Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced that it will open its first Crowne Plaza property in Hungary’s capital in 2021.
IHG has signed an agreement with Granit Polus Group to re-brand the Hilton Budapest City as the Crowne Plaza Budapest, with the group spending over €10 million on the renovation. The 230-room hotel is located close to the city’s downtown business district and within walking distance of the international railway station. Additionally, the hotel is adjacent to WestEnd City Centre, one of the city’s largest shopping centres.
The property will also feature 13 meeting rooms and a café and lounge club.
Mario Maxeiner, Managing Director, Northern Europe, Russia, CIS & Georgia at IHG, commented on the announcement:
“The power of our enterprise really shines through when we see great signings such as Crowne Plaza Budapest. It shows that even in the current environment, there remains great appetite from our owners to join the IHG family as the strength, resilience and attractiveness of our brands is highly prominent. The reputation of IHG’s brand portfolio has resulted in several great growth opportunities, with high-quality conversions to our leading brands like Crowne Plaza. This property is the first of the brand to enter the Hungarian market and we’re confident that Crowne Plaza is going to fit perfectly amongst our other brands and help us grow our presence in this country.”
Miklós Gyertyánfy, Asset Management Director at Gránit Pólus Group, added:
“It is our greatest pleasure to crown the 20th birthday of Westend City Centre with such an announcement as we believe that now is the right time to rebrand this hotel. It is also a great honour to welcome Crowne Plaza to Hungary the first time ever, and to find such experienced partner with impeccable international reputation as the Intercontinental Hotels Group. Given the central location of West End City Centre, we are confident that Crowne Plaza Budapest will become a vibrant hotspot for business travellers and tourists once the Covid-19 pandemic is resolved. In the spirit of this project Gránit Pólus Group will dedicate more than 10 million Euros to renovate the hotel with its 230 rooms in the following two years.”
IHG currently has two hotels in Budapest, and plans to open the Holiday Inn Express Budapest – City Centre in 2022.
The group recently signed agreements to bring the Crowne Plaza brand to Lucknow, India, in 2024 and to open Thailand’s largest Crowne Plaza hotel in the heart of Bangkok in 2021.
