Spring is bringing significant changes to Hungary’s accommodation offering outside the capital, with several new hotels offering substantial capacity opening their doors across the country in the coming months. The multi-billion-forint developments could put certain Hungarian destinations on the map or strengthen them further. So let’s look at the new openings, from Villány to Debrecen!
Hévíz, Villány, Balatonfőkajár, Debrecen – just a few of the towns outside Budapest where significant changes are expected in the accommodation market in the coming months. Le Primore will add 285 rooms to the existing offering, Hotel Essence 100, Balaton Park Hotel 131 and ibis Styles Debrecen Airport 88. Smaller hotels are also opening in Harkány, Pécs, Balatonfüred and Sátoraljaújhely.
“With the opening of the regional projects due in the coming months, a major wave of development comes to an end, and the projects of the Kisfaludy grant scheme that have not yet been completed are running their course. Looking ahead to the next few years, outside Budapest we do not see developments of this scale that would rewrite market conditions; the construction of several planned investments has been put on hold indefinitely because of increasingly expensive bank loans and steadily rising construction costs,” Attila Hegedűs, partner and managing director of Prophex Europe Consulting, told a Turizmus.com journalist, explaining the trends seen in the market.
According to the expert, we have reached the crest of one wave and will have to wait a few years for the next, since while developments in Budapest are almost always financed on a market basis, regional investments have traditionally required state or EU funding, and none is currently in prospect.
This does not mean, however, that there will be no change in the market, as properties already operating will be forced to modernise and expand their services in the face of stiffer competition. “Renovation, creative product development, strong marketing and retaining staff,” said Attila Hegedűs, listing the most important future tasks for established hotels outside the capital.
Le Primore Hotel & Spa, Hévíz
Opening this spring, Le Primore Hotel & Spa describes itself as a new symbol of premium tourism and a model of commitment to nature conservation and sustainability. The investment amounts to almost HUF 34 billion, of which almost HUF 8 billion is funding won under the Kisfaludy Tourism Development Programme.
The six-storey hotel complex offers premium-level services in wellbeing and spa tourism, with a grandiose spa offering, a total of 285 rooms and suites, penthouse suites on the top floor, a panoramic pool, and a rooftop restaurant and bar, said Szilvia Móricz, director of sales and marketing, introducing the hotel.
In the Eden Spa, which covers almost 11,000 square metres, guests can bathe in medicinal pools filled with Hévíz thermal water at various temperatures, as well as in leisure and children’s pools. Guests can also enjoy three huge sauna worlds, the Balinese spa, the private spa and hammam, and the kids’ spa. Ladies can also use the saunas in the dedicated Lady Spa. In addition to classic Hévíz treatments, there is a modern yoga and fitness centre and a beauty and hair salon.
Further key pillars of Le Primore Hotel & Spa are its fine-dining restaurants and bars. Le Restaurant is the largest buffet restaurant in Hungary, offering half board. La Vie will welcome guests as a gourmet restaurant. The hotel pays special attention to families, offering them programmes that span generations, including in the family and children’s adventure world covering almost 800 square metres. Guests can choose from a variety of exercise and leisure programmes.
The hotel is no slouch as a conference venue either. Its modern event space, which blends into nature, measures 400 square metres and holds 250 people in theatre layout and 180 in classroom layout. The room can be divided into four sections, has natural daylight and features smart heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
Hotel Essence, Pogány
The five-star Hotel Essence also opened this spring on the outskirts of Pogány, next to Pécs, with a unique concept and outstanding services. The hotel mainly targets couples and families looking for a quality break, as well as lovers of the Villány wine region. One of the hotel’s most special features is its two separate wellness areas: families can enjoy a 1,000-square-metre leisure pool complex with a baby pool, a lazy river and an outdoor pool, while a 500-square-metre rooftop spa with panoramic pools, saunas, a float spa and relaxation areas is reserved exclusively for adults.
“The 100-room hotel offers a range of unique entertainment options, including its own cinema, bowling alley, games console room and chocolate-making workshop. Inspired by the wine region, we have also created a dedicated wine-tasting room,” said Tibor Gajda. All the rooms have been designed to meet the highest standards of comfort. The restaurant serves a five-course dinner and a buffet breakfast. A modern fitness centre is also available to guests.
Balaton Park Hotel, Balatonfőkajár
What makes the four-star Balaton Park Hotel unique is its immediate proximity to the Balaton Park Circuit racetrack and its view of it. “Every upper floor of our hotel and its roof terrace offer a direct view of the racetrack, which is very rare even by European standards,” said hotel general manager Csaba Magyar of this special feature. Built to the highest safety regulations and standards, the Balaton Park Circuit will host two prestigious international sporting events in 2025: MotoGP in August and the Superbike World Championship in July.
The Balaton Park Hotel is not only of interest to motorsport fans, however. Located right next to the M7 motorway, the hotel offers 136 comfortable, modern-design rooms in several categories. Thanks to its advantageous location and its conference rooms with a capacity of 260 people, it is an ideal business and conference venue. The main hall holds 200 people, and three smaller breakout rooms for 20 people add to the options. The building’s large roof terrace can host events with a unique atmosphere. The proximity of the racetrack is also worth taking advantage of for corporate events, as programmes can be enriched with activities related to any kind of car or motorcycle sport. The 100-seat Lavender Park Restaurant combines local flavours with international cuisine. Thanks to its proximity to Lake Balaton and popular tourist destinations, the hotel could also be popular with leisure guests.
