Good news! Iconic building of the capital, Hotel Budapest is soon to be renovated

Photo: danubiushotels.com

The iconic building, which stands out from the Buda landscape with its shape and height, is soon to be renovated. It originally opened in 1967.

Hotel Budapest, which is known as Körszálló (Circle Hotel) among Hungarians, is in need of complete renovation and technical modernisation, which requires a large investment, Turizmus.com reports. During the pandemic, Hotel & More Hotel Management rented the hotel and operated it as a workers’ hostel and student accommodation.

Danubius Hotels Plc. has entered into an agreement with Market Asset Management Plc. on the sale of Hotel Budapest, so hopefully, it will soon resume its old function. Another well-known Danubius house, Gellért Hotel, was recently sold as well, which is scheduled to reopen in 2027, as we previously reported.

Balázs Kovács, CEO of Danubius Hotels, said in connection with the agreement: “Our main focus is the renewal and high-quality development of the hotels we operate, and the sale of Hotel Budapest also strengthens this goal. Last year, we spent HUF 5 billion (EUR 12.7 million) on modernising our hotels, and planning to spend almost twice the amount this year.”

Sándor Makra, CEO of the acquiring company, Market Asset Management Plc., said that their goal is to create high-quality properties that bring sustainable value growth and contribute to raising the standard of the built environment. The details of the investment are still being worked out.

The history of Hotel Budapest, the “Circle Hotel”

Photo: danubiushotels.com

The Körszálló was originally built from 1964 to 1967, based on the plans of architect György Szrogh, as PestBuda writes. The hotel was promised to offer a great panorama of the city far away from the noise of the downtown. The choice of location was quite strange, as the hotel is situated in a frequented part of Budapest.

The history of the area is interesting as well: a restaurant operated there until the 1940s, followed by a Bulgarian garden. Due to the conditions of the place, a huge amount of land had to be excavated for the foundation of the circular hotel, and its construction took a long time compared to other hotels built in the period.

Photo: danubiushotels.com

Hotel Budapest was constructed using one of the most modern techniques of the time. One hundred and fifty construction workers worked on the huge building, and it cost HUF 90 million (EUR 230,000), which was considered a very high amount at the time. Originally, it would have opened under the name Florida, but the zeitgeist did not allow it, so it became Hotel Budapest instead, or Körszálló, for Budapest residents.

Cylindrical buildings were later considered a dead-end in architecture, which is why the hotel with two hundred and eighty rooms and nineteen floors is considered unique.

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