Waldeck's Augustine hotel named best hotel in the Czech Republic

The developers Waldeck Capital LLC and Raiffeisen evolution, together with hotel operator The Rocco Forte Collection, have announced that The Augustine has been named the Best Hotel, Czech Republic in the Europe & Africa Property Awards 2009 in association with CNBC Arabiya.

Waldeck Capital said the award recognised the 'gargantuan challenge' involved in creating The Augustine out of seven buildings, which all date from different eras, have completely distinct structures and are built from a diverse range of materials on various levels, into one seamless property, while remaining true to the buildings and their heritage. Restoring more than 800 years' of art and architecture, structure and craftwork was something of a grandmaster chess game, Waldeck Capital said.

Before the construction work could begin, a complete historical survey of all the structures, materials and finishes in the buildings took place, followed by concept studies. After almost two years and 27 concept studies, and with 84 financing models and 63 legal agreements in place, the building work finally started. 'The goal was to create a hotel that would become recognised as one of the most beautiful properties in the world and this award validates what we set out to achieve,' the company said.

The award will be presented at a ceremony in London in October. The Augustine will then go head to head with the winners from the Asia Pacific, UK, Americas and Arabia regions to compete in the World's Best category of the International Property Awards, the world’s most prestigious competition dedicated to finding the best real estate professionals across the globe.