In 1930 Jan Holub – the chief executive, archiepiscopal head forester and governor of archiepiscopal assets for
Moravia – had a family recreational villa built in Celadna, Beskydy. His main residence remained in the town
of Kromeriz. He looked after the villa with utmost care. Gradually, he added a swimming pool, as well as
a greenhouse and a skittle ground. He developed an orchard with fruit trees, a vegetable kitchen garden
and a pond. There was also a small farm nearby and beautiful woods all around.
Jan Holub had two daughters. After his death in the beginning of 1942, his elder daughter inherited
the family residence in Kromeriz and the younger daughter received the properties in Celadna. She was
already married to Mr Kornel and had 2 daughters with him. The family lived in Prague and they visited
Celadna during their holidays.
Karel Kornel was a lawyer. He was also a political and financial advisor of Msgr. Sramek – the exile prime minister
and later the first secretary of the first post war government. They were both arrested in February 1948.
Kornel’s family had been forced to emigrate, they eventually settled in France. All their assets, including
the villa, had been confiscated. Initially, the villa served as a recreational place for highly ranking army officials.
There had been others who frequented the villa but no evidence of their stays can be traced.
Ten years later the building had been bought by MEZ Frenštát. They converted the villa to a hotel
and built the additional building used as the restaurant.
In 1990, according to a new legislative, both Kornel’s daughters filed a restitution claim in order to receive
their pre – 1948 assets. They were unable to claim all of the original land back due to building regulations
which now belonged to the recreational centre. The building of the ‘restaurant’ had to be bought back.
The swimming pool, pond, green house and the small holding had disappeared altogether.
When the sisters received the villa back it was in a poor state of repair. It had been closed for two years
and ramshackle. So what to do with it? Would it be feasible to reconstruct the current dilapidated hostel
(45 beds and only 2 showers!) and turn it into a good hotel? A big, challenging and a long
– term project needing rather a considerable investment.
Gradually, we started to renovate the restaurant and the hotel rooms. We added bathrooms wherever
possible in order to create en-suite rooms and larger suites. We have also landscaped the surrounding
area and built new tennis and volleyball courts. We have renovated the terrace above the restaurant
in order to maximise its key feature – a wonderful view of the mountains.
In 2008 we have started to cooperate with Jan Konecny, an architect, who design the new interior
of the restaurant. His main idea was to connect the clarity and simplicity of nature with a modern
architectural design. In 2010 we added a new winter garden to the restaurant. There is an open fire
in the winter garden, too. We are very happy and proud of this achievement. We have built
something that has completely changed the old, tired pub into a sleek, exclusive restaurant
which will please even the most demanding clients.
The villa itself serves as a hotel and keeps its 1920s feel. Unfortunately, just over 40 years
of the totalitarian regime and a frequent unsuitable use of the villa have left its ‘legacy’. We are
working hard to transform the building so it gains back its original splendour.
The original study of Mr Holub is now the History suite which has kept its 1920s interior entirely.
The room boasts plenty of original features, including the wooden cladding and all the built in furniture.
The room has a wonderful view, modern bathroom suite and is frequently used by the newlyweds.
Another brand new addition to the hotel – Exclusive suite – has its own entrance, is a very spacious
and modern accommodation. The guests will appreciate their private access to the wellness room called
‘Moon room’ which was built in 2009. The design of this suite reflects aspects of our Beskydy nature
and modern architectural design.
All the other rooms have been renovated recently. Each room or suite has its personal design and feel,
they vary in sizes, furniture, furnishings and views. Our aim is to achieve a maximum comfort
and convenience for all our guests.
In 2014 we have built new modern design block to the old villa where you can find 6 new Designblok
rooms with full comfort and trendy design in harmony with nature.
