The most famous Luxury Spa in the World

Mar 07 2022

The spa town of Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic is historically associated with the most influential royal families from around the world. It was already popular with the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who was a famous lover of Europe, Empress Maria Theresa, the French Empress Maria Louise, and Emperor Francis Joseph, with his spouse Empress Sisi.

Karlovy Vary was an important meeting place for the European nobility and artists such as Johann S. Bach, Johann W. Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Ludwig van Beethoven. Karl Marx, Richard Strauss and investors from all over the world also frequented there.

Hotel IMPERIAL is a combination of history, privacy, pampering, high quality luxury and healthcare. It is one of the most important spa hotels in Europe. It was my great honor to speak with Ing. Alexandr Rebjonok, PhD., the General Manager and the successor of a family of strong builders and leaders. His father, Ing. Alexander Rebjonok together with his two partners restored the IMPERIAL Hotel to its current beauty and dominance over the entirety of Karlovy Vary.

Mr. Alexandr Rebjonok entered the hotel business in his thirties, after finishing the university. At the same time he witnessed one of his father’s biggest challenges; the complete reconstruction of the entire hotel. He is now the General Manager of the holding and the successor of the family business.

Le Globless: Hotel Imperial has a great location, architecture, beautiful historic furnishings and historical ornaments, including walls and reliefs. The hotel looks like a beautiful castle on a hill. Could you please tell me how you managed to preserve its beauty?

Alexandr Rebjonok: Hotel Imperial has a very interesting history. On the hill where it stands, there was nothing but a meadow to begin with.

The hotel was built in 1912 and was actually a huge development project that raised international capital. The construction was a very bold and financially demanding project. Above all, this project built the access roads to the hill where the hotel now stands. Prior to this, there were no access roads, and so there was no possibility to transport building materials. In order for the hotel to stand here today, two cable cars were built. The cable cars brought all the building materials. One of these cable cars is fully functional and our guests can now use them.

After World War II, the hotel was completely looted and destroyed. When Mr. Rebjonok first came here, he saw a beautiful mysterious castle on a hill, but inside it was completely destroyed. Very little of the original equipment has been preserved.

Lobby Hotel Imperial Karlovy Lazne, Czech Republic

Le Globless: How is it possible that the hotel is entirely furnished with historical furniture, oil paintings, olde marble and crystal, today?

Alexandr Rebjonok: The entire hotel is completely and historically renovated in liking to the original version. It was one of the biggest challenges for my father, who immigrated to the Czech Republic to join my mother, with whom they had studied in the Ukraine. After graduating, my mother returned to the Czech Republic and my father arrived shortly after her.

My father loves challenges and is a strong and resilient man. When he decides on something, no obstacle can stop him. He and his partners had searched for old photos of the hotel and a complete reconstruction of the historical reliefs and wall designs were made after them. The original design of all 205 rooms, the cafes, the restaurants and all other areas has been preserved. We reconstructed the furniture and what we managed to do was to have them made like the originals. In essence, we are reconstructing to this day and continuing to preserve this beautiful historical gem and world heritage.

Le Globless: You have done a great job. What are your goals for the future?

Alexandr Rebjonok : Simple. We continue want to be the best. We are top quality and we continue the heritage of luxury spas, because we see the strong potential there. Nature has infinite power and we want to use this strength to help our guests.

,,We are the top quality heritage of luxury spas.“

Hotel Imperial is very unique in the way how it combines high-quality medical facilities and the private comfort of a 5-star luxury spa hotel. We are halfway between a hotel and a state medical facility. The management of the hotel and the medical part is demanding. We have a very well organized staff. Our guests appreciate the highly qualified professionalism. We think of the diversity of clients and we are ready to meet the needs of clients from Arab countries.

Healing springs:

We want to continue to harness the power of natural healing resources, as I believe that water is our future. We offer our guests the healing power of our nature.

“Vřídlo” is the official name for the largest spring of thermal water in Karlovy Vary, which has a temperature of 73 ° C. It is a gassed thermal water, with mineralization typical of its complex deep origin. Chlorides, bicarbonates, sulfates and a number of rare trace elements are mainly represented here. It’ s composition has amazing effects on digestion, the overall function of the body and regeneration.

The second healing source is Slatina. Natural and unique deposits of Slatina mud are located in the nearby forests. We combine these virgin sources of mud and healing water with medical care and Modern Balneology.

“Nobody in the world offers a quality similar to ours.” Alexandr Rebjonok

The most luxurious suite at the Imperial Hotel is called the Presidential Suite.

Le Globless: I noticed a strong Russian investor representation in Karlovy Vary, where there is also a Russian embassy. Do Russian investors show increased interest in Karlovy Vary?

Alexandr Rebjonok: Historically, there has been a very strong influence from Russia since the history of the Tsars and Peter the Great. The Russians love our climate, luxury and peace. However, we also receive great interest from Germany, Ukraine, Austria, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the royal families from the Middle East.

,,Our body is 70% made up of water, and naturally our body needs water. Natural healing on the highest level will be increasingly sought after in the future due to the lack of drinking resources on earth.

Therefore there is a huge attraction by new investor capital. Especially from countries where there is a shortage of water.“

Today, as in the past, the most famous Czech spas in Karlovy Vary are popular destinations for both healthy and unwell people from all over the world, thus continuing the tradition that began centuries ago during the reign of the wise King Charles IV. The internationality of Karlovy Vary and the reputation of its healing springs, makes it also the most famous and most visited place for the most prosperous and prominent movie stars in the 21st century.