"Of all the hotels on this list, the Corinthia is the only one, bar the Kempinski, that began its existence as a hotel. The Grand Hotel Royal Budapest, as it was called, in its heyday of the early 20th-century, hosted stars such as Josephine Baker, who performed in the hotel’s Orfeum cabaret. It has served more recently as the inspiration for Wes Anderson’s Oscar-winning movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel. A vast establishment created from three adjacent 19th-century buildings with the original side streets between them transformed into lofty glassed atriums, the Corinthia is perhaps most famed for its beautifully restored Royal Spa. The spa was originally opened in 1888 and was saved from the ignominious fate of being converted into a multi-storey car park. Guests can swim or bask in saunas and hot tubs surrounded by columns and period tilework. Equally impressive is the huge cream and gilded ballroom, once the venue of Budapest’s first cinema. For gourmets, the hotel has two fine-dining restaurants."
