Radisson Blu Beke Hotel, Budapest

THE BEGINNING In the last century, Henry Fábri coffee-merchant, after his return from his travels in England and in the Far East, recognized the future of Hungarian tourism, and decided to establish a modern hotel near the Western Railway Station of Budapest. His choice fell to a four-storey corner house, which was rebuilt and reformed in virtue of his foreign experiences, to create a modern hotel, which satisfies all needs of the guests. On the 10th of May 1913 the house opened his doors for the first time and became the ancestor of today's Hotel Béke, whose founder - who was influenced by the English hotel industry – named the house BRITANNIA. CULTURAL CAFÉ-LIFE The hotel was modernized and developed according to the needs of the contemporary bourgeoisie, which allowed the participation of the hotel in the cultural and artistic life of Budapest. Eugene Haranghy, professor at the Academy of Arts worked on the decoration of the building’s halls. His magnificent stained glasses and painted illustrations are still the decoration of the hotel's restaurant, as well as the Shakespeare and the Venice conference rooms. With the opening of the coffee-house on the boulevard side, the BRITANNIA became part of the vivacious cultural life and the history of Budapest. THE MODERN BÉKE The building of the BRITANNIA was ravaged during the World War II., it functioned as a military hospital and also endured a bomb attack. After the end of the war it was reopened, with a new and descriptive name, as HOTEL BÉKE (Peace). In 1985 the HungaroHotels fully restored and modernized the building, so begun the third golden age of the HOTEL BÉKE. In 1987 it was the first European hotel which joined the American Radisson SAS Hotel Group. As from November 2009 it became the Radisson Blu Béke Hotel.