Architecture
Materials at their purest shape open spaces where light is always at play. A modern approach to design and hospitality define Josef in every detail.
Architect Eva Jiřičná is known for her innovative use of industrial materials and minimalist aesthetic. She set the foundation for Hotel Josef’s design and character.
Czech-born but based in London, her career path — from the Greater London Council to the Louis de Soissons partnership and later Richard Rogers — shaped her approach to space and materials.
At Josef, she continued her pioneering use of glass as not just decoration, but structure — transparent yet strong, guiding light but letting it play. You see it everywhere — in the cloakroom, in the bathrooms — but her vision is on full display in the staircase leading down from the lobby. A spiral of glass treads suspended by steel cables, it unites form and function.
Josef is both a building and a statement. It marked the beginning of a new era for design and hospitality.
Common spirit
Hotel Josef belongs to the Design Hotels™ community, a collection of more than 300 independent properties defined by character, not convention. Each hotel displays a passion for culturally rooted hospitality and cutting-edge architecture.
Every property is a creative expression, deeply connected to its place, its history, and its culture.
Design Hotels™ unites a global community of travelers seeking inspired spaces and authentic experiences.
Our updated Room Design
Yellow velvet carpets and dimmed light lead you to your room, where a minimalist aesthetic is balanced with a warm color scheme.
Mirrored walls capture light, clear partitions open the bedroom to the bath, and limestone surfaces offer a contrasting softness, all framed with clean lines and warmed with color accents.
Josef has continued to evolve through careful renovations. At every step, we respect the original vision and pay meticulous attention to detail. Industrial materials remain at the core, complemented by iconic design pieces and light sculptures by Flos and Luceplan.
Classical Elements since 2002
Josef was built with a minimalist aesthetic and a commitment to purity of materials.
That commitment is visible everywhere, from the lobby to the rooftop lounge. In the treads of the staircase and the floor-to-ceiling windows, glass shapes the space while letting light through. In the frames of the furniture and window awnings, steel offers strong, clean lines.
A fine eye for even the smallest detail informs the craft-like care behind every aspect of the hotel — from material to proportion, from light to reflection.
More than two decades later, these choices continue to define Josef’s character: timeless in form and precise in detail.
All started in 2002
When Hotel Josef opened in 2002, it blended modern architecture with its historical surroundings, but inside, it offered a new form of hospitality. Architect Eva Jiřičná envisioned spaces shaped by clarity, precision, and light. The spiral staircase in the lobby is her philosophy made tangible — its form as pure as its purpose.
We named the lobby bar EVA’s in tribute to her vision, integrity, and determination — qualities all the best rebels share. A city’s history is written in its architecture, but few buildings represent such a turning point — the moment a city embraced a new era of design. Since then, Josef has become an icon.