Model Daniela Pestova, Prince William Lobkowicz, tennis star Dominika Cibulkova and fashion designer Tatiana Kovarikova were among the great and the good of Prague who walked the red carpet at the Rudolfinum Music Hall for a special concert by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. The theme was Eternal Love, with music by Mozart, Dvorak, Chopin and Mendelssohn. And the occasion? A celebration to mark the 20th anniversary of Four Seasons Hotel Prague – a hotel with a super-charged romantic view across the river to the hill-top castle and a reputation as the place to see and be seen during the city’s famous film and music festivals.

DINE AL FRESCO

 Courtesy of Four Seasons

Opera, music and theatre (not to mention the art-nouveau cafés and the Christmas Market in Old Town Square) are the lure for many who return to the hotel again and again. The black-tie concert was sublime, and followed by an extravaganza of an after-party notable for endless champagne and canapés, and pop-up stations serving the hotel’s best-loved dishes (risotto with wild boar ragu and yes, even the Onsen poached egg with potato cream, porcini mushrooms and truffle pesto) served by garlanded chefs Vito Mollica and Marco Veneruso.

A BREATH-TAKING BEDROOM

 Richard Waite

The hotel’s grand opening 20 years ago was affected by the great flood of August 2002 – but since then, the river, with new flood-protection infrastructure, gives nothing but pleasure. One of the treats is the mosaic-floored Ava Spa with the pampering offered in the sauna, steam baths and treatment rooms named after the Czech Republic’s Litava, Morava, Otava, Svitava and Vltava rivers. After a day of exploring the cobbled streets and alleys, there is nothing like lounging poolside in The Vitality Pool room, which is styled like a salon with fireplace, bookshelves and casement windows looking up towards Prague Castle

THE EXTRA LARGE VLTAVA SPA SUITE IS PERFECT FOR COUPLES

 Richard Waite

Another highlight is to take a private trip in the hotel’s vintage Riva, complete with liveried captain and hamper of refreshments, across the surprisingly shallow Vltava and into the ‘little Venice’ of waterways. Accompanied by strategic blasts of music from Smetana (midstream) and Beethoven (when you pass the house in which he stayed), you get an amusing and memorable waterfront perspective of the so-called Golden City.

THE VITALITY POOL

 Richard Waite

From arriving to find a commemorative 20th anniversary cocktail, flowers and chocolates in a sumptuous Grand Renaissance room to a leaving gift of a special-edition vinyl record, this is one hotel that knows how to spoil its guests with experiences as well as classic hotel comforts.

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