Karlovy Vary at Christmas

Where and when: Karlovy Vary, Czechia, December 2024

Back in 2017, when we visited Prague, we stopped off in Karlovy Vary. It was only a short visit but we were so charmed by the city we decided we would come back one day to stay longer. When we decided to go away for Christmas last year, Karlovy Vary was an easy choice.

We arrived in Karlovy Vary on Christmas eve.

Unlike in the UK, Christmas is celebrated here in Christmas Eve, so everything was closing down by 2 pm. We had just enough time to have lunch before settling into our home for thr next three nights, the Grand Hotel Pupp.

The Grand Hotel Pupp opened its doors in 1701, making it one of the oldest hotels in the Czech Republic. Over the centuries, it has hosted numerous notable guests, including royalty, aristocrats, and famous celebrities.

Over the centuries, the hotel has been a favorite of many celebrities and historical figures, including J.W. Goethe, Beethoven, Johann Strauss.

Every year, Karlovy Vary hosts an international film festival and many of the stars take up residence at the hotel. Some of their portraits are hung on the hotel walls.

The hotel also featured prominently in the 2006 film Casino Royale, where it was used as the location for the hotel scenes, further adding to its fame.

Our room was one of the newly refurbished rooms at the front of the hotel, looking over river Telpa which runs through the centre of Karlovy Vary.

A list of Christmas Activities and a box of sweets were provided to welcome us to the hotel. 

We enjoyed a Christmas Dinner buffet that evening.

On Christmas day, we woke up to a sunny Karlovy Vary. The Christmas Market was open and there were plenty of people out and about, which was very unusual for us, as Christmas day in the UK is one of the quietest days of the year.

We also had a lot of fun exploring the hotel courtyard, which had plaques showing all the famous faces whe have stayed there.

On Christmas day evening we attended a Carol concert at the hotel.  The carols were performed by local school children who sand in a mix of English and Czech.

We had dinner at the main hotel restaurant, complete with a vodka martini in honour of Casino Royale.

The stay at the hotel was great and provided some much needed rest and recuperation. This is the first time ever we had stayed in a hotel for Christmas, so it was a novel experience for us. Although the stay was very nice, in hindsight, I am not sure we will stay in a hotel at Christmas again. The cost per night was about 3 times as much as any other times of the year, it was really busy and I missed home too much.