Opened in 2013, the Stare Miasto hotel by Polish hotel brand Puro is located next to the city's historic old town and spans 138 rooms alongside an extensive open-plan reception, lobby space and restaurant.Local design office Paradowski Studio, run by Zuza and Piotr Paradowski, overhauled its interior by blending the "chic of a bygone Krakow" with contemporary details and craftsmanship. In particular, the design was informed by the cafes and restaurants that flourished in the city between the first and second world war.

These venues, the duo explained, were glamorous, often Jewish-owned destinations frequented by journalists, artists and intellectuals.The ground floor space at Puro can be easily changed from a day bar, cafe and bakery to a cosy night bar. Due to world war two and the long period of communist rule that followed, very few examples of these venues survive in the city, so the studio looked for additional inspiration in local mid-century architecture and interiors.

Mid-century influences include a detailed mosaic in the open-plan lobby, which is informed by the modernist murals of the 1970s and designed by Paradowski Studio in collaboration with young artist Tomasz Opalinski.A wooden bas-relief, which conceals three pairs of doors and a wall of ceramic tiles decorated using the sgraffito technique, was also a collaboration with Opalinski.

According to the studio, the spacious bar area and restaurant were designed to recall a functionalist 1960s school canteen.Refined materials such as natural oak panelling and stone alongside Polish-made glass and ceramics are used throughout the hotel while pared-back furnishings sourced from all over Europe populate the lobby and guest rooms."With materials, we always want to use natural, and as much as possible handmade elements that are timeless and lasting," said Paradowska. In addition to the interior renovation, the hotel's art collection has been updated to include artworks by artists with close ties to Krakow’s creative community.