Luxury interior designers Goddard Littlefair have completed the first phase of an extensive refurbishment of the Hilton Hotel, Budapest.

The refurbishment encompasses a range of the hotel’s principle public areas including: the reception; lounge; lobby bar and executive lounge, along with renovated bedrooms and linking corridor areas.

The first phase of development is now complete. Phase two, os to be completed later this spring, and features 136 guestrooms on the north side of the hotel, along with a new separate, lower ground floor entrance for group check-in. The final phase will encompass the ballroom, gym, meeting rooms and the remaining 264 guestrooms on the hotel’s south side, together with the presidential suite.

The new hotel interior brings a new light and elegant contemporaneity via a palette of refined silvers and gold combined with accent colours; together with dark timber, brass inlays, black and white granite, and a wide range of bespoke furniture and fabrics. A number of stunning art installations also feature, specially commissioned for the project from local Hungarian artists and specialist maker studios.

The overarching colour scheme for the public areas is made up of a neutral base with layers of gold and silver plus accent colours for different areas, ranging from blues to greens to mustards and pale purples, whilst the remaining material palette includes granite, dark timber, walnut and verre eglomisé. The colours in the reception are slightly more restrained, with punchier blues and plusher velvets used to distinguish the lounge area.

The entrance has been replaced by three smaller desks, set on timber bases with surrounds in antiqued black granite and frontispieces in halo-lit dark timber with a geometric-pattern gold metal inlay. Meanwhile, the wall behind reception is inlaid with a series of vertical panels in silvered glass, which were hand-painted in art nouveau style with a wisteria illustration by Hungarian specialists Rákosy Glass.

The lobby bar features fabric-wrapped walls and a geometric blue and green patterned carpet, with the bar itself clad in leather with timber and glass detailing.

Guestrooms display a classic modern look, taking on the colours of the public space interiors, using them in a simple, elegant and softer tone. Flooring is in timber-effect ceramic, along with carpeted areas, whilst fabric panels are used for the bed headboard. Mirrors reflect light back into the space, which also features dark timber and faux leather wall panels, with doors in a textured timber-effect laminate.

“We know our guests want extraordinary public spaces that still feel like home and have a real cosmopolitan flair” says Zoltan Arvai, General Manager of the Hilton Hotel, Budapest. “I feel absolutely passionate about the new designs inspired by Goddard Littlefair and Hilton Worldwide”.

The hotel, which is part of the Danubius Hotels Group, is located at the centre of the Hungarian capital, directly alongside St Matthias Church. Situated on the western, ‘Buda’ side of the Danube, which bisects the city and separates the mainly medieval, hilly Castle Quarter of Buda from the ‘Pest’ side of the city, where the architecture dates more from the period of the Austro-Hungarian empire, including many fine neo-classical, baroque and art nouveau buildings.

“Budapest is a stunning city and one that i have been lucky enough to work in on several occasions”, comments Martin Goddard, Director and Co-founder of Goddard Littlefair: “Being able to work here once again has made this project a real pleasure. It was also very professionally satisfying; it’s rare to get a chance to help accomplish a design transformation on this scale of such a premier European hotel”.

www.hilton.com