Hotel Palota
Web: http://www.budapesthotels.com/hotels/palota.asp
It is a climatic health-resort built on the meeting point of the Garadna and Szinva valley, on the side of the Hámori Lake. The place took its name from Lilla Vay who was the wife of the minister of agriculture Count Bethlen András. The route leading from Miskolc to Lillafüred leads onto one of the most beautiful ravines of the country. Its two famous points are the Molnár-rock marked with a cross and the Puskaporos-ravine.
The name of Lillafüred associated with the beautifully furnished Palace Hotel built between 1927 and 1930 according to the plan of Lux Kálmán. The hotel is surrounded by a terraced hanging garden and a huge park. The Szinva valley with its romantic beauty and the Hámori Lake can be seen from the park, the terraces and rooms of the hotel.
The lake itself is not natural; the embankment closing the valley and dam the water of the Garadna back was built in 1813 initiated by the Fazola family. The Palace Hotel held the Writer's Congress in 1933 (its memory is shown with a memorial tablet on the wall of the Hermann Ottó's memorial house). In this event, organized by Kodolányi János, 75 writers took part. Among them were Móricz Zsigmond, Kosztolányi Dezs? and last but not least József Attila. The beautiful lines of the "Ode" were created there at that time: "I'm sitting here on a glittering rock-bench..."
The murmur of the waterfall of the Szinva tumbling down beside the Palace Hotel also belongs to the atmosphere of Lillafüred. Remarkable sights of the area of the holiday resort are the caves, famous for their dropstones and archaeological findings from the prehistoric times.
Lillafüred can be reached from Miskolc on either public road or narrow-gauge railway. The railway opened in 1921 and goes through beautiful rocky land, picturesque valleys and even Garadna can be reached on the route.