Marvelous: This is Budapest’s oldest originally preserved hotel – PHOTOS

Danubius Hotel Astoria celebrated its 110th birthday on 14 March. It is Budapest’s oldest originally preserved accommodation. Booking a room there is a bit expensive, but it is worth it if you want to spend some nights at this iconic place of the capital’s downtown.

The Unger family made Astoria world-known

According to turizmus.com, an ambitious blacksmith, Benedek Unger and two other families bought and opened the hotel on 14 March 1914, just a few months before the outbreak of the devastating WWI. The hotel manager was Mihály Gellér, one of the best Hungarian experts in the catering sector. Later, he became the first director, giving the name Astoria to the hotel.

The new hotel was both aesthetically and technologically a novelty. The building was astonishing, the mechanical engineering was modern, and the service included all the hotel novelties of the era.

The leadership of the 1918 Aster Revolution in Hungary moved into the hotel. On 30 October, Count Mihály Károlyi, the later prime minister and first president of Hungary, gave a speech from the hotel’s first-floor balcony. The hotel also served as the Hungarian National Council’s headquarters. Count Károlyi and his wife, Katinka Andrássy, lived on the hotel’s fourth floor even though their palace was only a few blocks away. Thus, the hotel has a Károlyi Room, which anybody can rent for organised events or weddings.

After the Communists came into power on 21 March 1919, they moved into the hotel.

The heydays of the hotel fell to the 1920s and 1930s.

Photo: FB/Astoria

Everybody liked the Astoria hotel

When the German troops occupied Hungary, the hotel became the headquarters of the Gestapo, the German secret police. During the siege of Budapest, the withdrawing soldiers looted the resort. Two bombs and several gunshots hit the building. Later, it became the headquarters of the US Army officers.

Astoria’s second rebirth was in 1946. Budapest did not have many operable hotels then, but Astoria could provide even luxury for its guests thanks to its owner, Ödön Unger. He managed to bring back the atmosphere of the peaceful pre-war era. He bought furniture and artwork. Furthermore, he donated several pieces of his private collection to the hotel.

The communists fired the hotel owner

The Communist leaders of Hungary nationalised the hotel in 1948, Unger was thrown out immediately. Based on the legend, he could take only two champagne glasses. He moved to England but stayed in Astoria every time he travelled to Budapest.

The Communists did not change the Astoria name but transformed the hotel’s function. For example, they created a people’s canteen from its illustrious restaurant.

During the 1956 revolution and freedom fight, gunshots hit it, but it became Budapest’s hotel by the 1960s again. Rumour has it that the secret services bugged multiple rooms there.

Renovation, soundproof rooms and four jaw-dropping facts about Astoria

Danubius Hotels bought the hotel in 1996. Between 2004 and 2007, it underwent a considerable renovation, which helped preserve its classical elegance.

Today, all its 138 rooms are soundproof and air-conditioning. Furthermore, they all have separate bathrooms. In 2023, they renewed 44 rooms to preserve high-quality service.

Inside a room. Photo: FB/Astoria

Finally, here are four more interesting facts about Budapest’s oldest originally preserved hotel:

• Its predecessor was the Zrínyi Kávéház és Vendégfogadó, a place where the world-known Hungarian poet, Sándor Petőfi, spent lots of time;
• Gyula Krúdy was a regular guest in the Astoria. He liked it especially because tidying was so silent that he could sleep until noon undisturbed;
• The Hungarian Public Radio’s popular “Ki nyer ma?” (Who wins today?) show was broadcast from the hotel’s main hall and restaurant;
• Several scenes of András Kern’s popular “A miniszter félrelép” (1997, Out of Order) were made in the hotel.

Out of Order after 27 years. The main protagonists of the movie: Kata Dobó, András Kern and Róbert Koltai. Photo: Neményi Márton_ nlc.hu

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