Due to the success of the Czechoslovak new wave film in the 1960s, the party at power wanted to promote the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to compete with other European film festivals. The Hotel Thermal therefore was built to demonstrate cutting edge Czechoslovak architecture. It houses the festival to this day without major changes. The exterior and interior are interlinked by the materials used – concrete, glass, metal and wood. The furniture of the hotel was originally designed by the architects themselves. (Special thanks to Marie Kordovská)

After the fall of communism, a series of unauthorized reconstructions took place. Today the family of the architects leads the campaign “Respekt Madam” to get the Czech historical heritage organization to look after the building. As of 2019, despite protests, the new management has started further alterations, destroying parts of the original design without consent of the original architect.