EU nation’s largest hotel to close due to energy crisis

The Danubius Hotel Hungaria in Budapest will not work during the winter season

Hungary’s largest hotel will close for four months because of soaring energy prices as the country battles with inflation. Budapest’s 499-room Danubius Hotel Hungaria City Center will not be accepting bookings between November 1 and February 28 because it will be “difficult to operate efficiently during the winter season,” Hungarian travel news website Turizmus reported on Monday, citing management.

The four-star hotel sits in the picturesque part of the city, close to the 19th-century Budapest Keleti railway station. It was opened under its current name in 1985. The building, remodeled several times throughout its history, was first used as a hotel in 1915.

The operator said its eight hotels in Budapest, Gyor and Buk will continue to accept customers. “We can offer our guests a variety of other accommodation options in our hotels in the capital, and it is equally important for us to take care of all our colleagues working in Danubius Hotel Hungaria, which will be temporarily closed from November,” Danubius Hotels CEO Balazs Kovacs said.

“Despite the difficult months ahead, our owner is committed to the development and refurbishment of our hotels, and is thinking long-term.”

The news comes after several Hungarian high-end hotels announced temporary closures, including the luxury Kastelyhotel Sasvar Resort, located in a 19-century Gothic-style castle.

The Hungarian media quoted Tamas Flesch, the honorary president of the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants, this month as saying that more than a quarter of spa hotels may close for the winter.