Klotild Palace, Budapest

Architect: Attila Komjáthy Text: Dominika Vámos Photos: Tamás Bujnovszky

At perhaps one of the most exposed sites of Budapest, Ferenciek Square is situated at the mouth of the road leading to Elizabeth Bridge. This is where the twin buildings of Klotild Palace were erected at the turn of the century as the motif of a gate to the city. And this is where the Buddha Bar Hotel is going to be opened quite soon. The facility with this exotic name will be housed in the northern palace No. II. Being a protected historical monument, the structure has been restored to its glory, with its original facades, silhouettes of roofs and richly decorated eclectic stairhall. The Buddha-Bar „concept” is the invention of Claude Challe-Shalom, a DJ living in Paris. Actually, it is a Gesamkunstwerk-type work with a unique restaurant interior design and hotel concept which was bought by Mellow Mood as a franchise. Operating and maintaining hotels, this company was founded by Lebanese entrepreneurs who are now renting the building.