Abbey buildings to be turned into hotel

A 300-year-old building complex of the arch abbey manor of Pannonhalma in western Hungary will be expanded into a four-star hotel through a HUF 5 billion forint (EUR 15.9 mn) investment, the Hungarian news agency MTI reports.

About 60% of this cost (HUF
2.95 bn) will be covered by public money as laid down in a decree by the
Hungarian government about a year ago. Archabbot Asztrik Várszegi and the director
of European hotel development of the Marriott hotel chain, Paul Rosenberg
signed a twenty-year management agreement on the hotel brand in December.

The sales and marketing director
of the abbey, László Vieland said that, under the agreement, the abbey pays a
certain amount of money each year for the four-star hotel to be part of the
Autograph by Marriott chain. He added that the purpose of the development was
to expand the tourist season that is currently from April to October, and also
to welcome guests from Austria, South Germany and Slovakia, and build on
conference tourism.

The hotel will be fitted with
a geothermal heating system, solar collectors are to be installed on the
building, and the water supply for certain parts of the hotel are to be
provided by court wells. According to plans, the 12th and 21st centuries will
live side by side in harmony in the building complex of this World Heritage
site. The development is scheduled to start in March 2018 and the hotel is
scheduled to open at Easter 2020. This will be Hungary’s first Marriott outside
of the capital and is expected to be one of the best hotels in the region.