Monastic Room accommodating up to 180 guests, four meeting rooms with state-of-the-art facilities including three boardrooms with natural daylight and a selection of inner courtyards ideal for outdoor events.
From this wonderfully luxurious base we spent a couple of days exploring Prague with the team from our DMC partner Wise Bohemian River. The friendly trio of Jana, Nadia and Milada are experienced and endlessly knowledgeable, and they love to show off the very best aspects of this UNESCO world heritage listed capital city. Rich with history, with landmarks and architectural wonders around every corner, Prague is also a modern marvel, filled with culture and its famous Bohemian spirit.
Our inventive ground programme took in several highlights including travelling by tram to Prague Castle, visiting palaces, taking part in a Trabant Rally, shopping and mulled wine at the Christmas markets and heading out on the river to make our own traditional Czech Christmas decorations. We saw some amazingly atmospheric event spaces and even tried our hand at graffiti on the famous John Lennon wall.
Prague is a charming destination, a fairy tale city with cobblestones, narrow alleyways and over a hundred spires. Only two hours flight from the UK, Prague offers incredible value for money and a whole host of cool spaces for events of all sizes. Do get in touch to find out more about the Christmas Markets and any other information you require – the team at Wise Bohemian River are on hand to help bring your ideas to life with their expert knowledge and enthusiasm.