Juhász Gyula - Szántó András: Hotels - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1999)
The Lukács kel Leó utca, district II) was especially popular with those seeking a health cure and relaxation, in a large measure because of its pleasant courtyard and fine restaurant. Hotels welcoming guests today The Hotel ELIZABETH (No. 5 Egyetem utca, district IV) No. 11-15 Károlyi Mihály utca, district V Named for the queen, this hotel opened in 1872 in the southern section of Pest Inner City. (The name had to be authorised by the court.) When it was opened, the hotel was believed to have a shining future ahead, but prosperity only came in 1908, when Imre Szabó took out a lease on the establishment. After enlarging the hotel, which initially had fifty rooms, Szabó had another, seven- storey building raised on a neighbouring plot. This he called the Hotel Szabó. After World War 1, both hotels characteristically offered discreet, bourgeois amenities. Contemporary advertisements described the Queen Elizabeth as a “first-rate family hotel”, adding that it stood “in the middle of the Inner City” to emphasise its favourable location. By the late twenties, the buildings, containing a hundred rooms, had been equipped with all modern conveniences, such as centra] heating, lifts, hot and cold running water. The hotel’s “first-rate” restaurant featured fine Hungarian cuisine, its own Somló wines, and gypsy music to entertain guests at night. 20
