Destination Karlovy Vary – Contributed by George M. Harris.
The romatic village of Karlo Vary is named after Charles IV.
He was a Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and the founder of the city (1370). The city ist world famous for its 300 springs, the most visited spa town in the Czech Republic. We did a lovely press trip and checked-in at the Grand Hotel Pupp & Casino to get a bit of James Bond 007.
The hotel service picked us up from the airport and we drove for two hours through CZ.
Finally a valley with lots of high trees appeared. Yep this was our final destination what appeared out of the tree line. The city was founded in 1370 and it is historically famous for its hot springs, there are about 300 springs and a warm-water river, not for 007. In the 19th century, it became a popular tourist destination, especially for international celebrities visiting the spa treatment.
Stop history, lets start the “Casino Royale” experience.
You feel like James Bond when entering the Grandhotel Pupp.
The main reception is exactly as seen in the 007 film.
We had a welcome glass of champagne – unfortunately not Dom Perignon 1957 or Bollinger.
Anyway.
Our junior suite was on the fourth floor. Probably on the same floor that James had his room in “Casino Royale”. Hmm, do not know, any way it was next to the lift – which was in a few scenes during the film-, the current lift has mirrors but in the these are covered by panels of wood obviously to hide camera reflections.
The corridors and room fronts were exactly the same as in the film. Yipieh.
The hotel room was very spacious with a large sitting area and we had three balcony windows on the three walls overlooking main square on one and the river and town on the other two. The room was perfect, of the highest quality and the chandelier in the centre of the ceiling just finished off the look quite nicely.
I felt again like 007 while entering the marble bathroom, which had two table top sinks and large mirror.
Start to be Bond with the first fantastic “007 dinner” in the hotel.
The large staircase that the CIA funding Bond needs do not exist within the hotel, which was a surprise but to be fair the actual stairs away from the reception are narrow and poorly lit and did not provide the elegance that the ones in the film had.
Later on we put on the stylish suites and took a look at the hotel Casino.
It was starting to get dark, the lights and spotlights now brought the fantastic hotel to magic beautifulness, easy to imagine James Bond entering the entrance as seen in the movie. The hotel looks absolutely magnificent lit up in the dark and at this point you actually feel as if you are standing on set watching everything go by.
Up the one floor to the Casino reception and after handing over our passports to the receptionist they are handed back with a membership card for the Casino. As we enter the location we saw the “no guns sign” which just adds to the atmosphere of where we are.
The Casino is one large room with a roulette table, three blackjack tables and a small stud poker table, so not the largest by any stretch of the imagination, but if we had been wanting a weekend of proper gambling with all the trimmings we would have gone to Macau or Las Vegas.
The room itself is unrecognizable from the film, we were used a few jetons and had a few not stirled drinks.
The roulette table was our focal point and 007 lucky number 17 was the obvious number of choice.
After we lost our entire chips, the Bond experience was over. By the way the casino was quite empty most of the gamblers were Russian expats.
We had our breakfast in the Mirror Hall, the interior of the Mirror Hall is splendid with three hundred years of intricate carvings adorning the walls and you feel yourself immersed in luxury whilst you eat breakfast.
The evening of day was set aside for a meal in the Grand Restaurant, the restaurant is the centre piece of the hotel and is even more beautiful than in the film, with the luxurious surroundings, candlelit atmosphere and quiet ambience it completely took our breath away.
The a la carte food is fine and the four course meal was fantastic.
The next day we enjoyed the Spa. Nice sauna, we had a hot stone massage and took several roman bath. The facilities including a gym, all of which are on the first floor of the hotel were of good quality.
The evening we had a couple of drinks, vodka martini and enjoyed the 007/Hotel Pupp branded menu. A nice and stylish experience.
The Grand Hotel Pupp, Karlovy Vary is 100km west of the Prague, you have two choices, either to rely on the hotel to arrange your transfer, or arrange your own. It cost around 150 € return by taxi and it takes two hours between the airport and the hotel.
The long journey from the hotel to the airport gave us the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful countryside and fantastic landscapes.
The city is also known for the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the popular Czech liqueur Karlovarska Becherovka liquer.
The town architecture is interesting and as we moved through the edge of town, we were taken aback at how beautiful the town was and it was as though we had stepped back in time. The hotel appeared at the far end of the town and looked absolutely majestic as our taxi pulled up to the steps of the entrance. The hotel front looks even better up close and personal than the website photographs portray and you just know at that point that a special treat awaits.
History besides “Casino Royale”, the hotel opened to the public in 1701 as “The Saxony Hall”.
The Grandhotel Pupp represents the pinnacle of Czech majesty. In addition to hosting the annual Karlovy VaryFilm Festival, the Hotel Pupp & Casino served as the set for the interior shots of the “Hotel Splendide”.
Its worth it, to check in and Carlovary is a fantastic destination.
