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November 23rd, 2008
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Flying high

Around Town

By Frank Kuznik
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 6th, 2008 issue

It was still tricky getting to the Hilton’s new Cloud 9 Sky Bar last Wednesday, July 30, one of two “soft opening” nights the hotel held for media and friends to work out the final operating kinks before the bar officially opened Friday. One of the mirrored elevators froze on the lobby floor, stranding thirsty guests. But a helpful staffer was soon leading them up another elevator, a flight of stairs and down a smartly styled, neon-lit hallway to the city’s newest high-end drinking emporium.

The only thing that hadn’t changed since the construction party a month earlier was the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows — nine floors up, overlooking Štvanice Island and Holešovice to the north, Karlín to the east and the city center to the west, with the castle in the distance. The room had been transformed into a sleek chrome, black marble and glass affair with a 62-meter-long bar, wood and leather banquettes and an ultramodern lighting system straight off the Starship Enterprise.
Splashes of color were provided by frosty cocktails lined up along the bar, vibrant tropical concoctions backlit by the setting sun to day-glo intensity. Behind them, Cloud 9’s resident mixologist and master bartender, Roman Uhlíř, was juggling (literally) jiggers and mixers and bottles of vodka and gin, working up a healthy sweat pumping out drinks to a crowd that quickly became two and three deep.
Top o’ the cocktail list: A tie between the spicy Charisma, with its red-pepper garnish, and the Mystic, which features Uhlíř’s tasty homemade ginger syrup. “That syrup could make gasoline taste good,” one patron enthused — and to prove it, he had a fresh Mystic in his hand practically the entire night.
Some of the best features of Cloud 9 are not in the bar itself. The long hallway that leads to it, along the west side of the building, has roomy chill-out nooks with plush, oversized armchairs in psychedelic colors. The patios on the east and west wings of the bar are spacious and set up for either group toasts around stand-up tables or intimate romantic moments along the rail, watching the city lights come up at twilight.
When Hilton General Manager Michael Speckling announced at the construction party that he planned to make Cloud 9 one of the best bars in the world, it sounded like a great fantasy. But he certainly put up the money, hiring the United Kingdom’s Philip Rodgers to design it, spending 125 million Kč ($8.1 million) over nine months to build it, and adding expensive flourishes like a custom-designed lighting system and signature drinks. The result is a sophisticated blend of lounge, dance club (DJs are in Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and outdoor viewing terraces unlike anything else in the city.
Naturally, there are some kinks to work out. The first glass shattered at 7:30 Wednesday, prompting a staffer to grin broadly and say, “That’s why we do the test runs.” And the slats on the outdoor decks are going to destroy more than a few women’s high heels. It will also be interesting to see who patronizes Cloud 9. The cocktails start at 140 Kč, and the light menu is of the foie gras and fig marmalade persuasion. That’s not out of line for most Hilton guests, but it will be a real test of locals’ readiness to patronize a high-class hotel bar.
If you’re curious, this is the weekend to check it out, with all the signature cocktails priced at just 99 Kč. Dress up, catch the sunset and don’t miss the bird’s-eye view of the Bílá labuť swan, spinning over the night skyline like a neon goddess with her crown of gold.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at fkuznik@praguepost.com


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