Albergo Giardino Pension

Giardino is a cosy and friendly guest-house with a large terrace opening off the main street of Balatongyörök. It has 16 rooms ready to accommodate any visitor who is seeking rest and relaxation. Amongst its many attractions is a permanent exhibition of the works of contemporary artists. The exquisite Mediterranean-style garden is a riot of colour, its flowers and scents help ensure that our visitors are completely relaxed. The guest-house is approximately 700 meters from the shore – thus your accommodation will be close to Lake Balaton, yet secluded from the everyday hustle and bustle of the beach. When you have had enough of the sun, the water, and the hub-bub of the beach, you will find peace and serenity awaiting you beneath the cool, multi-coloured umbrellas on the terrace, or while you are relaxing on your sun-bed. The children can splash away in the little pool, while the more active holiday-makers can find various activities at their disposal such as table tennis and the so-called csocsó (table football) in the basement of the house. So even if it rains your fun need not be interrupted. The rooms and the garden alike cater to various tastes. Some of the ground floor rooms have their own little garden, while on the first floor you can find two family suites with 2x2 rooms in addition to the usual double-bedded ones. After waking up you can enjoy our Buffet breakfast, while during the day you can choose from the wide array of restaurants in Györök all waiting to tempt you with their culinary delights. If you decide to venture out of the village, we would be delighted to organise a trip for you: you can take a horse-driven carriage ride combined with wine tasting at Szigliget, see a horse show, hop on a carriage for a nostalgia train ride, or be entertained by the medieval games in the Sümeg Castle. And these are just a few of our offers.

Giardino is not only suitable for your holidays - our meeting room for thirty will host seminars, trainings, re-trainings and meetings. Flipchart and overhead projector are available at your request. You are welcome to use the fax, or access the Internet from within the building while working on your PC. We offer you full board for your seminars – on these occasions lunch and dinner will be served besides breakfast; and your needs for coffee, sandwiches and biscuits will be catered for during the brakes.

The Village

Balatongyörök is located halfway between Keszthely and Szigliget, on the Northern shore of Lake Balaton. Here the water is clean, the air is pure, and in the nearby countryside visitors can rest their eyes on a multitude of wonders both man-made, and natural.

This lovely little village is part of the Northern Balaton Wine Region. Slopes of vineyards overlook the main road, while the restaurants and cafés are hard to resist on streets full of houses built in the traditional style, displaying the Balatongyörök of a century past. A short walk from the main street takes us to the Szépkilátó or "The Place of the Beautiful View", where huge dark pines tower over one of the most beautiful panoramas of Lake Balaton.

(One of the most characteristic streets by the Balatongyörök shore is the elegant Villa Lane. Once here, you might as well take a stroll down to the beaches to see which one best takes your fancy. But if simply hanging out at the beach isn’t quite enough for you, then you can engage in the usual water sports such as sailing, surfing, and rowing. And even if you have never been anywhere near a surfboard, or ever been on a sailing boat, there’s no need to worry, the instructors on the beach will be ready to help you. For those with a craving for something more than just the water sports, there are facilities for playing tennis, horseback-riding, and even hang-gliding.

The Countryside

The immediate vicinity of Balatongyörök is full of places to discover. The traditional holiday spa of Keszthely is the centre of the cultural life of Lake Balaton, and is only ten kilometres away from the village. Its most famous site is the Festetics Castle, now a museum, where you can enjoy a series of concerts throughout the summer.

Héviz has the largest warm water lake in Europe, a paradise for those seeking therapeutic waters, or just a relaxed swim. Even during the winter swimming amongst the water lilies in this medicinal lake is a unique experience, since the temperature of the lake never falls below 26-28 °C (79-83 °F).

Badacsony is a national recreation area, and famous for its wines. The most important geological site of the countryside here is the Badacsony Hill itself, which has volcanic origins and a basalt top, offering an imposing view of Lake Balaton.

It is also worth paying a visit to the Kisbalaton (small Balaton), which once used to be a bay off Lake Balaton, and is today a fascinating ancient swamp. Other places of interest include the ruins of the medieval castle of Szigliget, the huge basalt columns of the Szent György Hill, as well as the Tapolca Cavern Lake, which you can explore by rowing boat.

You will find the buffalo reservation at Kápolnapuszta to be a lasting memory as well as the Africa Museum - located just a few kilometres from the guest-house - where you can try riding camels in a mini zoo. And if you are already visiting this part of the Balaton region, do not miss the beauties of the Káli Basin, the medieval games in the Sümeg Castle and the new thermal bath in Kehidakustány.