The building on the corner of V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty Square in Budapest’s city center has a modern canopy above the main entrance with illuminated white letters spelling “Dorothea Hotel,” which contrasts with its historic fa\u00e7ade. This luxury hotel belongs to Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n’s son-in-law, Istv\u00e1n Tiborcz. The Dorothea is one of five hotels \u2013 along with the Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton, the W Hotel Budapest, and the Matild Palace \u2013 recommended by the Hungarian EU Presidency for guests attending the most important event of the presidency, the summit in Budapest on November 7-8, according to findings from Direkt36.<\/p>\n
This recommendation does not obligate delegations to stay in these hotels, and guests can choose other accommodations. However, diplomatic sources say that the Hungarian Presidency has offered to secure reservations and handle related administrative tasks if participants register in time. A diplomat from one of the participating countries, who requested anonymity, told Direkt36 that the Hungarian EU Presidency particularly promoted the Dorothea to delegations, noting that the hotel offers attractive packages. “The Dorothea was recommended for numerous presidency-related events.\u00a0I’m curious how much the son-in-law\u00a0profited\u00a0off the presidency,” said a diplomat, referring to Tiborcz, who is married to Orb\u00e1n’s eldest daughter, R\u00e1hel Orb\u00e1n.<\/p>\n
The five-star Dorothea, with 216 rooms, still had availability for November 7-8 as of Tuesday. According to booking.com, the cheapest room on that date, with a balcony and a view of an inner courtyard, cost more than \u20ac420 (HUF 172,000) for a night, with an additional \u20ac40 (HUF 16,315) for a continental breakfast.<\/p>\n
Join the Direkt36 supporters\u2019 group and get insight into investigative journalism! Details \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n In response to our request for comment, the hotel\u2019s owner, BDPST Group, said, \u201cSince its opening, the Dorothea Hotel has been committed to promoting Budapest and Hungary, so we are pleased if delegations attending the EU summit choose our hotel, alongside other Budapest hotels.\u201d However, they did not disclose details about the guests due to privacy regulations.<\/p>\n We asked the European Council if they were aware that the Hungarian Presidency recommended, among others, the hotel owned by Viktor Orb\u00e1n’s son-in-law to EU summit participants. We received no response, nor did we get\u00a0a reply\u00a0from Zolt\u00e1n Kov\u00e1cs, the government commissioner responsible for the organization of the EU Presidency events.<\/p>\n The two-day Budapest summit is the most important event of Hungary’s EU presidency. On November 7, representatives of the European Political Community (EPC) met. The EPC, which brings together the EU, the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership countries, and the UK, was initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2022. On the following day, November 8, EU member state leaders hold an informal meeting in the Hungarian capital.<\/p>\n The Hungarian government expects nearly fifty delegations from over forty countries for the two events. For the guests, the Hungarian EU presidency has recommended hotels they believe meet the high standards and security requirements for the visiting delegations.<\/p>\n Among these is the Dorothea, which opened in November 2023 and has previously received support from the government and government-connected business circles. The Orb\u00e1n government designated this luxury hotel project by Tiborcz as a priority development in 2018, allowing the BDPST Group to benefit from expedited official procedures. According to V\u00e1lasz Online <\/a>the BDPST Group secured loans totaling \u20ac105.2 million (HUF 40.14 billion) from MBH Bank, majority-owned by Orb\u00e1n’s childhood friend L\u0151rinc M\u00e9sz\u00e1ros, and other financial institutions that later merged with MBH. The hotel is operated by Marriott International under the Autograph Collection Hotels brand.<\/p>\n Another recommended hotel is the Budapest Marriott. In August, Telex reported<\/a> that its Czech owner had put the hotel up for sale, with BDPST possibly among the interested buyers. The hotel only responded to our request for comment, including questions about the sale process, that they do not answer business-related questions.<\/p>\nHotels <\/strong>r<\/strong>ecommended by the <\/strong>g<\/strong>overnment<\/strong><\/h2>\n