Petit Bois Füred: interview with este’r partners

Located on Lake Balaton in Hungary, Petit Bois Füred is a refined five-star hotel that blends historic allure with contemporary design. The project was the winner of the Prestige category of the Emilgroup Project Awards 2025 for its stylish interpretation of the connection between past and present.

We interviewed Eszter Radnóczy, lead designer of este’r partners, to find out about her design philosophy and how she applies it to the spaces of Petit Bois Füred.

1. What was your design vision?

For me, design is a broad concept. The starting point is always functionality: a space must be comfortable, natural, designed to accommodate its users. At the same time, every project must tell a tale and have an element of surprise because unless there is a story you can’t really talk about design.

2. How would you describe the project in three words?

Experience, elegance and comfort. Petit Bois Füred is on the banks of Lake Balaton, for centuries a traditional haven of relaxation and socialising. The experience is one of authentic hospitality, the elegance comes from the location and its sophisticated style, while the comfort takes the form of intimacy and privacy: it is a calming refuge where you can truly “hide away” from the world.

3. What impressed you most about the Emilgroup products?

The Emilgroup products have a strong designer feel and give designers lots of scope to express themselves. In the case of Petit Bois Füred, we used the Unique Travertine by Provenza collection which offers lots of different solutions and sizes, with rustic or more delicate surfaces, sometimes also three dimensional. Playing around with these combinations, we achieved an elegant and harmonious result.

4. How valuable is this recognition for your work?

This prize isn’t just for us designers, it is also for the architect and the investor. It is a collective acknowledgment of all the people that contributed to the development of the hotel.

Discover the project