Porhászka László: The Danube Promenade - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1998)

pool and fitness centre - criteria of the hotel’s eligibility as a five-star establishment. As motor traffic had been permanently eliminated, the entrance giving onto the flight of stairs leading to this spot was closed and the main entrance on the south, opening to Petőfi tér, became the major access to the hotel.

The two-storey office block and row of shops connected to the hotel was also rebuilt, which added considerable extra floor space to the building. On the first floor there is now a branch of the Hertz car-rental company together with a few smaller shops and a Delta Airlines office. An exotic Thai restaurant called Authentic Thai Cuisine and the local office of the Turkish airline opened on the ground floor in the mid-nineties. To preserve stylistic uniformity, the side building was reconstructed in accordance with guidelines provided by József Finta, the designer of the hotel itself.

The most interesting new installation of the promenade, László Marton’s Little Princess, was unveiled in 1990. The clever placement of the bronze statue is a masterstroke in itself. The artist sat the charming girl figure on the iron railLászló Marton: Little Princess

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