Almanac X Alcron Prague
| Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Hotel chain | Radisson Blu |
| General information | |
| Location | Štěpánská ulice, Prague, Czech Republic |
| Coordinates | 50°4′47″N 14°25′35″E / 50.07972°N 14.42639°E |
| Opening | 1932, 1998 |
| Owner | Crown WSF |
| Management | Carlson Rezidor |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Alois Krofta |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 204 |
| Number of suites | 33 |
| Number of restaurants | 2 |
| Parking | yes |
| Website | |
| [1] | |
The Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel is a hotel in Prague on Stepanska, just off Wenceslas Square, the main plaza in the city center.
The Hotel Alcron was constructed by its owner/architect Alois Krofta, a local businessman, and opened in 1932.[1] Krofta named the hotel after himself, taking the first two letters of his first and last names and adding an "n" to match the Alcron, a boat from Greek mythology.[2] Guests before the war included Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill, while Joachim von Ribbentrop and Karl Hermann Frank stayed in the hotel during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia.[3] In 1948, the Alcron was seized by the communist government.
Following the fall of communism, the hotel closed in 1990 and the Krofta family filed claims for restitution in 1992.[4] A legal battle ensued between two of Krofta's ex-wives and one of their daughters. The three women were eventually each given 1/3 ownership, which they each sold in 1995 to an Austrian-based firm, Crown WSF Ltd.[3] In 1996, the new owners contracted Radisson SAS Hotels to manage the hotel upon its reopening. It was completely rebuilt and modernized at great expense, with the historic public rooms restored to their original Art Deco grandeur. It reopened on August 1, 1998 as the Radisson SAS Hotel Prague. Crown secured the right to use the Alcron name two years later, and the hotel was renamed Radisson SAS Alcron Hotel.[5] The hotel was again renovated in 2008. It was again renamed Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in 2009, when the Radisson SAS partnership ended.[6]
References
- ^ Čeština. "History of the hotel Alcron - Alcron Praha". Alcron.cz. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ "Art Deco Splendour at the Historic Radisson Blu Alcron Hotel in Prague". Travel and Transitions. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ a b "Return of the Hotel Alcron". The Prague Post. 1998-08-01. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ Čeština. "History of the hotel Alcron - Alcron Praha". Alcron.cz. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ Čeština. "History of the hotel Alcron - Alcron Praha". Alcron.cz. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/tourism/?doc=9667