This grand Budapest palace is now open as a luxury hotel

This palace with two spiers on the banks of the Danube, adjacent to the Elisabeth Bridge, was intended to accommodate those who crossed the bridge when it was built in 1902. A neo-baroque confection commissioned by royalty, Her Imperial and Royal Highness Maria Klotild of Saxony -Cobourg and Gotha, it quickly became a social hub of the city. Now, having opened at the end of June, the hotel Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection hotel, Budapest, it aims to regain this place in the Hungarian capital.

The transformation, carried out over the course of five years, restored the intricate features of the palace designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and blended them with contemporary design and amenities. The elaborate facade, passageways, grand staircase, sculpted plaster details and café have been brought back to the opulence of the Belle Époque under the strict supervision of supervisors from the city’s Monuments Authority, anxious to maintain the historic integrity of the building. based in london MKV design then injected modern touches such as sleek, curved sofas and chairs in jewel tones, geometric metallic accents, and a spray of crystal chandeliers.

This historic / contemporary blend is found in the 111 rooms and 19 suites, many of which feature fishbone parquet floors, handmade headboards, high ceilings, Danube views, and tiled bathrooms. Gradient blue mosaic tiles punctuated with gold. Especially special are the Rooftop Loft rooms with slanted windows, once the estates of the artistic friends of Archduchess Maria, the 818 square foot duplex Crown Tower Suite in a 157 foot tall tower inspired by the Crown of an Austrian Archduke with 360 degree panoramic views of the Danube and the city and the Maria Klotild Royal Suite, expandable to a three-bedroom complex of 2906 square feet.

The culinary aspects of the hotel are also designed to attract attention. Wolfgang Puck, originally from Austria, returns to Central Europe with a version of his most famous restaurant, here named Spago by Wolfgang Puck, Budapest, with dishes ranging from Chinese lamb chops to signature smoked salmon pizza. Puck also oversees the bar menu mostly believed to The Duchess, the rooftop bar serving craft spirits and cocktails in a hidden space the Archduchess created in the original palace as a secret refuge for her friends from society. Guests access it through a hidden entrance of private elevators and once on the roof they have a romantic view of the river, Elisabeth Bridge and Gellert Hill.

A thorough knowledge of baking will serve Puck well when the hotel’s third restaurant opens in mid-October. The Matild Café and Cabaret was once known as the Belvarosi Café, before the one-year-old Palace, serving as a gathering place for the elite during the Belle Epoque era, and then again as the first café to open. after the Second World War. During the day, it will serve local pastries (which certainly have a place with Viennese) and Central European classics. At night, the two-level space will become a cabaret thanks to a hydraulic raised stage that was found during the renovation of the building when a former employee came to witness the work and casually informed them of its existence.

Even better known than the city’s café culture is its selection of thermal baths in historic buildings; a thermal ritual is an unmissable experience in Budapest. Hotels Swan Spa, therefore contains a section of thermal waters with a hammam and treatments. It’s not as colorful / idiosyncratic as the public baths which draw a cross section of the city’s residents, but it’s more refined and, in these COVID times, private.