Historical Site of Luxury - One night at Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel
Throughout our travels, a hotel room is often just a pit stop between adventures. Lodging at a suite in New York Palace however gets you way more than a comfortable bed.
These luxuries are anything but cold and aloof: bright spaces and warm colors make you feel right at home, even in such a highly impressive building.
There is no way to go wrong. Taking a Deluxe room gives you access to a number of perks, but here I will be presenting the "Sweet Suite" experience, from Junior suite upward.
The New York Palace is at 9–11. Erzsébet körút in Budapest, and was built in 1894.Originally the structure was an insurance firm’s headquarters, and included a number of tenements, and after 1945 it was used as an office building. It has operated as a luxury hotel from 2006, under the Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel brand since 2020.
The five-storey palace is built in an eclectically historical style, primarily Baroque and Renaissance, and continues to dominate the Körút skyline to this day. Its architectonics and facade design are mainly Neobaroque-influenced.
The main entrance opens into the foyer, which leads on to a Palazzo-style rectangular courtyard, complete with loggia surrounding its three sides. Most of the ground level is occupied by one of the most lavish Neo-Baroque interiors in Budapest, three naves articulated with balconies and galleries, winding pillars and arcades, the flights of stairs between levels decked with sculptures: this is the New York Café.
Even our arrival and welcome are exclusive:
There’s a separate reception desk, where we have a choice of refreshments. Coffee, wine, or even champagne are available to toast our arrival.
A glamoroous hallway and lobby can only lead up to something enven grander: the suite itself.
Often a luxury-class hotel room will feel impassive. Without the little tokens of home, it takes something else to bring about a friendly mood.
The suite assigned to me was at once impressive and charming. I’m pleased to say the effect was not from any giant painting hung above the bed.
And there was still a surprise waiting.
The New York Café on the hotel’s ground level was a historical hangout for literary and artistic circles in the early 20th Century. This is where editors and writers met for Nyugat Magazine, the definitive periodical for all 20th-Century Hungarian literature.
It is in tribute to this magazine that the smoking table is decked with an assortment of sweets. Besides cookies, there is an edible magazine page too - a small, but thoughtfully exciting favor.
A range of extras come with the room.
A corner minibar loaded with soft drinks, coffee and tea is at our disposal, and the bathroom too is conveniently stocked with every toiletry one might need.
If you need anything ironed, it’s done at no extra charge.
And then there’s all the subtle things that add to a round experience: should we ask for an alcoholic beverage (available at extra charge), there’s appropriate glassware available. It’s sad to drink a fine wine from a water glass.
Premium class sensibilities also extend to going plastic-free, including room keys, toothbrush, razor and comb, all high-quality wood products.
Besides the Café the hotel also has its own restaurant and cocktail bar, but I was so engrossed in the comforts of my suite that I opted for room service instead, ordering a perfect Hungarian-American combo:
Goulash soup and Antanara open club sandwich with fries.
I woke up feeling out of tune, with no intention of leaving my room, but there was one more unmissable item on my agenda: breakfast at the Café.
New York Café was elected “World’s Most Beautiful Café” in an international competition in 2011, and has become a favored tourist attraction. In fact it’s getting so much attention, one would have a hard time finding a seat.
Two huge counters are lined with sweets and savories, and on top of that there’s an á la carte choice of various breakfast arrangements too.
Backdrop to my flawless Egg Benedict was the meticulously detailed interior. It’s wonderfully surreal, having slept the night here and sipping my morning coffee where legends like Endre Ady or Dezső Kosztolányi spent their days writing.
You could hardly ask for a more enriching day at any hotel.
Photos and article: Adrienn Vass
Translation: Dániel Dányi
