Almanac Hotels, a new luxury hotel group, will open its first hotel this summer – Almanac Barcelona, on the corner of Gran Via and Carrer de Pau Claris, close to the famous Passeig de Gracia.
Properties in Vienna, Prague, Budapest and Zagreb will follow in the next few years, with the brand focusing on four elements ‘that make up an entire journey’ – scent, taste, light and touch.
Almanac Barcelona will have 92 rooms and suites decorated in warm colours with bronze and gold accents, with a bay window in many rooms. A “Connect & Collect” app will give guests access to a personal concierge, area guides and international calls free of charge, even when outside the hotel.
Linia, an all-day Mediterranean brasserie, takes its name from the city’s grid system of streets and will have an entrance both within the hotel and directly on the street. On the top floor, Azimuth (a term used in navigation to chart a path using astronomy) is the hotel’s rooftop bar and terrace, serving a variety of cocktails. A pool with sun loungers will be reserved for guests. Other facilities include a spa with treatment room, steam sauna, relaxation lounge and fitness centre.
The four additional Almanac properties will require more of a wait. First, in late 2018, there will be Almanac Vienna, located on the city’s Ringstrasse. The hotel will have 122 rooms and suites, with suites accounting for over two-thirds of the available accommodation. The hotel will have a restaurant, bar, spa, business and conference centre and coffee shop and “concept store”.
The next year, Almanac Prague will bring 204 rooms on the banks of the Vtlava River, with extensive conference facilities and a health centre that offers ‘selected medical treatments’.
Also in 2019, Almanac Tukory will open with 152 rooms and suites in Budapest’s fifth district, within walking distance of the famous Chain Bridge.
Finally, in Zagreb, Almanac will take over the classic Esplanade Hotel. Briefly a Regent hotel, the 1925 Art Nouveau building will undergo a renovation and reopen as Almanac Esplanade Zagreb with 148 rooms and 60 suites.
Paul J DeVries
