Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel

The Augustine occupies a remarkable site: seven buildings arranged around the cloisters and gardens of the St. Thomas Augustinian monastery, founded in 1284 in Malá Strana, the baroque quarter beneath Prague Castle. Monks remain in residence in part of the complex, an arrangement that lends the hotel an authenticity no themed conversion could fake, and the sense of retreat within the courtyards is extraordinary for a location this central.

The interiors take Czech Cubism—the country's singular contribution to modern design—as their cue, with angular bespoke furniture and artworks referencing the early twentieth-century movement set against vaulted ceilings and frescoed fragments. The former refectory and a tower suite reached by its own spiral stair count among Prague's most atmospheric spaces, and the St. Thomas brewery tradition is honoured with a dark lager brewed to a historic recipe served in the old cellars.

A vaulted spa built into the monastery's fabric offers treatments beneath centuries-old arches. The location is the connoisseur's Prague: the castle, Charles Bridge and Kampa Island are minutes away on quiet cobbled lanes that empty beautifully in the evening once day-trippers recede. For travellers who want history they can touch rather than view across a lobby, the Augustine is the city's most rewarding address.