New York Residence ★★★★★ (formerly Boscolo)

Shimmering, sparkling and shining, I could not fail to be amazed by the decadence of the dazzling gold interior, A world of opulence and riches as I thought could only exist in some fairy-tale palace, certainly not in real life. In fact, I half expected Cinderella and Prince Charming to come waltzing in at any moment and interrupt my lunch. Yet here I was in the very real New York Café on the ground floor of the New York Palace. A combination of American grandeur and European architecture, this grandiose palace serves as a symbol of the rebuilding of Budapest, a city of ever-increasing beauty and charm.

The New York Residence is the modern wing of the extraordinary old hotel. Located just around the corner from the iconic palace and New York Café, it enjoys access to all of the hotel’s fantastic facilities, while housing guests in state of the art, sophisticated suites. The simple, contemporary Italian design is exquisitely executed, and all suites are beautifully furnished to make your stay as comfortable as a perfectly fitting glass slipper.

Worn out from exploring the historic, cultural and artistic delights found in abundance throughout the Pearl of the Danube, I found myself taking refuge in the hotel spa, in need of my own Cinderella-like transformation if I were to ever be ready to go to the ball. For the true revitalising Budapest experience, however, one must also venture out to the many baths found across the City of Spas, believed for thousands of years to possess magical healing powers.

Legend has it that, on the day of the New York Café’s original opening, famous Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnár threw the keys into the Danube, so that it may never close. This was clearly a stroke of good luck, since - despite its temporary periods of closure and troubled history - it lives on to this day, more magnificent and splendid than ever before. If Budapest is Cinderella, then the New York Residence is this story’s alluring and handsome Prince Charming.