Guest Experience: Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest

It’s hard to write a review of the Párisi Udvar Hotel Budapest without starting straight off with the wonderful street-level reception and café, which provide a breathtaking introduction to any guest experience.


Despite the fact that you are in the heart of Budapest, where entertainment and business intertwine, this hotel, with its eclectic Arabic, Moorish and Gothic features seems to be a small architectural summary of the city itself.

A veritable palace more than a century old, the former Downtown Savings Bank was built in 1912-13 according to the plans of Henrik Schmahl. It has recently been revived from its fairytale slumber, an elegant space in masculine fashion whose interior echoes its appearance pre-renovation, as is always the case in Budapest.


The palace came through the woes of the 20th century, surviving World War II, Communist nationalisation and the 1956 Revolution without much trouble, although hasty alterations scarred the interior of the building.  

These were then removed by the renovation completed in 2019, resulting in a luxury hotel comprising 110 rooms (including 18 suites and two residences) that is both modern and comfortable, consigning the building’s original function to history while transforming its unique features. The property is operated by Mellow Mood Hotels as part of Hyatt’s The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand.

The design of the towering multi-floor brown-and-gold interior automatically diverts your gaze towards the magnificent glass domes, the unique ceiling facing Ferenciek tere. This luxurious effect is due in part to the renovation that ran over 4.5 years, clocking up 85,000 man-hours by the restorers alone, but mainly due to the fact that the palace was not short of luxury solutions even during construction.


The stained-glass windows by the outstanding master of the day, Miksa Róth, the floor tiles by Villeroy & Boch, the mahogany portal structure by Sage, also responsible for the one at Harrods and, of course, thousands of Zsolnay tiles from the famed factory in Pécs.


These all provided the diverse ambience a hundred years ago and, for those coming to have their portrait taken at the studio of pioneering photographer, Ödön Uher, a sense of style.

After admiring the downstairs passage, we moved on to the inside of the building. Arriving at the fourth floor by lift, we were greeted by a view of the covered inner courtyard, a kind of urban jungle. In the originally uncovered space, green Zsolnay tiles served as both decoration and drainage.


During the renovation, they followed the existing colour scheme, but the courtyard has been given a glass roof while below, green armchairs radiate decadent elegance, surrounded by abundant plants. We especially loved the fact that by leaving the Zsolnay-tiled drainage system, the function of the original inner courtyard becomes completely obvious, and we could imagine ourselves sitting on comfortable sofas in the courtyard of an elegant residential block a hundred years ago.

Most of the rooms, including ours, can be reached from here. The furnishings are timelessly elegant. Our room overlooked Petőfi Sándor utca, but we also popped into several others on the side overlooking Ferenciek tere, as it’s quite rare in Budapest to see the surrounding buildings from this perspective. The rooms are an average 33 square metres in size, high and spacious even by five-star standards.

The multifunctional toilet was almost smarter than us, while in the huge, high marble bathroom, we listened to music in the refreshing shower, then wrapped ourselves in our bathrobes, dipped our feet into the woollen carpet, wolfed down the complimentary cake and snuck into bed to watch TV.


Make sure you try out the relaxing features, made of pure natural materials, allowing you to sink into the light and warm down duvets, and those with sore necks and light sleepers can choose what to put under their heads from the separate pillow menu. 

But, before we fall asleep, let’s continue our wander of the hotel. After viewing the guest rooms, we entered the two-room, symmetrically arranged Hexagon suite and the attic residence, which we think anyone in Budapest would adore. This part of the six-storey hotel is a new addition. The 295-square-metre residence consists of a huge salon, kitchen, private spa and three en-suite bedrooms, as well as a 195-square-metre balcony.


Of course, you have an unobstructed view of the city from here and from the salon, and the main bedroom faces the tiled back of the Zsolnay clock tower, where you can sleep watching the view of the evening city while gargoyles watch over your dreams.

The hotel has several event venues for hire, one of the most beautiful of which is the Budapest Salon with a special kitchen, which also offers a beautiful view of the passage and the glass dome. There is also a smaller gym and spa, where you can relax with an infra-red cabin, a sauna, a small relaxation pool and various massages. In addition to the standard services, we were granted a step-by-step history of the maze-like building, which also helps in understanding the city itself. 

The bee motifs and the honeycomb patterns appear everywhere in the zigzag staircase and on other ornamental parts of the building. These refer to the past banking function of the property, while the area of the staircase is divided by a beautiful lift cabin that no longer contains a lift or any operating staff but still stands for the luxury of a bygone age. 

What you experience in miniature inside of the building is also confirmed by the extra services of the hotel. These aim to present the city and the country in more detail and also allow you to choose from all sorts of activities, from a Törley champagne tour to a rural truffle hunt.

The culinary treats speak for themselves in the hotel restaurant. The chef, Lajos Lutz, a member of the Hungarian Bocuse d’Or Academy, has more than 30 years' professional experience. He has worked in places such as the elegant Magnet Garden, the renowned, old Gundel restaurant run by Kálmán Kalla, fancy Pierrot and the 21 Magyar Vendéglő.

The Párisi Passage Café & Brasserie fuses Hungarian and French flavours, combining tradition with innovation. We tried the bouillabaisse and it was excellent, a classic French fish soup of St Jacob mussels, cod, tiger prawns, saffron and rouille sauce. For the mains we chose cod, which balanced the flavours of orange and goji berries in its seasoning.


Finally, we ordered a piña colada dessert, which with its coconut mousse stuffed in a chocolate bowl and spiced up with passion-fruit cream was a delicious ending to a light, French dinner. But those who prefer Hungarian dishes can also select for instance veal goulash, rosé duck breast or a Parisian cake inspired by the venue.

Our stay in the hotel was a wonderful experience from all aspects. It’s a place where in the middle of Budapest, you can get to know history and experience the peaceful co-existence of the leftovers of different eras. This makes the hotel feel like a real mini-city, and with a little imagination you can get lost in a fun time travel and sense how great it feels for any Hungarian to live in a historic city such as Budapest.