Remco van Kamp acts like a youngster – well, as opening GM of W PRAGUE he’s aligning himself with the all-important 25-45 year olds. This is an age group is a little more mature than Gen-Z but still lively and not bogged down, one hopes, with kids’ higher education and weddings (oh not ANOTHER pre-wedding party, one can hear other ones say?)
The 166-room hotel is a rebirth of Gran Hotel Europa, an eight-floor building, designed by Bedřich Bendelmayer and Alois Dryák, that opened in 1905 as U Arcivévody Štěpána, or ‘at Archduke Stephan’. Today it is owned by a highly successful entrepreneur, Ferid Nasr, who has chosen AvroKO for the interiors (favourite rooms will be four duplex suites).
It will attract customers. Firstly, it is Prague. Secondly, Tom Cruise shot part of Mission Impossible here. And, it’s vital to note, this is ‘new look W’. It’s a little more mature, says the GM.
Think luxury liberated. Its DNA includes tasty food, curated music, sense of sight, body (gym, spa, pool) and stance – on diversity, ethics. These are people who say ‘we are willing to pay but we want value, and experiences’.
