This is where world-famous stars live in Budapest and what their special requests are
Due to the filming of the second part of Dune in Hungary, a whole parade of stars came to Budapest. Among others are Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya or the Elvis movie star, Austin Butler. However, several other world-famous stars have lived in Budapest and even had some special requests. Read our article to find out about these!
Mfor.hu has asked Miklós Walkó, advisor to the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants, and Tibor Meskál, former senior duty manager of Corinthia Budapest, about the effects of Hollywood stars living in Budapest on tourism. They also shared some interesting facts about the stars.
How does the agency choose a hotel?
Most of the time, celebrities sign in under a pseudonym. Security and discretion are expected, and if the hotel violates these, the agency will not choose that accomodation again. Before the arrival of the stars, the agent watches a video of the hotel, and then a whole team personally examines the area. It is important how well it can be protected or whether there is a back exit. Because no matter how beautiful the view from the Buda Castle is, if it is difficult for the crew and the media to approach it.
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The Dune stars in Budapest
Dune is not only a hit in the USA, but in the whole world. Now that the famous actors and actresses are in Budapest, everybody wants to meet them here. Dune stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Austin Butler, and Florence Pugh are also filming in Hungary these days. As we have written about it before, Timothée Chalamet was spotted at the Rosenstein Restaurant in the 8th district.
As for where these actors are staying, it is not official. The managers of the hotel refrained from making a statement or providing any information. Understandably so, as there is a lot of money at stake. Although the news inevitably gets to “civilians” through the staff, the hotel tries to avoid these. However, stars cannot only stay in hotels but also in rented apartments. During the shooting two years ago, Chalamet spoke enthusiastically about Hungary, Váci Street and Andrássy Avenue. He was sitting in the Művész Café with the director Dennis Villeneuve.
What special requests do stars have?
For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger converted one of his rooms into a private gym, with machines that had to be rented separately. Of course, he paid extra for this. “For the sake of José Carreras, we had to cover all the big windows with black cardboard, because he used to sleep during the day,” says Tibor Meskál. “There were times when we searched for a compass and a prayer mat because three Arab sheikhs were staying with us.” Donald Sutherland, who stayed at Royal (today, Hotel Corinthia), did not accept a room if he could smell cigarettes.
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Source: mfor.hu, DNH