Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest is a haven of luxury and tranquility set amidst the ever-evolving bustle of Budapest. Our arrival was on a hot day. It was around 35 °C centigrade outside, and upon entering the cool and classy Gresham Palace, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders as the bellmen relieved me of my bags and ushered me over to the smiling receptionist.
Location
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest has the best location of any hotel in Budapest. It sits across the roundabout from the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, a chain bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda, where you will find tree-covered hills and Buda Castle, and Pest, where this Four Seasons is located.
Most of the luxury hotels in Budapest are located on the more modern Pest side of the river. The main shopping street, a lovely riverside promenade, and river cruise pontoons can also be found on this side of the river. If you walk across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Buda Castle is directly in front of you, and you can climb its ancient walls or take the Funicular up to the castle. This is probably the main sight to see in Budapest.
The building that houses the Four Seasons, Budapest, is a pedestrianized shopping street with loads of restaurants spilling out onto the cobbles. The impressively huge St. Stephen’s Basilica cathedral is at the end of this street. Across the road from the Four Seasons doorway is a pretty and busy tree-lined waterfront promenade that stretches from the InterContinental hotel and runs down the riverside past a huge concrete Marriott before tapering off just before it reaches Erzsébet Bridge, which is near the pontoons that the river cruises start from. The far end of this waterfront walkway is steps from the Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest, another one of Budapest’s best luxury hotels.
Four Seasons Budapest is absolutely in the center of everything that Budapest offers when you stay at this Four Seasons. If you book their Danube River-View room, you can look down upon all the activity on and around the roundabout and watch tourists meander past the stone lions that guard their magnificent bridge.
Style & Character
When our family arrives at a Four Seasons hotel, we feel like we’ve come home. It doesn’t matter where we are in the world. The warmth of the staff and the kindness they exude always makes us feel at home. I understand that the Four Seasons staff are paid to embrace you with affection and joy when you arrive, but we’ve never felt their happiness is anything but genuine. Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest is no exception and offers a generously warm welcome in possibly the most stunning hotel foyer I’ve ever experienced.
The foyer of the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest is stunning. So much so that walking tours seem to frequent through the entrance area to marvel at its history and beauty. The history of this building is interesting. The Palace was built in 1880, and the Gresham Life Assurance Company of London quickly purchased the property as a source of rental income. The company then decided to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a grander one that served as an office and also as a residence for senior staff, with its grand opening taking place in 1907.
You feel the creation designed for this 1907 opening in the foyer. You can sit at the bar under the domed glass roof and listen to the tinkling of the piano or in the lobby on one of the plush seats set out on the sparkling mosaic floor, and it feels like you’re in an ancient shopping arcade. It’s easy to imagine horses and carts dropping their wealthy residents off in the undercover and prestigious arcade over a hundred years ago.
During World War II, when Budapest was liberated and then occupied by the Red Army, the building was converted into an army barracks. It was later handed over to the communist government of Hungary, which turned it into proletarian housing, leading to significant disrepair. In 2001, an extensive restoration revitalized the original features, including the grand staircase, stained glass, mosaics, and ironwork. Today, this Four Seasons hotel stands as one of the most stunning palaces on the Pest side of the Danube.
The Art-Nouveau façade of the hotel is an opulent mix of arches, columns, and sculptures. Entrance is via the building’s large and original black-iron gate which is surrounded by glass and features intricate detailing. Inside the air conditioning breathes cool air into this gargantuan space. Underneath your feet, a beautiful floor mosaic sparkles with thousands of little cream stone tiles, and above hang the glistening spikes of the Preciosa chandelier dangling from the lobby’s domed ceiling.
In the afternoon, a piano player tinkles in the ivories of a grand piano while guests enjoy indulgent Hungarian pastries. In the evening, mixologists prepare cocktails and serve them in this grand setting.
