Some sad news to report from the Hungarian hospitality sector. On Friday we received an email from the proprietors of the Káli Art Inn, a small and wonderful hotel/resort/art colony near Lake Balaton, saying that, after eight years of operation, from now on they would only be using the facility for "private use." We only visited once (we've since gotten our own country place) but our stay was exceedingly pleasant. This was in part thanks to the location in Köveskál, a small hamlet in Káli-medence (Káli Basin), which is blessed with a beautiful landscape, and a climate mild enough to support almond trees and other Mediterranean flora. Even more striking was the exceeding tastefulness of the entire operation, including the simple but delightful food, served in wonderfully rustic settings. Think tables set with carefully mismatched period china and cutlery and fresh-cut meadow flowers and you'll get the picture.

We're not sure what's behind the change in plans, though we suspect that the whole idea was just a little ahead of its time. The foreign tourists naturally drawn to the Balaton area are very much not of the Martha Stewart persuasion, and the sorts of people who live in Hungary and like carefully mismatched period china and cutlery and fresh-cut meadow flowers are generally not drawn to the Balaton in the first place. Meanwhile, the focus on art may have scared off some potential customers more interested in eating and lounging by the pool. Finally, we recall a previous email saying that the Inn's restaurant would be closed over an entire summer (!) due to reconstruction.

In any case, the Káli Art's demise is a small but painful blow to the domestic hospitality business, and we hope that it won't deter others from trying something similar. Next time we'll make sure to do a better job of spreading the good word.