They not only deal with day to day operations of the Hotel Group itself, but also in real estate development and hotel management consultancy. In the future they would like to expand the latter two areas of business activity. Looking further into the future, they plan to expand their operations into other parts of Europe.

The two Jordanian businessmen were declared in 2010, to be “Tourism Investors of the Year”; they received the Golden Cross of Merit of Hungary in 2012 and achieved Hungarian citizenship in 2013.

Mr. Sameer Hamdan's answers:

1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?
I arrived in Hungary on 16th September, 1986 to enrol at the University of Economy. I had won a scholarship in Jordan and when I had to select in which country I wanted to study, I chose Hungary.

2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?
No, I lived in Jordan.

3. What surprised you most about Hungary?
The kindness, hospitality and culture of people living here. I really like the living in Hungary and its people.

4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?
They have to see Margaret Island, the Citadella, Széchenyi Thermal Baths, City Park and the museums.

5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?
My favourite Hungarian food is “csirkepaprikás”.

6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?
A wide selection of cheeses.

7.What is your favourite Hungarian word?
My favourite Hungarian word is “Kedves”.

8. What do you miss most from home?
I miss my big family, my children and my mother.

9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
I think I would enjoy working in cultural environment as I love reading.

10. What's a job you would definitely never want?
I cannot select any specific job, but I do know that I could not do work which involves hurting others.

11. Where did you spend your last vacation?
My last holiday was in France.

12. Where do you hope to spend your next holiday?
I have not decided yet, but I think I it will be Portugal or Spain.

13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist?
I really love Europe, I don’t think I could live anywhere else.

14. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
My favourite band was Pink Floyd. The film I really liked was ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’. When I was a teenager, I read the book several times so I was very happy when they made a film of it. My hobbies were always the same, reading and travelling.

15. Red wine or white?
I do not drink alcohol.

16. Book or movie?
Definitely a book.

17. Morning person or night person?
I am a morning person.

18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?
In Jordan there are many young orphans. I try to support them.

19. Buda or Pest side?
Budapest

20. What would you say is your personal motto?
Everything in life is temporary experience. So if things are going well, enjoy it because it won’t last forever. And if things are going bad, don’t worry; it can’t last forever either!

Proofread by Paul St Pierre