Corinthia Hotel Budapest*****

The located in the heart of Budapest, this is the perfect destination for the individual who likes to mix the grandeur of old with the convenience and luxury of the new. Beautifully transformed and sensitively restored in 2003 from the old Grand Hotel Royal this new and imposing hotel has retained the splendour of the original interior, fronted by a breathtaking historical façade.

First opened in 1896 as the Grand Hotel Royal; a hub for the elite of nineteenth century society, and painstakingly restored to its original glory some hundred years later, the Corinthia Budapest brings together classic hotel opulence with the finest five-star luxury of modern times.

While the gracious frontage, marble floors, sweeping staircase and breathtaking, six-storey Atrium preserved from the original building offer glorious hints of a bygone age, the levels of comfort and convenience are all reassuringly up to date.

A particular feature is the hotel’s original Royal Spa centre, with 15-metre pool, now extensively refurbished by the current owners to reflect the very best in 21st century spa luxury while retaining the grandeur of the past. Without doubt the finest hotel in Budapest.

Renaissance of a grand hotel built in classic French Renaissance style, the Grand Royal became a beacon of luxury in the days of Emperor Franz Joseph 1. Designed as a centrepiece of Hungary’s celebrations to mark its first thousand years, the hotel’s grand-style architecture and unrivalled guest facilities were seen as state-of the art for the times.

Much of the building was destroyed in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and despite re-opening in more modest form in the 1960’s, the Grand Royal remained a shadow of its former self until the 1990’s; when new owners Corinthia Hotels gave the green light for an extensive restoration project that would retain the best of the old, while sensitively adding the new. Once restored to its original splendour, the newly named Corinthia Hotel Budapest re-opened its doors, as a five-star luxury property, in 2003.