Location: Budapest, Bacsó Béla u. 13, 1084
Google Maps: Google Maps
The Situation:
I would like to nominate the former Grand Hotel Savoy building (built in 1897, designed by Ármin Sachs). My previous attempt at nominating a specific facade detail was rejected, so I want to try a different approach by nominating the building itself as a historical/architectural landmark.
The Challenge:
The building is mixed-use: it has commercial offices on the ground floor, but residential apartments on the upper floors. I want to make sure I don’t get a “Private Residential Property” rejection.
I need advice on the following:
-
Proving Eligibility: How can I best demonstrate to reviewers that this is a mixed-use building with public/commercial access on the ground floor, and not a private-only residence?
-
Focus: Is it better to nominate the entire facade as “Historic Grand Hotel Savoy,” or should I focus on the main entrance area?
-
Supporting Info: I have architectural links (epiteszforum.hu) proving its history. Should I include specific quotes about the 1897 construction and the architect to help the AI/human reviewers?
-
Photography: What kind of “Supporting Photo” would best convince reviewers of the safety and non-PRP status?
I want to avoid wasting another appeal, so I’m looking for the best strategy to highlight this 19th-century landmark.
The private property rule should not apply, as it has been clarified that it means single residences only. I have submitted and had approved, something like 20-30 stops in apartment complex common areas, and almost all of those are not mixed use.
(I’m in southern California suburbs, something like 2/3 of the apartment complexes here have swimming pools. I did have one get denied, but it was overturned on appeal.)
Looks like a brilliant building to nominate to me. Private property only applies to single family homes, which this is not.
That’s a great point about the PRP rule! In this case, it’s even more straightforward because the section I am nominating is actually the service/utility entrance of the former hotel.
It’s clearly not a private residence’s front door; it’s a functional, historical part of a large-scale commercial building. Since the ground floor is used for offices and it was originally a hotel, the ‘single-family residence’ rule definitely doesn’t apply here.
I will make sure to emphasize the commercial/historic hotel nature and the fact that this is a service entrance in my next appeal/nomination to clear up any confusion for the reviewers
I completely agree with you on the rules, but unfortunately, the Niantic ML (AI) rejected it twice automatically. Even when I used an Appeal, a human reviewer (or the system) still shot it down with the same generic ‘uniqueness’ or ‘PRP’ reasons.
That’s exactly why I’m stuck. In this region, the AI seems much more aggressive in flagging European historic apartment buildings as private property, even when they are mixed-use with commercial offices on the ground floor.
Since I’ve already ‘wasted’ an appeal on the relief and got a rejection, I’m trying to figure out if nominating the entire building as the ‘Grand Hotel Savoy’ would be a better strategy to bypass the automated filters. It’s frustrating when the criteria and the actual automated results don’t align!
Of course, you will still need to convince the reviewers and/or the appeals team that what you are submitting meets the criteria somehow (explore, exercise, or socialize). Given the age and urban setting of the building, explore is probably best. Is there any artwork in the indoor common areas for example? One of my most recent approves was for a painting in the lobby of a multiple office building (dental, speech therapy, etc).
A historical marker telling the story of the building would be best, but unlikely to exist.
I understand why you want to nominate the back door instead of the front, since the entrance is in an occupied cell. But I believe that the back facade is not eligible separately from the hotel, and the pin should be at the natural point of entrance, which would be the front. Even if you got this into voting, I think reviewers would move the pin to the entrance.
That was why I mentioned interior artwork.
The automated system doesn’t reject for private property in my experience- it just says things do not meet criteria
I would also be extremely surprised if Niantic appeal said this was private property?
Actually, I just double-checked the Intel map and the in-game maps, and there is no Wayspot at the main entrance (or anywhere else on this building) yet. The entire building is currently unrepresented.
Given this, would you recommend:
-
Nominating the main entrance as ‘Historic Grand Hotel Savoy’ to be safe, even though the facade ornaments (like the relief) are further down the wall?
-
Or can I still nominate the relief/ornament as a standalone artistic feature, since it’s a distinct piece of 19th-century art?
If I go with the main entrance, I’ll make sure to mention the offices to avoid the PRP (private property) trap. But since the cell is empty, I want to make sure I pick the strongest candidate for the first POI on this landmark
Check the Wayfarer map. I believe Intel has been separate for about a year.
I was actually checking the Wayfarer map (Lightship database), not just the old Intel map, so I’m sure there are no existing Wayspots or even hidden ‘Niantic-only’ locations on this building yet. It’s completely empty in the system
I did not say that the building has a Wayspot. Unless I have pulled up the location incorrectly, the entrance would be in a shaded cell with “Ornament 1” and would not be able to be a Pokestop or gym.
The red pin is at the coordinates from the link you gave. I do make mistakes, so may have.
