Tatry Mountain Resorts

The golden age of Grandhotel**** in Starý Smokovec is back

Grandhotel****, which dominates the settlement of Starý Smokovec, has been writing its history since 1904. A special gala evening, which is scheduled for the end of 2014, will celebrate the traditions of this Tatra hotelier legend and launch a new Vintage era. However, the hotel has already started to change its concept and is introducing a special Austro-Hungarian menu in the summer, with veal Tafelspitz as the main delicacy. It is served by the chef personally, in special a copper pan and in front of the guests. The menu at the Castro Café bar, on the other hand, is related to various stories of famous guests that visited the hotel in the past. There are also other extraordinary things that the hotel is proud of – for example old recipes for the Grand Sachertorte, home-made cookies or home-made Belgian chocolate candies, which have been passed on from generation to generation. New services include tea at five served with pleasant piano or saxophone music in the background, cricket or picnic on the grass with a basket full of delicacies. “We have been drawing inspiration from the past, focusing on quality and exceptionality of services so that our guests can experience something they will never forget and that will make them come back to the Tatras again. We have been restoring great old traditions step by step, our guests are taken care of in grand style just like in the old stylish era. They will feel like Hollywood stars from old films with us,“ said Marek Koumal, the general manager of the Grandhotel**** in Starý Smokovec.

The 110-year-old hotel, which remembers the establishment of Czechoslovakia and the black-and-white film, is a dominant feature that the High Tatras are proud of. Thanks to the luxurious furniture, equipment and high-standard services, it always used to be sought after during the whole year. Before WWI, it was unofficially pronounced one of TOP mountain hotels in the world. The Art Nouveau luxurious 3-storey building was designed to have 120 rooms for guests. Most of them are south-facing thanks to the double-pointed frontage. The hotel started to operate on 30th June 1904, which doubled the number of visitors coming to Starý Smokovec. The hotel used to have its own taxi, a gambling room, would organise international bridge, chess and fencing competitions or professional conferences. Hotel guests were sledging for the first time at Christmas 1904 and could also use a skating rink which was replaced by tennis courts in summer or funicular trips to Hrebienok. In order to make the hotel services even more attractive, a lido and a golf course were built behind the hotel in 1931. Services of the Grandhotel were used by various well-known political, cultural and sports personalities. One of the first hotel guests was the Saxon Crown Prince Friedrich August with his family, and they were followed by President Edvard Beneš, British politician Harold Wilson, actor Vlasta Burian, composers Alexander Moyzes, Eugeň Suchoň,  Ján Cikker, skiing world champion Toni Sailer and endurance run Olympic Emil Zátopek. There were delegations from China, India, Indonesia, Yugoslavia, Laos and Mozambique staying at the hotel, Cuban President Fidel Castro, Foreign Minister of the USSR Andrej Gromyko, Hungarian communist politician János Kadár, Zdeněk Fierlinger, Václav Nosek, Viliam Šrikoký, Gustáv Husák, Vasil Biľak, Ladislav Mňačko, Miroslav Válek, Máša Haľamová, Vojtech Mihálik, Andrej Plávka, caricaturist Viktor Kubal, photographer Karol Plicka, American singer and actress Nacy Sinatra and many others.            
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Tatry mountain resorts, a.s. is a top subject in the field of tourism in Central and Eastern Europe, which owns and operates attractive ski resorts and hotels. These include the resort Jasná Low Tatras and the following hotels in the Low Tatras: Wellness hotel Grand Jasná, Boutique Hotel Tri studničky, Chalets Záhradky De Luxe, Mountain Hotel Srdiečko and Rotunda Hotel. TMR also owns Aquapark Tatralandia, the largest Slovak water park with all-year operation, which offers a lot of water and other entertainment, a Tropical Paradise – a special tropical hall with sea water, a Fun Park and accommodation in bungalows and suites of the Holiday Village Tatralandia. In the High Tatras, TMR owns and operates resorts Tatranská Lomnica, Starý Smokovec and cooperates the resort of Štrbské Pleso. It also owns the following hotels: Grandhotel Praha Tatranská Lomnica, Grandhotel Starý Smokovec and Hotel FIS Štrbské Pleso. TMR owns 19% of the Melida, a.s. company, which leases and operates the mountain resort Špindlerův Mlýn in the Czech Republic. In Poland, TMR owns the resort of Szczyrk. The company also owns and rents hotels Slovakia, Kosodrevina, Liptov and Ski&Fun Záhradky and Bungalows. More than 190 million Euros were invested by the end of 2013 in the above mentioned resorts, to support development and modernisation. The TMR shares are traded on three European stock exchanges – in Bratislava, Prague and Warsaw.