Budapest’s Grand Dame Stands the Test of Time
- Suzanne Carmel
- Dec 30, 2025
- 4 min read
Travel is about a journey, uncovering a new locale and all that entails, but for me it begins with a sense of place, set by an accommodation that reflects the destination and incorporates the best of what it has to offer. Regardless of whether you enjoy all the facilities and services or merely retire to your room to sleep and then head out for the day, your home away from home should leave you feeling pampered and cared for, welcome and safe, but not at all familiar. I eschew cookie-cutter hotels and resorts when traveling whenever possible, which led me to a property that perfectly exemplifies all I look for when traveling - the Anatara New York Palace Budapest Hotel.
When visiting this magical eastern European city last fall, I hadn’t planned on spending much time on property. With just a four-day long weekend to explore my environs, time spent inside my hotel was the last thing on my mind. That changed the moment I crossed the threshold and ascended the steps into the lobby. Jet lagged and weary from hours in transit, this oasis situated on Erzsebet Korut, part of the city’s Grand Boulevard, made awaiting check-in anything but a hardship.
The bones of a building are important, and the Anatara New York Palace Budapest Hotel can trace its heritage back to 1894, when the opulent building opened as the European headquarters for New York Life Insurance Company. Designed by Hungarian architect Alajos Huaszmann, who also finalized the design for the Buda Castle District, the hotel incorporates Gothic, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles.
The building, damaged during both world wars, housed the insurance company until WWI, and subsequently various newspaper and magazine offices headquartered here, followed by a sports equipment store and a travel agency. During the Cold War era, when the Hungarian State owned the structure, several iconic features were either covered up or demolished, but it retained the bulk of its grandeur, awaiting restoration to its current glory, first by an Italian hotelier family, who purchased and renovated it, and then by the Anatara hotel company, who finalized renovations in 2022.
The original building is under state heritage protection, a local treasure to be preserved and protected. The New York Café, widely considered the most beautiful café in the world, is just off the lobby. During the day, tourists and locals alike will queue outside, waiting for a table on the ground level, just to experience a meal in such a famed establishment. Hotel guests need only descend an interior staircase to breakfast in the lower-level Deep Water Breakfast Room, where a lavish buffet and exemplary service await. This section of the New York Café was once frequented by novelists, poets, and playwrights who had their usual tables, and at the ground level, budding artists would throw them new work, hoping to be invited down for a coffee or a meal and thereby be discovered. One of Hungary’s most famous authors, Ferenc Molnar, wrote the book “The Paul Street Boys” while sitting in the café.
A now proven false legend that patrons threw the key to the café into the Danube so that it would always be open is commemorated outside the hotel on the corner by a small statue of a scuba diver and key by artist Mihaly Kolodko.
There is live classical music on and off throughout the day – whether in the lobby or the New York Café. Expect to hear violinists, pianists, or even a full band. Enjoy a pre-dinner signature cocktail in the intimate Poet Bar and unwind after a busy day of sightseeing with dinner in the White Salon. You can order food and drinks or settle in for high tea in the light and airy atrium, where every night is ushered in with an End of Day Ritual - a few minutes of live Hungarian music and a cocktail demonstration.
On guest floors or an elevator just off the lobby, head down to the tranquil spa where a sauna, steam room, and heated pool are free for hotel guests and a wide array of treatments are available at an additional cost. It’s soothing and understated, designed like a softly lit cave. The hotel gym affords guests cardio and weight equipment; personal trainers may be booked for guidance and customized routines.
Elevators covered in 400 kilograms of marble transport guests to a mix of rooms ranging from deluxe standard to a three-bedroom presidential suite, but the vibrant ruby and sapphire presidential suites are spectacular and unique, complete with appropriately hued Murano glass chandeliers. Some rooms and suites feature terraces with sweeping city views. In addition to omitting rooms that end in unlucky 13, guests won’t find rooms ending in 17, either. Prior owners, the Italian Boscolo family refrained because the Roman numerals XVII, when rearranged to VIXI translates in Latin to “my life came to an end,” something no one wants represented outside their hotel room!
On the fifth floor of the hotel, beneath the glass roof, put in place during renovation to make the atrium four season, you’ll find the walls covered with photographs depicting the history of the hotel. Towards the end of my trip, I took a slow walk around, soaking in all that’s come to pass as this iconic property stood here. Today, this grand dame of Budapest is well appointed and staffed to care for guests fortunate enough to spend their days here and offer them a memorable stay.
For more information on the Anatara New York Palace Budapest Hotel, visit www.anatara.com/en/new-york-palace-budapest or call 1-929-297-8382
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