Recommend February 2012 - (Page 64)

it’s time to “czech” out MORAVIA Old Town Square in Prague. CZECH TOURISM During one truly fabulous meal—accompanied by Moravian wines that just kept coming from the hotel’s extensive wine cellar—general manager Roman Tatak pointed out that Janacek composed some of his ﬁnest work here, including the opera masterpiece “The Cunning Little Vixen.” And from time to time, Tatak told us, the maestro would tuck into the hotel-once-a-monastery’s lovely St. Thomas chapel for additional inspiration. With its gorgeous dark-green forest setting, beautiful woodland walks, and its pleasant, low-key, harmonious spa-town presence, Luhacovice is a very appealing place. Wellness is the primary pursuit here, where spa treatments typical to the town are peat wraps and dry carbonated baths during which you sit up to your waist in natural CO2 gas taken from local springs. But what knocks your visual socks off is the architecture: a mix of half-timbered spa hotels, Alpine villas, Slavic log cabins, pavilions and gazebos, topped with gabled roofs, draped in art nouveau ornamentation, fashioned with art deco styling, drawn from Carpathian folk architecture—all dolled up in a Disney-esque palette of fairytale colors. In the ﬁrst third of the 20th century, leading Czech architects seem to have gone on a very special spa-building spree. Just 20 miles north of Brno is Moravia’s number one natural attraction: the limestone region of the Moravian Karst, honeycombed with hundreds of caves, with Punkevni the most famous and most extensive cave system. Visiting here, you follow the pathway through the limestone caverns at the bottom of the Macocha Abyss, then board a little electric-powered boat to cruise along the subterranean Punkva River, passing extraordinary galleries of stalagmites and stalactites formed by that water dripping slowly through the limestone over millions of years. It’s a magical place. For clients with ample time, suggest they head north from Brno to visit Kromeriz, whose Archbishop’s Chateau has a gallery chockfull of European masters such as Titian, Brueghel and Cranach the Elder; the medieval fortress of Pernstejn—a bizarre looking structure whose original 13th century castle still seems to shine through many additions and renovations—and the Moravsky Krumlov Castle, home to Alfons Mucha’s Slav Epic, arguably the ﬁnest work of the nation’s ﬁnest painter. n Archived related articles (available on recommend.com): Heritage Tours to Europe (July 2011) 48 hours in prague Just to share with you how good a press trip can be. We spent our ﬁrst day and night in Prague, enjoying... ...Lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel Prague’s Allegro, which is—for two years in a row—the Czech Republic’s only Michelinstarred restaurant. Superb Italian fare is the order of the day. ...An afternoon city tour, including a walk down Golden Lane, built into the fortiﬁcations of the Prague Palace in the 16th century and recently reopened to pedestrians who ﬁnd totally refurbished exhibits such as a 17th century pub and an 18th century herbalist’s home. Franz Kafka once lived at #22. ...An overnight at the luxury Aria Hotel, dedicated to a music genre, with each of its 52 thoughtfully decorated rooms invoking a different musician, composer, or performer. Music-minded guests will enjoy the Music Library and the proximity to the major concert venues; everyone loves the ﬁne dining and grand views from the rooftop terrace restaurant. Double rooms start at $295. We spent our last day back in Prague enjoying... ...A late-afternoon boat trip along the River Vltava, offering peaceful and picture-perfect perspectives of the Charles Bridge and Prague Palace, as well as detours up little back-water lanes; then a bit of on foot window shopping, with a drop into Artel’s showroom of ﬁne Czech glass and stemware. ...An overnight at the deluxe Buddha-Bar Hotel Prague, opened a year ago, adding its dramatic Pan-Asian ﬂair to both the Old Town and the interiors of its refurbished art nouveau building. contact information Aria Hotel: ariahotel.net Buddha-Bar Hotel Prague: buddha-bar-hotel.cz Czech Tourism: (212) 288-0830; usa.czechtourism.com Greenways: greenways.by Hotel Augustinian: augustinian.cz Hotel Templ: templ.cz/en On hand is a signature Buddha-Bar Restaurant & Bar and the new Siddharta Cafe restaurant, as well as super-comfy 36 guestrooms and three suites, outﬁtted with scarlet-on-black decor and appointed with Buddhattitude bathroom amenities. Double rooms start at $305. 64 february 2012 recommend.com http://www.recommend.com http://www.ariahotel.net http://www.buddha-bar-hotel.cz http://usa.czechtourism.com http://www.greenways.by http://www.augustinian.cz http://www.templ.cz/en http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend February 2012

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: The Lodge at Woodloch
Tour Talk: Swain Tours
Celebrity Silhouette
Savoring the Zulu Kingdom
The Falkland Islands-Nature's Last Stand
Asia
One Bal Harbour, Florida
Las Vegas Spa Retreats
Beaver Creek Lodge, Colorado
Bliss Springs Eternal at Esperanza
The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun
Time to "Czech" Out Moravia
Caribbean Uber-Luxe

Recommend February 2012