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A Jewel of Roman Heritage and Milanese Craftsmanship
Bvlgari, a name synonymous with high jewelry and fine watchmaking, once again proves at this year’s LVMH Watch Week that innovation and respect for tradition
Design, art, and unwavering knowledge of every guest – that is the secret to the success of Hotel Emblem, located in the very heart of Prague. Its director, Helena Valtrová, reveals how she manages to combine luxury with a personal touch and what she does to ensure every guest’s visit becomes an unforgettable experience.
Aside from the fact that we survived the pandemic and kept our entire management – which was, of course, also thanks to the bank, executives, and investors – I consider the greatest success to be the annual awards from international agencies and travel portals for the hotel’s services and design. I also consider it a success that we have a significant number of loyal guests who repeatedly return to us – even despite some mistakes that occasionally occur.
Hotel Emblem is truly a design and boutique hotel in the very heart of Prague. We try to approach each of our guests individually when it comes to recommendations on what to do, where to go, and what to see in Prague. We also have a unique collection of contemporary art, curated by a curatorial organization, and our works are located in the rooms as well as in the publicly accessible parts of the hotel. Our artists include, for example, Lucy McKenzie, Tauba Auerbach, Thomas Zipp, or Özlem Altin, who regularly exhibit in international galleries such as MoMA, the Guggenheim in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, or the Tate in London. And we have them right here – but not many people know about it. It is truly a unique and singular collection that currently comprises about 70 works of art.
Honestly – family. In 2006, my parents decided to continue their development activities and needed someone to manage the then-smaller hotel with a restaurant. I believe it was an excuse at the time to lure me back to Prague from Brighton, away from my then-partner. But it worked.
For me personally – and I try to lead my team in this way – it’s an emphasis on the smallest detail, both in the level of service and approach to guests, as well as in cleanliness, the quality of materials, and the maintenance of the room itself. This also includes the selection of hotel cosmetics, the selection in the minibar with an emphasis on local ingredients, local partners, and sustainability. That’s why I’m incredibly happy about our new partnership with Klara Rott hotel cosmetics, which are in all rooms, as well as, for example, with the water supplier Nera Voda. In both cases, these are Czech products.
I think it’s sustainability and the emphasis on services. I’m glad that hotels are moving away from single-use packaging, miniature cosmetic bottles for single use, plastic water bottles, and the like. I’m glad this is a trend we are following. In the near future, for example, we will be installing Purezza water systems, and this water will also be available in the hotel rooms and lobby for guests free of charge.
Thanks to my son, I have a lot of energy, and I try to push things forward, not to fall asleep. I lead my team with the same motivation, and I think we are successful. But without them, that energy would be useless; ultimately, it’s all about the people who work here, and luckily, I have great people around me.
Our uniqueness lies in the fact that, unlike most hotel spa, we are not located on the ground floor or even in the lower ground floor, but in spaces with a beautiful view of Prague Castle, with natural daylight and a terrace with a jacuzzi. We are also among the few in Prague who do not offer Thai massages – not that there’s anything wrong with them, but they are everywhere.
We currently have two brands in the spa: Pure Altitude, which has been with us from the very beginning, and since May of this year, also skincare cosmetics, the Codage brand. Pure Altitude is cosmetics that suit me personally very well – especially for body treatments, and the peeling is truly unique. It has a beautiful scent that permeates the entire hotel. However, it’s not very well known, and I think perhaps that’s a reason why we haven’t been entirely successful in attracting local clientele. That was one of the reasons we approached the Codage company, which in my opinion has even better products for mature skin, meaning for people aged 35 and over.
We are still in the very beginning stages, but overall, the reactions have been very positive so far. I hope that with Codage, we will also manage to attract local clientele and perhaps expand our offer with other procedures in the future with these cosmetics.
The skincare treatment is truly unique and is based on skin analysis, based on which the therapist mixes and prepares tailored products for you. It’s cosmetics based on mixology, which I’ve always liked very much. The treatment with Codage is therefore individual and differs depending on whether the skin is dried out by the sun or dehydrated – simply based on what it needs right now. The skincare treatment is therefore different every time, always tailored to the clients’ needs.
With the utmost seriousness and importance. The hotel’s motto is “feel at home”, and that includes an individual approach. We always try to find out everything important and necessary from the guest and thus create tailored recommendations for them. We store information about their stay in the hotel system so that we have all the important information at hand during their second visit. For example, we keep information about which restaurant they went to so that next time we can offer them something different again. After all, as far as gastronomy is concerned, there are many establishments in Prague that deserve our favour. We also keep information such as whether they are vegan or allergic, so that we can pass this information on, for example, to restaurants where we make reservations for them.
Currently, the so-called pillow menu is very popular, where the guest can choose the type of pillow for sleeping – firmer, smaller, softer… According to their preferences. At breakfast, they are very interested in whether our eggs are organic – they are, from the Želivka farm – and what other local products we offer. As part of concierge services, they ask us for recommendations for the best restaurants, currently open exhibitions in Prague, and similar. I therefore place a lot of emphasis on the reception and receptionists – it is important for me that they educate themselves, seek out information, and so on. They even have our AI program to help them with this.
They mainly want peace, comfort, and privacy, and we are very happy to offer that to them in our cozy spa. After all, our wellness is smaller, but that also brings certain advantages. After the pandemic, there is also increased interest in private rentals of the entire wellness zone, and they are willing to pay for it.
In the SPA, we are currently planning to expand our offer with maderotherapy, which is a massage with wooden tools, thanks to which the procedure is 100% natural and hypoallergenic. This massage is amazing for fighting cellulite.
It is definitely the employees, especially those who come into contact with the hotel guest, whether it is the reception, housekeeping, or a technician who repairs a clogged drain in the room. I can come up with anything from behind my desk, but if the implementation itself is flawed, if no one smiles at you and wishes you a nice day, then it’s useless.
Badly! But no – I have a wonderful and understanding husband, excellent nursery care and a nanny, and a little one who, although he has perhaps too much energy, is generally a temperamental phlegmatic. It’s a job that can’t be done from nine to five, but I enjoy it, it fulfills me, and I hope I’m managing to successfully combine all aspects of life. I’m still learning.
I would convey these things: constantly learn, draw inspiration, perceive and listen to the needs of guests, even if constructive criticism is sometimes hard to hear. And something that personally helped me was Mark Manson’s book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. I would advise everyone to take that to heart.
