I don’t have diamond stars in my hair like dreamy Habsburg Empress Sisi, who once lorded over Budapest’s ornate Hungarian State Opera House as if it were her second home. But, in her honor, I’ve dressed queenly enough, sporting silks, lace, and heels higher than should be legal. I take an opulent seat in a cosseting private box, positioned to hover over the gilded Neo-Renaissance opera house’s gallery. As I watch a performance of Falstaff, I sip Champagne and wonder if perhaps Sisi sat in the same box more than a century ago. I imagine her gorgeous visage gazing at the stage, more alluring than the show.
Quixotically, the day also began on a balcony amid a sumptuous array. At the glamorous Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel, I breakfasted on sausages, pastries, salmon, and lecsó, a Hungarian version of shakshuka or ratatouille — all washed down with black coffee and a naughty drink laced with (more) Champagne. In the hotel’s exclusive, for-guests-only White Salon, a perch above the hotel’s more-than-a-century-old, storied coffeehouse, New York Cafe, I’m bedazzled by a preponderance of mega baroque and gothic grandeur. Once a retreat and gathering place for Budapest’s intellectual and literati set, the still-buzzing cafe has become yet more globally renowned in recent years for its extravagant decor and ambiance, not to mention its cakes. Travelers from around the world visit Budapest just to linger over afternoon tea here — or to capture that winning Instagram photo. Though not disruptive to hotel guests, a line begins to form early in the day at the cafe’s separate entrance. But as guests, we are poised above the action as carefree as clouds in our exclusive section of the hotel’s private White Salon terrace.
Heyday Glamour and Elan
Budapest, a fascinating city on the Danube best known for its thermal baths, red-pepper-infused gastronomy, and castles, stands alone as a European travel destination. With the upturn in river cruises, however, it’s most often experienced as a short bookend visit before or after a Danube River jaunt — with guests from further-flung locations staying for just a few days. It deserves much more. An eclectic, photogenic city, Budapest brandishes architectural styles from Baroque to Art Nouveau to Gothic — with abundant, classically inspired Neo-Renaissance buildings. Straddling the Danube, stunning Budapest comprises two main sections (once separate villages): Pest and Buda. Each holds sites and monuments worth visiting, but Pest stands out as the buzzier political section, while Buda, more residential, features the famous Buda Castle and Matthias Church. The Chain Bridge, bedecked by lion statues, famously connects the river’s banks.
By far, the city’s ultimate retreat is the 185-room-and-suite Anantara Palace Budapest Hotel. On a distinguished boulevard on the Pest side, it opened in 1894 as the stately European headquarters for New York Life Insurance Company — hence its slightly bewildering name. (Note to travelers: there’s thankfully nothing American about this Belle Époque palace.) Conceived by top local architects, it exudes the ultimate in Hungarian storybook charm. It’s a white wedding cake of splendor, with heritage interiors ideally suited for a romantic weekend away. Built around a covered courtyard, which now holds an irresistible contemporary lobby living room, Anantara Palace Budapest delights with spacious suites, each reflective of heyday glamour and elan. Anchored by centuries-old art and antiques, swathed in lush fabrics, and arranged with custom-made furniture, each haven also has over-sized, hedonistic, white-marble bathrooms replete with immense tubs. Consider the 1,453-square-foot Sapphire Presidential Suite for its overall grandeur, mosaic bathroom, and various Murano glass chandeliers.
There’s a culinary nook for every mood at this splendorous hideaway from the evocative Poet Bar, an oak and satin-sheathed snug fortified by the residual energy of the former writers and artists who once sipped here, to the White Salon, which looks to European brasseries of bygone times for its modern take on seasonal fare. The New York Cafe, of course, with its marbled columns, frescoes, and crystal chandeliers leaves an unforgettable impression as does taking advantage of Anantara’s brand-wide Dining by Design concept, which sets up gobsmacking private gastronomic experiences in unexpected locations throughout the hotel. Have a Champagne soiree with snacks and drinks served by liveried staff on the expansive balcony of an elegant suite, for example — just you and your beloved.
Romantic Tête-à-Têtes
The sort of hotel you’d like to check into with your lover and never leave your suite, Anantara New York Palace Budapest tempts with luscious options that will force you from your tempestuous lair. Deeply established in Budapest, the staff, composed mostly of locals, have a penchant for catapulting guests into the city’s rich culture. Take a private sunset boat ride on the Danube. Visit the famed Central Market Hall with a gourmet guide, intent to have you taste the best the city and region makes and grows, from sausage to honey. Roll through the city in a vintage VW bus, complete with affable guide. Art and fashion lovers will want to explore Tard, a local village known for its embroidery folk art, where a local women’s co-op keeps the ancient patterns alive. Libation lovers learn how Hungary’s traditional spirit, Palinka, gets made at a distillery tour.
On property, yield to the talents of therapists at the Anantara Spa, where signature treatments incorporate Budapest’s own thermal water’s healing traditions and local curative knowledge. Our top pick? The 90-minute Hungarian Mud Therapy, which uses healing mud from the thermal Lake Hévíz for an exfoliation, followed by a massage. For couples, we love the romantic getaway package which includes a chilled bottle of sparkling wine and carpet of flower petals sprinkled throughout the room upon arrival, followed by the two-hour Journey for Couples, which includes a massage with sweet orange, damask rose, and jasmine oils, a foot ritual, and grand finale romantic bath.
Feature image courtesy of Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel
