Golden Well Hotel Blog

There are always more than a hundred reasons to visit the city of hundred spires all-year round, but it cannot be denied twice as special atmosphere in spring in particular. As the magical ever-young season enters the city of Prague, it brings along an amazing colourful pallette of events, that can only be enjoyed during that time. To name just a few of them coming up this year:

• the traditional 65^th Prague Spring international classical music festival that is passionately looked forward to the whole year by many music-lovers from all over the world between the 12^th of May and 4^th of June (and we do advise you to hurry up for that one, as there are never enough tickets for all those willing to attend and never enough words of awe to praise its noble grace of performance, enriching the world of human cultural heritage – and your own);

• for those appreciating modern music trends, Prague has two stars visiting the city 21^st and 22^nd of May – Bobby McFerrin and the Scorpions on the 3^rd of April, the Sensation on the 29^th of May and to strech out into summer a bit – Elton John’s concert on the 10^th of June.

• but the best hit of all is without doubt the Easter, the spirit of which already gathers its powerful might over the city. Between the dates of the 20^th of March to the 10^th of April the stage on the Old Town square is going to spark with the live folklore performances, including dance and traditional music, competition in oysters opening and rabbit races (yes, you read that correctly!), abundant Easter markets with unique souvenier workshops, and for the smallest ones – children’s craft schools where they can engage their energy and creativeness into making of all sorts of traditional Easter gifts to remember. To top it off and to provide a reliable visual navigation as to where the fun is, there will be a 15 meter tall birch tree over the square of the Old Town and a 10 meter one on the Republic Square.

• the mesmerazing walks among the famous and numerous Prague gardens are just about to begin, as they will in April. And did you know that the undoubtful stars between them – the Royal baroque gardens are the best watched and walked into from the former Emperor’s residence dwelling in their heart underneath the Prague Castle?

Isn’t it nearly a plan you thought of for yourself when planning your spring holidays? The winter’s been long and cold and we encourage you to treat yourself to the revival and bliss of spring.

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As you enter the tranquil narrow passage leading to the doorstep of the Golden Well, the live feel of the past centuries with their deeds and history stand out and surround you in a contemplative embrace. The feeling is not merely a product of imagination which is easily awoken by the Prague’s atmosphere, but has a meaning and background to reveal.

Fame, envy, intrigue and a possible murder – that is what some suspect surrounded the mysterious life and death of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), who died in Prague as one of the most distinguished scholars of his time. His cosmological theory claimed the Earth to be the centre of the Solar system, circled by the Sun, around which the other planets rotate, and was widely used in the 17th century as an alternative to the Copernican system condemned by the Church. Being in disgrace with the rulers of his own country Tycho moved to Prague is 1599 to build an observatory in Benátky nad Jizerou, 50 km away from the capital city, being sponsored by the Emperor himself and a few of the noblemen of Prague. In return for their support, Tycho’s duties included preparing astrological charts and predictions for his patrons on events such as births, weather forecasting, and astrological interpretations of significant astronomical events, such as the supernova of 1572 (sometimes called Tycho’s supernova) and the Great Comet of 1577. Tycho considered alchemy and astrology to be a subject of great importance. In addition to his contributions to astronomy, he was famous in his own time also for his contributions to medicine; his herbal medicines were in use as late as the 1900s. However regarded as incorrect nowadays, Tycho’s astronomical calculations were shockingly precise for a scholar of his time and have laid a fundamental base for the future of astronomy. From 1600 until his death in 1601, he was assisted by Johannes Kepler, who would later use the information received by Tycho to develop his own theories of astronomy.

Astronomer only spent two years in Prague in the imperial service of Emperor Rudolf II before he died in October 1601. His death was never properly explained: according to popular legend, he died after his bladder burst, as his good manners did not allow him to leave the table before Emperor Rudolph the II did, for it would have been a breach of etiquette. Several theories exist about the cause of his death, and some experts actually claim he was given a lethal dose of mercury – that could have appeared in his body either unwillingly considering that no reliable precautions were taken during that time for those working with it, or that the astronomer fell a victim of a well-thought murder. Danish scientists have now obtained a permission from the Czech authorities to exhume his grave in Prague in the Tyn’s Church on the Old Town’s square to once again study the cause of his death. But whatever the cause of the end of his life might have been, the course of it was a worthy way of a human to do, as the astronomer had hoped himself with the his last words being “Ne frusta vixisse videar” or “Do I hope I did not live in vain”.

This way or the other, Tycho Brahe had left remarkable footprints in the world of men – for instance, the crater Tycho on the Moon is named after him, as is the crater Tycho Brahe on Mars. At the Golden Well, we are proud to have the honour of being named so due to the vision of Virgin Mary that Tycho Brahe had by a well in the middle of the house that used to once be a private residence of Rudolph the II. After that, he bade to gild the well, which is how the house came by the name of the Golden Well. To honour the memory of this event and the esteemed owner of the house we even have a very special Suite named after the famous astronomer – and it lushes in the atmosphere and the authentity like no other.

