Tragedy: Prestigious Hungarian hotel near iconic Renaissance castle in flames – VIDEOS, PHOTO GALLERY, UPDATED
A prestigious Hungarian hotel in what is probably the most beautiful environment in the Danube Bend and close to Hungary’s iconic Visegrád Castle, the former seat of the Medieval Hungarian monarchs, is in flames.
According to 24.hu, fireworkers swarmed Visegrád today in the early hours because the 4-star Hotel Silvanus was on fire. The tragedy concerned the upper floors of the building and was visible from kilometres away. The fire affected 2-300 sqm of roof structure and floor area. Here are three videos showing that the smoke was unbearable near the hotel:
Attila Csámpai, the Pest County Disaster Management Authority’s spokesman, said the 3rd and 4th floors burnt with the roof structure of the place. Therefore, many professionals and volunteers came to help the people and extinguish the fire.
There were 200 guests in the hotel, but all of them could leave it in time. Police and staff are now checking all the rooms to make sure no one stayed. Thankfully, no personal injuries happened, and the police closed the roads leading to the hotel. Yesterday, the Hotel Silvanus greeted women on International Women’s Day with a heartwarming post. Here it is:
Hungarian Hide The Pain Harold in Hotel Silvanus:
UPDATE: The director suspects the reason for the devastating fire + new photos
According to infostart.hu, the damage was considerable, and the director believes the roof needs replacement. Róbert Pintér said 143 rooms out of the 151 were occupied; they had more than 200 guests. The fourth floor caught fire on Saturday morning.
Some guests received accommodation in the hotel’s other rooms and the nearby hotels, but many waited in the heated buses parked in the parking lot.
There would have been an international conference in the hotel. Now, it will take place in Budapest due to the sad events.
Concerning their booked rooms, he said everybody could decide whether to come or remain home, but restoration work has already begun.
Mr Pintér said that is was probably a malfunction of the electric system that caused the fire.
The Panoráma Street leading to the hotel remains closed. Drivers can reach the building via the 11th road.
Here are some new photos:
Hotels in trouble at Lake Balaton
According to portfolio.hu, it is becoming more difficult for the hotels at Lake Balaton to generate enough money for the rising wages, utility fees and water costs. Ágnes Forsthoffer, the regional leader of the hotel and restaurant owners’ association, said Hungarian purchase power has not reached the 2021 level yet.
She added that guests of 3- and 4-star hotels considerably limited their expenditures.
Meanwhile, hotels must pay much more for electricity, and the skyrocketing water costs are also troublesome. The base fee rose by 100%, while the sewage- and water use fee increased by 40%. That concerns especially wellness hotels where water consumption can be immense.
According to Ágnes Forsthoffer, cost increases affect hotels with a more colourful service portfolio.
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I guess the building owner didn’t want to sell. They’ll take everything, one way or another.