Grandhotel**** Starý Smokovec, which is built in Art Nouveau style, was opened as one of the first big hotels in the Tatras in 1904 and has been writing its story ever since. For over 100 years, it has been an honour for us to welcome thousands of guests, including various popular personalities who not only went down in the history of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia but also have become part of chronicles and our hotel history. That´s why many of our facilities are named after the most eminent of them and in the new hotel era with 84 new rooms, we are paying tribute to other personalities and dedicating our hotel suites to them so that their stories can live on.
A special Evening of Grand Moments, was held at our hotel on 20th September 2018 to dedicate the first three suites to king of comedians Vlasta Burian, multiple Olympic winner Emil Zátopek and his wife Dana also an Olympic winner, and charismatic Slovak actress Emília Vášáryová.
Almost a year later, the fourth eminent name was added to the “dedication family”. Czech pop and musical diva Lucie Bílá launched her suite on 19th August. In 2022, a suite was dedicated to eminent Czech actor Miroslav Donutil and family room to writer Daniel Hevier.
More Grandhotel suites are still waiting to be given their “prominent names” in the following months.
On her journey to Slovakia in 2008, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Philip visited the High Tatras – Hrebienok and Starý Smokovec. After some time spent in Hrebienok, the couple travelled by a funicular back to Starý Smokovec, where Prince Philip and then Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič paid a visit to Grandhotel Starý Smokovec. A record in the hotel chronicle serves as a memory of this precious visit and is displayed in our hotel.