We would like to dedicate this thank-you word to our guests whose sincere and thoughtful comments about staying at our property made it the ultimate #1 in the world. This is a great thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your consideration, for taking your valuable time to give us your feedback and to share it with the others, to inspire and motivate us, to praise, to complain, to share your ideas, to point out our faults where needed and to compliment so as to give us an acknowledgement of our efforts. We are grateful to you for your appreciation of our services and facilities, for your understanding if they happen not to live up to your expectations, for your suggestions how we can make it better for you, for the challenges that are yet the greatest motivation sources, and showing us how to overcome them, but most of all for always letting us know your personal opinion which presents the most profound value of all.

Yet, for those who consider experiencing our property we would like to give a deeper insight into our being regarded as the most luxurious hotel choice: a private authentic atmosphere of a hidden away Emperor’s residence underneath the Prague Castle is not likely to thrill you with lucent crystal glass lamps and mirror floors, but the source of the mentioned on the Tripadvisor website royal pampering and treating of our guests comes from the highly personal service and attention to every single detail of your stay, which ensures that you are having a wonderful vacation and making precious memories of your trip, with your hotel being a part of it, making something more than just means of accommodation. Our top priority is that you savor every day and have all your needs anticipated and met, from the type of pillow under your head to the meal on your table – and knowing that we mastered in this challenging task is our most valuable reward.

We do not consider this success as a final destination, but rather as a new starting point, for the achievement lies within the reach of those who reach beyond themselves, and we will never stop doing so – with the inspiration we find in you, our guests, and for which we sincerely thank you.

Just adding a few thoughts to your plans for the romantic celebration of the St. Valentine’s day which is only a month away now. The romance has inspired many a master from the world’s beginning of times and our chief cook was no exception this time either! If enjoying an ultimately romantic candelight dinner which introduces our exclusively prepared St. Valentine’s theme Degustation menu while falling under the spell of the mesmerazing snow-covered city, sharing the holiday’s bounding spirit with your loved one and an overall spoiling and treating your partner to a memorable celebration is a part of your plan then we would be delighted to offer you one of the yet remaining, but quickly subsiding chances to reserve a beautiful dining place. We support and encourage you in your intention to make this St. Valentine’s as special as you both deserve to have it…

According to our experience this is what breakfast is considered to be by the vast majority of our guests. We are happy that we share the same views (and literally too!) at the Golden Well hotel. To meet your needs and to express how much we value your opinion we have changed our buffet vs. menu breakfast standard to the whole and abundant Royal a la Carte, which is a delightful diversity itself: all that you need for an inspiring start of the day is here at your dispositon – a generous variety of the buffet spread which may serve as an appetizer while you are awaiting your a la Carte order, squizzed juices and Bohemian sparkling wine are there for you to appreciate the freshness of the morning and there is more yet to come from your hot breakfast menu order. Be it just plain or marked by the haut cuisine skillfulness of our cooks, you will not be disappointed, and – if you still do not find what suits you best just this morning, please feel free to let us know your ideas and we will eagerly make your meal according to you wishes. After all, we always keep in mind that what we are doing is The Most Important Meal of the Day, and your having a great day means a lot to us and is being our top priority.

To make it an available choice for you, we are offering the ultimate Royal a la Carte breakfast for only 15 EUR per person per day for the length of the entire stay if ordered prior to your arrival or at check in the latest; otherwise, without prebooking, a regular price of attending the breakfast is 25 EUR per person. If you consider all the beneficial sides of having a masterfully prepared delicious meal it will prove to be a winning offer.

More than that, our restaurant’s scenic views of the awakening city that you are about to step into in the serene morning  hours are just adding to the perfect start of what we hope for you to become and are putting all our efforts to make it, a perfect day.

It is our pleasure and honour to proclaim our property a non-smoking one, which perfectly correspondes with the modern world trend in achieving healthier ways of living that prosper not only to your own well-being and comfort but also to that of the others. In providing a convenient and enjoyable facility for our guests we have restricted smoking areas to the locations where smoking would do considerably less harm and leave minimum traces. All our rooms without exception are non-smoking, including the restaurant and guest lounge thus ensuring that the guests attending those areas do not encounter with the bothering tabacco smoke smell. However, if you do feel like stealing a smoke, you can still do so at the areas that provide a contant air flow, such as the reception, the atmospheric courtyard or the picturesque private terrace overlooking the Ledeburg garden – or the lower restaurant terrace giving away the view of the entire city! Yet, we still kindly encourage our guests to be courteous in respect to the non-smoking visitors in the areas restricted for smoking and greatly appreciate your cooperation!

Besides it being the world-wide truth, that was also the name of the album which German musical band Rammstein presented its striking appearance in Prague on the 25th of November. We have had the honour and pleasure of meeting the band’s participants at the Golden Well hotel and hope that they enjoyed our ambience just as much as we did their amazing friendliness and appreciation of our services. We are wishing the band a spectacular continuation of the tour around Europe and hope to have them back with us, be it for leisure of another concert in Prague!