Augustine

The monastery of St Thomas was founded in 1285, when Wenceslas II gave the Augustinian order a site below Prague Castle on the left bank of the Vltava. Seven centuries later its cloisters, cellars and tower hold the Augustine, a luxury hotel in Prague that opened in 2009 and shares its walls with the friars who never left. The entrance is on Letenská street in Malá Strana, a few steps from the Malostranská metro station and the gardens of the Wallenstein Palace.

History

The Augustinians brewed beer at St Thomas from the fourteenth century, and the St Thomas brewery was a Prague institution into the modern era. The monastery was confiscated under the communist government and returned to the order after 1989. A long conversion by Rocco Forte Hotels produced the hotel, which opened in May 2009 with Olga Polizzi responsible for the interiors. Rocco Forte's management ended in 2013 and the hotel joined The Luxury Collection, under which it operates now. The order retained part of the complex, so the church of St Thomas and the friars' quarters remain in religious use.

Architecture and design

The hotel threads through seven buildings of different periods: Gothic vaults at cellar level, Baroque corridors above, a former astronomical tower and later wings. Rather than imitate the Baroque, the interiors drew on Czech Cubism of the 1910s and 1920s, with faceted furniture, strong colour and pieces in the manner of the Prague cubist designers. The contrast with white monastic walls is the house style. Frescoes and stone surrounds survive in the corridors, and the original refectory is one of the public rooms.

Rooms and suites

There are 101 rooms and suites, no two with the same plan because the monastery dictated them. Rooms on the upper floors look over the red roofs of Malá Strana to the castle; others face the inner courtyards. The Tower Suite occupies the former astronomical tower, where the friars observed the sky, on two levels with a terrace at the top and a view across the city.

Dining

The Augustine restaurant serves Czech and central European cooking with a modern hand, and in summer tables move into the cloister courtyard. The Refectory Bar, in the old monks' refectory under a painted ceiling, is the bar for cocktails and a quiet drink. In the vaulted cellars, the St Thomas Brewery Bar pours a dark beer brewed to the monastery's recipe and serves it with Czech dishes at long tables.

Wellness

A small spa in the vaults offers treatment rooms, a sauna and a fitness room. There is no large pool; guests who want one go to the Vltava embankment for a run or the castle gardens for a walk.

Weddings and events

The monastery setting makes the Augustine a frequent choice for weddings in Prague. Ceremonies and dinners use the Refectory, the courtyard in good weather and the cellars, and the hotel runs board meetings and small conferences in its salons. Published capacities vary by configuration and are not listed here.

Location

Malá Strana, the Lesser Town, lies between the river and the castle hill. The Charles Bridge is five minutes on foot, Prague Castle ten minutes uphill, and the Malostranská metro and tram stop is around the corner. Václav Havel Airport is about 30 minutes by car, and the main railway station, Praha hlavní nádraží, about 15 minutes.