Significant changes are expected in the downtown luxurious hotel market especially in in the following years: several major hotels are set to open between 2019 and 2021. As Forbes magazine outlined the hotel developments in Budapest (May 2019), it seems that Andrássy Avenue 3 and Andrássy Avenue 52 will be renewed based on the interior design plans of este’r partners. Eszter Radnóczy and her team recently showed us the first photos of the two hotels, of their so-called model rooms – it’s the first time we can have a glimpse of the two elegant hotels.
MODEL ROOM: Why, to whom?
Most hotels make model rooms so that customers can actually see how the finished room will look like, see those details that are less understandable in the plans, and any problems or errors that may arise can be modified by the designer. In addition to designers, constructors and operators, “civilian” users test and give their opinion on the model room. The model room brings a special contrast to the life of the hotel: there is a finished, elegant ‘box’ in the middle of the often dusty and noisy building site.
“Ideally, the model room will be completed while the design work is still in progress,” says Eszter Radnóczy, owner and chief designer of the este’r partners. “It is a very good confirmation to the designer that everything he or she has thought of is perfectly feasible within the given framework. When testing a sample room, you should always be prepared for the customer, the operator and the contractor to have a different opinion. Bringing these interests together is the biggest challenge, in addition to delivering the vision and message that was originally envisioned. ”
The two model rooms that were just presented were designed for the hotels in Andrássy Avenue 3rd and 52nd. Andrássy Avenue 3rd is the so-called Saxlehner Palace, which has ornate interiors with frescoes by the famous painter Károly Lotz. Here the interior designers (Eszter Radnóczy, Mónika Szommer) use classic, restrained gestures and guide the hotel visitor from the flamboyance decoration of the exterior to the classic-style hotel rooms. Characteristic elements of interior design solutions are the use of copper cladding mirrors, shades of burgundy, mauve, olive green and deep blue. The wellness area features a custom-designed well where you can put different types of water (bitter water, thermal water), which can be tried and compared. This is a modern reference to the original builder András Saxlehner, the owner of the thermal springs in Sasad whose wealth was established by the distribution of Hunyadi’s bitter water.
Originally Henrik Haggenmacher asked, the architect of German origin but settled in Hungary, Henrik Schmahl to design the building, Andrássy Avenue 52nd. In the lobby there is a plaster horse statue which is covered with Dreher Brewery labels. The horse, by the way, is a recurring motif in the building. The hotel is located near Oktogon, not specifically somewhere uptown, the design remained sporty and relaxed despite its rigorous decoration. The geometric elements recur, a good example of this is that the designers (Eszter Radnóczy, Hajnalka Zellei) have left the original checkerboard cover on the aisles, which gives rhythm to the moving spaces. While the outside is characterized by black-and-white, inside, red-gray, green-gray, blue-gray geometries will guide the customers’ glance on the carpet, while asymmetrical wall painting on the walls shapes the atmosphere of the space.
The photos of the model rooms were taken by Norbert Juhász, whose architectural photos were previously published by The New York Times. The images will be published for the first time in this press release.