Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace

The Gresham Palace is one of Europe's supreme Art Nouveau buildings: completed in 1906 for a London insurance company, its curved facade faces the Széchenyi Chain Bridge across the Danube, with Buda Castle rising on the far bank. Wrought-iron peacock gates, a glass-roofed arcade, mosaic floors and Zsolnay ceramic tiles survived decades of war and neglect before a heroic restoration returned the building to life as a Four Seasons in 2004—a project still cited among the great hotel restorations.

The interiors reward slow attention: the lobby's stained glass and winter-garden light, staircases spiralling beneath ironwork, and rooms that translate the Secessionist spirit into calm contemporary luxury. Danube-facing rooms and suites frame the Chain Bridge and castle in a view that defines Budapest; even the corridors, lined with restored mosaics, feel like part of a museum that happens to have beds.

Kollázs, the ground-floor brasserie, serves Central European and grill cooking with terrace seats toward the bridge, while the top-floor spa and infinity-edged lap pool look over the rooftops. The Chain Bridge leads straight to the Castle District funicular, and Pest's basilica and cafés are minutes behind. Few hotels anywhere unite building, view and city so completely.