Service & Facilities
This Four Seasons has all the facilities you could possibly need for your city break. This includes an extensive spa with a large changing area complete with showers you can use ever after you checkout (or before you check in if you need to freshen up after your flight). This spa area includes a lounging area around a pool, which has views over the rooftop of the building and plenty of natural light. The Ritz-Carlton Budapest also has a smaller rooftop pool, but most hotels in Budapest do not offer one. There’s also a large gym with all the latest equipment, set in the eaves of the hotel next to the pool.
Back downstairs, the lobby area is a great place to sit and watch the world go by. The concierge at this hotel has its own room, much like a library, where you can also stop by and use the business center or take a comfy seat and read one of the numerous books about the history of Budapest.
Rooms
The rooms at this Four Seasons offer a traditional style with cream and lemon walls and furnishings, with typically generous Four Seasons marble bathrooms. The bath and shower gels are by Diptyque, 34 Boulevard Saint Germain, Paris, the same brand used at Four Seasons Cap Ferrat, giving off a delicious scent. The foyers of the rooms are parquet, but the rest of the room is carpeted. As you would expect from a Four Seasons hotel, most rooms (with the exception of those with bay windows) have effective double-glazing and blackout curtains.
We had a Danube River View room. These rooms have incredible views across the big bridge, and you can gaze at the ever-changing view of tourists overlooked by the ancient stone lions guarding the bridge. This has to be the best view from any bedroom in Budapest. If you’d like a better deal, book via our luxury travel concierge. At the time of writing, this Four Seasons offers a free prioritized upgrade to the river view room. We can book you into the cheaper room in the category below and you should immediately receive this room upgrade (at all but peak times and subject to availability). You will also get free breakfast, a $100 USD room credit, a welcome amenity, and more.
The welcome amenities must be shared as they are so good at this Four Seasons. I mentioned that my son had just celebrated his birthday, and a delicious chocolate mouse birthday cake was provided. There was also a fruit bowl and creamy macaroons to munch on. Completely delicious and very generous. I’m not sure if every guest gets these but when you book via our luxury travel concierge, you do get a very decent welcome amenity, which I know is always appreciated by our clients.
Food & Drink
The breakfast at this Four Seasons is the best in Budapest. The quantity and variety of food available will make you feel almost gluttonous. The pastries are disgustingly sugary and utterly tasty, and the array and choice in the buffet is almost overwhelming – in a good way!
There’s a rainbow-colored spread of salads and smoothies. Dont miss the strawberry smoothie. It was a hit with my family! Plus, there were ginger shots, little bowls of cut fruit and berries, bircher muesli, whole fruit, cheeses, breads, cold cuts, and more. I could go on, but suffice to say this is a great array of Four Seasons breakfast indulgences. There’s also an a la carte menu with egg any which way, fresh blueberry pancakes, waffles, and more. I had the oatmeal and berries and was served the most enormous bowl of berries. There is definitely a no-expense-spared feel at this breakfast.
The brasserie setting of the breakfast restaurant is also worth a mention. This is a really nice space with a Parisian feel to it. At breakfast, the double doors were swung open to the street so that fresh air and street activity made their way into the room. This was a particularly relaxing way to enjoy Budapest in the morning.
You can also have an evening meal here, as it’s the main hotel restaurant and the location of the second, more lively hotel bar, the first being the stunning foyer bar. In the evening, we had drinks and snacks in the historic lobby bar, which was peaceful and relaxing, and also in the brasserie restaurant bar, which was busy with live music and seating that spilled out onto the pedestrianized street next door to the hotel. The atmosphere was electric, and there was a great menu of local snacks like fried chicken and prawns, which you could enjoy while the live trumpeter parped out your favorite tunes.
Conclusion
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest is undoubtedly the most luxurious hotel in Budapest overall. It has the most historic and stunning foyer of any hotel in Budapest. It has spacious, beautifully decorated rooms with the best views in Budapest. It has a pool, which is unusual in this city, and it has by far the best breakfast in Budapest with an indulgent mix of everything you could possibly want and some extra bits that you didn’t know you wanted, but the Four Seasons did! Loosen your belt and book the Four Seasons Budapest. It’s a brilliant base in this unique city.
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