“The Anna Grand Hotel in Balatonfüred, operated by our group, was awarded five-star status in 2024, and this year it will host the two-hundredth Anna Ball,” said Csaba Magyar, sharing information about the group’s other hotel.
Debrecen’s new hotel opens for summer
According to currently available information, Accor will open its ibis Styles hotel at Debrecen airport on 1 July; it will be the first hotel in the immediate vicinity of Debrecen International Airport, the country’s second busiest airport. Built next to the entrance of the airport car park, the four-storey property will welcome guests with 72 modern, comfortable rooms and 16 apartments, and there will also be a restaurant and bar in the building. Meeting rooms will be available for business travellers, the company told a Turizmus.com journalist.
ibis Styles Debrecen Airport will be the brand’s fifth hotel in Hungary. Every ibis Styles has a unique interior design that references the traditions, history or culture of its location, and the Debrecen property will be no exception. Accor’s partner in the investment is the XANGA Group, one of the largest investment and development groups in Eastern Hungary.
Smaller hotels across the country
An emblematic building of Balatonfüred, the Rodostó Villa in the Kiserdő, has been reborn and now welcomes guests as a boutique hotel. Petit Bois Füred offers a total of 13 elegant and spacious suites. Its wellness area pampers guests with a counter-current swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a Finnish sauna and a bio sauna and a steam bath, and it also has a gym. Fine drinks can be enjoyed in the panoramic rooftop bar, the hotel said.
A 50-room, municipally owned hotel is being built next to the Balatonfüred Kongresszusi Központ, and is expected to open its doors this autumn, it was announced at a conference.
The Rákóczi Hotel, Tábor és Rendezvényközpont in Sátoraljaújhely is being extended with a 50-room, four-star hotel. The property will also have a wellness area with saunas, a pool, a jacuzzi and a salt room. A sky terrace is being created on the top floor.
Construction of a 96-room, five-star hotel will soon begin in Rudabányácska. The hotel, being built as part of a HUF 10 billion investment, is expected to open its doors at the end of 2026, Turizmus.com learned about the investment on a study trip.
Also in the near future, in May, Villány’s new hotel, the Viale Boutique Hotel, will make its debut. The 30-room hotel with a panoramic wellness area aims to create a new kind of connection between guests and Villány and the region. The hotel champions closeness to nature and an offline lifestyle, offering guests activities for which there is no time in hectic everyday life. It serves brunch-style breakfasts, and its bubble-themed bar will welcome guests with talks and wine tastings.
Following a renovation, the Thermal Hotel Harkány will soon reopen. The well-located 31-room Fordan Hotel in Pécs has also been renovated.
According to initial plans, the five-star Le Méridien BalaPort Lake Balaton Resort in Balatonfüred was to have opened its doors for the 2025 season. Reportedly, the project has changed owners, so the opening has been postponed to a later date. According to earlier announcements, the HUF 22.5 billion project will include a 102-room adults-only hotel, a special bathhouse and sauna park, 4 themed restaurants, 24 apartments and an underground car park with 188 spaces.
Classics in a new guise
Besides the new investments, it is worth reviewing the regional hotels reopening after renovation. After years of comprehensive development, the Hunguest Flóra, a defining symbol of tourism in Eger, reopened its doors in December 2024. One of the city’s best-known and largest four-star hotels, it welcomes guests with 205 renovated units and event capacity for a total of 400 people, next to the Eger Thermal and Lido Baths. During the development, the formerly three-star property underwent a complete modernisation and transformation: the units, communal areas, reception, lobby bar and restaurant were renovated, and a children’s play area and electric vehicle charging stations were added.
Hotel Silvanus, which suffered damage worth several billion forints in a fire, reopened in April after an enforced break of more than a year, reborn with doubled outdoor and expanded indoor wellness capacity. Its new attraction will be a spectacular outdoor pool with a special panorama, jutting out from the hillside. Restoration and development took place at the same time at the hotel: the indoor jacuzzi was replaced and a new sauna was built.
The Hotel Lycium in Debrecen is getting an international brand and a HUF 1 billion renovation. The new tenant will operate the four-star hotel with the involvement of the Accor Group, and the international brand chosen jointly is Handwritten Collection. The technical and operating standards of the brand, now debuting in Hungary, meet the Hotelstars requirements for four-star hotels. The hotel closed on 1 February and will remain closed during the renovation, which will be completed within 20 months at the latest.
BDPST Group has sold Andrássy Kúria & Spa in the Tokaj-Hegyalja region; the new owner is Talentis Group Zrt., part of the Mészáros Group. Since March the hotel has been operated by Hunguest Hotels, which at the end of February also announced that it was taking over the operation of Hotel Benedict in Kőszeg. Both hotels are housed in historic buildings almost four hundred years old. The four-star Hotel Benedict was created in 2020 in the former Benedictine monastery building with 35 rooms, and is reopening after a two-year break.
Source: Tünde Pintér, Turizmus.com