Juhász Gyula - Szántó András: Hotels - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1999)
In 1864, the new lessee himself put his hope in the vicinity of the railway station when he advertised his sixty rooms to be let at moderate rates. Luxury was represented by the presence of a tin wash basin in every room, which spared the guests the trouble of washing by the well in the courtyard. And yet, by the end of the century the London had become a popular establishment. It was here that the Caterers’ Trade Association held its meetings, and regular patrons of the hotel included personalities whose presence conferred, in itself, distinction on the house. This is what writer Ernő Szép had to say about one of the famous regular patrons: “The Hotel London, like the Pannónia, ... was a facility accommodating people from the country. Maybe that was what attracted our unforgettable Krúdy ... (who) fancied the beer of the house... He liked the blue and red tablecloths and the busy tapster...” Journalists from the office across the street where the daily Pesti Hírlap (Pest News) was edited were frequent customers here. Ferenc Molnár’s favourite cabbage strudels were baked in the shape of his initials, M and F. These were some of the gestures made by the house to create a friendly atmosphere. As late as the 1920s, all rooms were equipped with bootjacks, and there were children’s seats for the youngest in the restaurant. The latter was "like some kind of railway eatery in the middle of the snow- covered Great Plain... Judges came here to drink beer from the nearby court in Markó utca and so did ex-convicts on the day they were released from prison... There was a time when lovers came here to die... The London was one of the last strongholds of the 19th century...” wrote novelist Sándor Márai. ln 1927 the establishment was closed and soon after the building itself was pulled down. The Grand Hotel HUNGÁRIA (Ho. 1 Türr István utca, district IV) No. 4 Apáczai Csere János utca, district V (on the site of today’s Hotel Marriott) Raised to plans by Antal Szkalnitzky and Henrik Koch Jr, the palatial, neo-Renaissance building opened in 1871, as the first in the famous row of hotels on the Danube embankment. The hotel, well equipped to satisfy all requirements at luxury level, had 294 rooms, 133 of which overlooked the Danube. This was the first six-storey building in Budapest. The facility was supplied with the 7
