The building on the corner of Vörösmarty 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 façade. This luxury hotel belongs to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law, István Tiborcz. The Dorothea is one of five hotels – along with the Marriott, the Ritz-Carlton, the W Hotel Budapest, and the Matild Palace – 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.

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. I’m curious how much the son-in-law profited off the presidency,” said a diplomat, referring to Tiborcz, who is married to Orbán’s eldest daughter, Ráhel Orbán.

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 €420 (HUF 172,000) for a night, with an additional €40 (HUF 16,315) for a continental breakfast.

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In response to our request for comment, the hotel’s owner, BDPST Group, said, “Since 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.” However, they did not disclose details about the guests due to privacy regulations.

We asked the European Council if they were aware that the Hungarian Presidency recommended, among others, the hotel owned by Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law to EU summit participants. We received no response, nor did we get a reply from Zoltán Kovács, the government commissioner responsible for the organization of the EU Presidency events.

Hotels recommended by the government

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.

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.

Among these is the Dorothea, which opened in November 2023 and has previously received support from the government and government-connected business circles. The Orbán 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 Válasz Online the BDPST Group secured loans totaling €105.2 million (HUF 40.14 billion) from MBH Bank, majority-owned by Orbán’s childhood friend Lőrinc Mészáros, and other financial institutions that later merged with MBH. The hotel is operated by Marriott International under the Autograph Collection Hotels brand.

Another recommended hotel is the Budapest Marriott. In August, Telex reported 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.

The international hotel chain Marriott and BDPST Group have collaborated before. In 2021, Telex reported that BDPST Group’s subsidiary, BDPST Koncept, led by Tiborcz’s wife, Ráhel Orbán, worked on the branding for Marriott’s newest Budapest hotel.

The Matild Palace, also among the hotels recommended by the Hungarian EU presidency, was declared a project of national economic interest by Prime Minister Orbán in a 2016 decree. The building, originally sold by the V. district municipality under Antal Rogán’s leadership in 2014, was acquired for €8.2 million (HUF 2.6 billion) by the Turkish Özyer company, the sole bidder in an international tender. The Özyer family is known for its support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also maintains close ties.

A fourth recommended hotel is the Dreschler Palace, which previously housed the State Ballet Institute. Though a Portuguese owner bought the building in the 1990s, it remained abandoned for a long time. In 2013 while touring the property, Orbán, accompanied by then-mayor of Budapest István Tarlós, publicly expressed his desire that “I would also like to get it back”. Eventually, a Qatari-owned company purchased the palace and converted it into the luxury W Budapest Hotel.

The Ritz-Carlton, owned by Dubai billionaire Khalaf al-Habtoor and supported by the Orbán government during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also on the list of recommended accommodations for EU delegations. The luxury hotel received €28,000 (HUF 9.6 million) through the government’s so-called Kisfaludy Program to offset lost revenue due to the pandemic. The Ritz-Carlton declined to confirm whether it hosts EU summit attendees or if it was recommended by the Hungarian government, citing privacy concerns.

The boycott did not materialize

On July 1, 2024, Hungary assumed the rotating EU presidency. Shortly after, Orbán embarked on a controversial series of visits, traveling to Kyiv, Moscow, China, and finally to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, sparking outrage among EU officials. His Moscow visit was particularly divisive, as Putin spoke at a joint press conference as though Orbán represented the EU presidency, which Orbán did not deny. This led several countries to announce boycotts of Hungarian presidency events.

However, the boycott appears to have applied only to ministerial and lower-level meetings, and only some EU member states protested with either absence or limited participation. According to the Central European investigative site VSquare, leaders eventually did not boycott the November summit, citing the importance of discussing in-person issues like the outcome of the U.S. election, Ukraine, the Western Balkans, or the Georgian elections.