Hotel Gellért

Hotel Gellért
Hotel Gellért
General information
Location	Budapest, Hungary
Address	Szent Gellért tér 2
Opening	26 September 1918
Owner	BDPST Group
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Ármin Hegedűs, Artúr Sebestyén and Izidor Sterk
Other information
Number of rooms	143

The Hotel Gellért is a historic Art Nouveau hotel established in 1918 and located on the west bank of the Danube in Budapest, Hungary.

The hotel closed for renovations on December 1, 2021 and is scheduled to reopen in 2027 as Mandarin Oriental Gellert, Budapest.

History

Construction on the Hotel Saint Gellért started in April 1911. The hotel was named for Saint Gellért (St. Gerard Sagredo) the first bishop of Hungary in the 11th Century. The 176-room hotel was designed by Hungarian architects Ármin Hegedűs, Artúr Sebestyén and Izidor Sterk. Work on the hotel slowed due to World War I, and it did not open until 26 September 1918, just as the war was ending and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was descending into chaos.

The hotel was commandeered for military use throughout 1919, during the Aster Revolution. Once Hungary was established as an independent country, the hotel proved so financially successful that it was expanded in 1927 with 60 more guest rooms and an outdoor artificial wave pool built on the site of the hotel's gardens. Noted Hungarian restaurateur Károly Gundel took over management of the hotel's restaurants in 1927 as well. In 1934, the "thermal bath" was added, in place of the hotel's glass-domed Winter Garden.

The hotel remained open throughout most of World War II, until it closed on 26 December 1944, as the Siege of Budapest began. It was bombed out and largely destroyed in January 1945. The wave pool reopened in summer 1945. Post-war Communist authorities removed the "St." from the hotel's name and it became the Hotel Gellért. The Gellért Hill wing of the hotel reopened on 26 March 1946, with 50 rooms, using the baths entrance on Kelenhegyi Street. The hotel's first guests were Danish relief workers bringing food aid. The hotel's Marble Room restaurant reopened soon after, on 20 August 1946, just after the new currency, the forint had been introduced, to stabilize the Hungarian economy.

The restaurants leased by the Gundel family were nationalized in 1948, after which the entire establishment was state-owned and operated. The main Danube River wing of the hotel was rebuilt starting in 1956 and was officially reopened in 1960. While the facade was restored to its pre-war appearance, the hotel's interiors were rebuilt in a modern style. In 1972, the Gellért Hill wing, which had not been part of the 1956-1960 renovations, was completely reconstructed.

Danubius Hotels assumed management of the hotel in 1981. After the company was privatized in 1992, it purchased the hotel outright in June 1996 and it became the Danubius Hotel Gellért.

On June 24, 2019, Danubius sold the hotel to Indotek, an investment group, which announced plans to renovate and restore the Gellért and reposition it as a five-star luxury hotel, under the management of an international chain. The hotel closed for renovations on December 1, 2021 and ceased to be operated by Danubius Hotels at that point. Indotek sold the shuttered hotel to BDPST Group in December 2022.

On December 22, 2023, it was announced that the hotel will be operated by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group as the Mandarin Oriental Gellert, Budapest when it reopens in 2027. Design work will be done by London-based Alexander Waterworth Interiors Ltd. The historic Main Lobby, Danube Room, Music Room and Tapestry Room will be restored to their original state, based on historic photographs and plans. The remainder of the building will house 143 rooms, including 38 suites.

Gellért Baths

The Hotel Gellért is connected to the famous Gellért Thermal Bath.

Although the hotel and baths were built together, the baths are today independently owned and operated by the City of Budapest and remain in operation during the hotel's closure.

Design

The hotel was built in the Secessionist style with some biomorphic elements. The cone-shaped towers of the hotel that frame the hotel make it distinctive from long distances. The interiors of the hotel was built in Art Nouveau style with high glass cupola and wrought iron decoration. The ornamentation of the stairs originating from the hotel reception is a bespoke glass window whose design represents the Chase of the Miraculous Deer from ancient Hungarian mythology. In the spa, the original Art Nouveau ornamentation has artistic mosaics, colorful windows and statues.

During and after World War II the hotel and the thermal baths suffered a great amount of damage. By the end of the 1950s the reconstruction and renovation of the hotel and its spa was started.

Location

From Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport the hotel is 21 km away and can be reached by taxi, minibus, or public transport. The principal streets of the city center and the Great Market Hall are just a short ride by public transport or a ten minute walk across the Liberty Bridge.

The closest train station, Kelenföld railway station is just 3 km away and is accessible directly by Line 4 of the Budapest Metro as well as trams and buses that stop in front of the hotel. Budapest Keleti railway station is also easily reached using the Line 4 metro.

Gellért Hill is next to the hotel and the Cave Church and Citadella are reachable on foot for those that can manage going up somewhat steep paths.

Media appearances

• Since it began in 1997, the Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award international literature prize ceremony has been hosted annually at the hotel.
• The hotel is among the settings of the Video game series Hitman in Hitman: Codename 47 and Hitman: Contracts, under the name Hotel Gallàrd (and known as Hotel Galar in Hitman: Contracts), although it is more often referred within the game as the "Thermal Bath Hotel".
• A music video for the song "You Can Get It" by German Eurodance act Maxx was mostly filmed inside the Gellért Spa in 1994.
• Portions of the 2015 French film, Le Tournoi (The Tournament) were filmed at the hotel.
• The 2018 Italian film, Natale a 5 stelle (5 Star Christmas) was filmed at the hotel.
• A section of the American film Red Sparrow, was filmed at the hotel.
• The hotel has also appeared in:
  • The Golden Head (1963)
  • A hamis Izabella (1969)
  • A Kantor (1970)
  • Kojak in Budapest (1980)
  • Csontvary (1980)
  • Mephisto (1981)
  • Io e Mia sorella (1988)
  • The Edge of Sanity (1988)
  • The Star (1988)
  • Eroltetet menet (1988)
  • Music Box
  • Evita
  • Der Brockerer (2000)
  • I Spy (2001)
  • The Moon and the Stars (2006)

Gallery

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  The outdoor wave pool, added in 1927
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  The indoor thermal baths, added in 1934
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  Plan of the Hotel Saint Gellért and Baths, 1912
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  Admiral Miklós Horthy in front of the hotel, November 16, 1919
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  Aerial view of Hotel Saint Gellért, 1930
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  Bathers in the hotel's outdoor wave pool, 1936
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  Bathers in the hotel's outdoor wave pool, 1933
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  Bathers on the terrace of the hotel's outdoor wave pool, 1939
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  The main Danube wing under restoration, 1960

See also

• Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award
• Gellért Baths