The Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace in Budapest, European elegance along the Danube
The Danube River emerges from the fields of southwestern Germany and flows slowly through the plains of Europe, wending its way alongside the cities, and the histories, of seven nations. The most glorious and dramatic vistas of the entire length of the river occur in the capital of Hungary, Budapest, where the city stands with its remarkably stately mansions directly atop the waterside for several miles, and the grand Buda Castle rises in domed magnificence to the west of the old town. If you head east from the Castle and cross the river on the popular and illuminated Széchenyi Chain Bridge, a national landmark, there at the eastern foot of the span rises the ornate art nouveau Four Season Hotel Gresham Palace.
Trapped and neglected behind the Iron Curtain for decades, the Palace, originally constructed in 1907 for a British investment company, was revived and restored to its original glory when the Four Seasons hotelier group agreed to oversee the work in 1999. Today, the luxury hotel features modern accents surrounding an amazing core of 19th century architecture and décor. Led by designer Miklós Szentkirályi, a team of silversmiths, wrought-iron specialists, experts in stained glass, and innumerable craftsmen of all kinds, came together to prepare Gresham Palace for its new life as Budapest’s most elegant and luxurious grand hotel.
As a large European luxury hotel, Gresham Palace features 179 guestrooms, including nineteen suites. Each guestroom boasts marble bathrooms, upscale luxury amenities such as Wi-Fi, and views of the city, the courtyard, or the river to the west. The non-pareil suites are known as the Budapest Royal Suite, the Buda Castle Presidential Suite, and the Sir Gresham Presidential Suite, with sixteen other suites featuring vaulted ceilings and private balconies. Gresham Palace is also the home of The Spa, which provides seven treatment rooms for its clientele, along with an extensive menu of body treatments, massages and beauty services, as well as a sauna, a couples’ suite, and separate steam rooms for men and women.
