November 19, 2007

New York Palace

A Budapest landmark - the New York Kavehaz (Cafe) had been a center of the literary scene in the not so distant past. Famous writers spent their day at its tables reading and writing; polititians plotted, argued and came to agreements.

As most buildings, it too had fallen into disrepair during the past decades as there were no funds to appropriately remodel it. The building was covered with scaffolding for close to 10 years as the state attempted to find investors. It was not until the end of last year that the Boscolo Italian luxury hotel chain opened a hotel in this beautiful building. The restaurant and coffee shop remains but the classic furniture had been substituted with some rather controversial modern contrast. Flashy and beautiful, but perhaps the literary minds of old may find it a bit cold. Here you may find some historical facts and photo updates of the inside.

17 comments:

• Eliane • said...

It is a beautiful building. I click and discovered its magbnificient interiors. I see what you mean by flashy and luxurious. That must be what they were going for by restoring it to its past splendor. I am not a fan of hotel but they did a good job. I'd love to see how it was before.

Isadora said...

Hi Eliane - found an architectural review of the building with many detail photos and one of the way it looked. If you follow this link and click on the photo within the article another screen will open with many pictures on the left.

Thank you for visiting.

Unknown said...

It's a beautifully restored building. But they are usually expensive to restore building right?

It must have cost them a lot!

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

I followed the link you suggest here... So wonderful scenes. Eliane is in right: they did a great job indeed.

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Fine café and hotel !
Who can afford a night in such a luxurious palace ?

sandy said...

It's marvelous to see these old buildings. I'll check out the inside tomorrow....

sandy

Jim Klenke said...

Such a beautiful building. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Wayne said...

That is an awesome place, Isadora. I can imagine how incredible it must have been to walk into that lobby 'back in the day', bustling with the well-to-do patrons, all in their evening finery. WOW. Spectacular.
Thanks for sharing such a cool building with us, and thanks for stopping by Dunedin Daily Waterfront.
Wayne

Gudl said...

This is a great building and photo. I am glad that a hotel is in it now. Must be nice to stay there!!

lv2scpbk said...

Wonderful details in some of these older buildings.

Sidney said...

Impressive building with a rich historical past !

Dan said...

This is a fantastic building Isadora. I love your shot. I am glad to see that this historic and literary landmark has been rescued from oblivion.

Ming the Merciless said...

I had to admit, they don't make buildings like this anymore. That is all the more reason to make sure this one is preserved well.

Such a beautiful architecture.

Oswegan said...

Interesting. Have you seen any famous people hanging out there?

~Oswegan

MedaM said...

Beautiful photo! Wonderful architecture and extravagant interior of the building!

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

Delightful, inside and out. Undoubtedly, one of the grandest buildings in Budapest.

(Re: basil and sprout dish, not a salad but crudités you add to the soup.)

Isadora said...

It is 5 a.m. and what a wonderful surprise to see all of you here. Thank you very much for visiting. There are so many of these places around and middle class is disappearing here as it is in many other places in the world.

Most of the rich and famous stay at the Gresham Palace - The Four Seasons Hotel as it faces the Danube and the Buda hills directly. It is also a larger facility as I've found out when organizing a conference and needed a 100+ rooms :) Will show you that hotel also.