Hungary Travel Guide
Tags: Reader Reviews / Budapest Hotels / HIlton Hotels / → All Tags
Hilton Budapest Is a 'Safe Bet'
Every so often we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in. This one comes from reader E., who tell us his overall reaction to the Hilton Budapest was "huh, I don't really have much to say about it, whether pro or con."
There are two Hiltons in Budapest: the Hilton Budapest and the Hilton Budapest West End. The West End property is located on the Pest side of the city, while the Budapest property is located in the Castle District on the Buda side, at the top of the hill within the UNESCO World Heritage site. The hotel is next door to the St. Matthias Church and actually incorporates remains from centuries-old structures that used to occupy the site.
Tags: Reader Reviews / Four Seasons Hotels / Budapest Hotels / → All Tags
The Four Seasons Budapest Soothes and Relaxes But Still Needs Free WiFi
Every so often we feature a hotel review from one of our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in.
This review comes from a longtime HotelChatter tipster who recently saw the swankier side of Budapest. Enjoy.
Four Seasons Gresham Palace is on the Pest river front, right opposite the historical Chain Bridge connecting the two parts of the city. A gorgeous Art Nouveau building, it is beautifully lit up at night and worth a stop even if you are not staying here to admire the lobby and have a drink in the cosy bar. Next door is the Sofitel, InterContinental, and a little further down the river the Marriott, all of them in various degrees of awful boxy concrete hotel architecture.
Tags: Killer View / Design Hotels / Budapest Hotels / → All Tags
A Design Hotel With a Designer View in Hungary
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Now that Design Hotels is now Design Hotels, Made by Originals, we're having a hard time coming up with witty one-liners about the hotel group — we tend to stumble over lots of syllables, so let's just get right to this week's Killer View: check out this awesome view from the Lanchid 19 Hotel in Budapest, a member of Design Hotels, Made by Originals (oh, alright; that wasn't so hard).
This property is located by the Danube riverbank, with only 45 rooms and three suites — all of which have a totally different look.
Tags: EasyHotels / Hotel Deals / Dollar Hotel Rooms / Budapest Hotels / Budget Hotels / → All Tags
With Rooms For One Euro, Who Cares About Conversion Rates?
You'll pay close to $900 just to fly to Budapest (coach, natch), but it will only cost you less than two dollars to spend the night there.
That is, of course--there's always a catch, isn't there?--you act quickly.
In honor of the first birthday of its Budapest property on October 1, easyHotel is offering rooms that night for just one euro. (One euro!) But with just 59 rooms, expect it all to go very, very quickly.
The hotel is located on the Pest side of the Danube River and is a short walk to Hero's Square. This being easyHotel, you'll pay extra for things like watching television, housekeeping services and Internet access, but at just one euro (one euro!) for the night, we think you can afford to the splurge. Heck, go crazy and order up some extra towels!
Tags: Budapest Hotels / VIP Hotel Reviewer Series / Amy Langfield / NewYorkology / Intercontinental Hotels / Hotel Video Tours / → All Tags
NewYorkology Hearts the View from the Budapest Intercontinental Hotel
A while back we let you know that Amy Langfield from NewYorkology was taking a European vacation and she was concerned about her lodgings in Prague. Well, we know how that all worked out and now she's giving up the lowdown on her trip. Here she details her stay at the Intercontinental Hotel in Budapest. Consider this Part 1.
We were on the club floor and got a pretty good deal since we booked a package that got us a city tour package.
And yes, the cruise was cheesy, but it was worth it for the VIP entry to Parliament with our excellent guide Andrea, who was super smart and had a very dry sense of humor. She works for the Eurama Travel Agency in the InterContinental.
The hotel was perfectly fine, and I was exceptionally happy with the extra bed situation for my stepson. But really, the best thing about this place was the view. All pictures here are taken from inside our room -- at arrival, sunset, and the morning.
And above is the YouTube video I shot at dinner at the hotel's patio. It's not of the hotel, but rather the fireworks show we could see from the hotel. Killer view indeed.
Room rates at the Intercontinental start at $215 a night for a standard room. Rooms with a view are slightly more.
Tags: Hotel Help / Budapest Hotels / → All Tags
Hotel Help: A Place for a Vegetarian and a Teetotaler in Budapest
A reader, Seagem, emailed us with some help in choosing a hotel in Budapest and she gave us a list of things that she is looking to do while there as well as what her budget is.
I've spent hours trying to decide where today...I like the elegance of the modern hotels...like to walk in the old city, but want to spend time in thermal baths so was considering Danubius places....However, room reviews sound so-so...I can spend up to $200 per night, including all taxes...Food not important...I'm vegetarian and don't drink...Want comfortable, safe, elegance (don't need extravagance) to visit this city for the first time...I have 2.5 days..3 nights...thank you...
Well, our very own Tim L. spent some time in Budapest a few months ago and detailed the scene for us here. Back then, he recommended the art'otel budapest by park plaza, a hip hotel with a killer view of the Parliament Building and a restaurant serving "fine dishes" and a cafe/bar with an outdoor terrace. Rooms start at 198 Euros but during off-season, the rates can be cheaper.
Got a Budapest hotel suggestion that fits Seagem's requirements? Let her know by posting your tip below in comments.
Tags: Anti-View / Budapest Hotels / → All Tags
Room With an Anti-View: Boring in Budapest
You know the scene. You open the door to your brand new hotel room, run over to the window, open the blinds and bam, you are hit with the anti-view. Maybe you are looking down a dirty alley, witnessing a drug deal, staring at an air shaft in the face, or seeing a brick wall. Whatever you are viewing it is not extremely pleasurable. Help out your fellow hotel mavens by uploading your anti-views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number with the not-so-easy-on-the-eyes view.
From the stack of killer views we've shown you from hotels around Budapest, Hungary, you might be starting to think that every window looks out on some idyllic scene. Plenty do, but not this room at the Hotel Fiesta: Domina Inn on the Pest side of the river, in the middle of the shopping district.
The Fiesta might have a good location, but this view is perhaps typical of what many previous guests think about it. It's drab. This boring view in fact looks cleaner than many claim the rooms to be, and what you can't see from looking out your window is the overly complicated door-locking system that at least every second guest complains about.
[Photo: peterhoneyman]
Related Stories:
· Budapest Killer View Face-Off [HotelChatter]
· Hotels in Budapest [HotelChatter]
· Budapest Travel Stories [Jaunted]
Tags: Hungary Hotel Guide / Budapest Hotel Guide / Killer View / → All Tags
Hungarys Hotels Rundown: Budapest Killer View Face-off
HotelChatter Contributing Editor Tim Leffel recently completed a sojourn to Hungary the other week and has dutifully reported back to us on the hotel scene in Budapest. This week we'll be running all of his stories so if you have any questions about Hungary accommodations, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer.
If you want a killer view room in Budapest, you won't be hurting for choices. The best vistas are from hotels facing the Danube River on one side or the other. Most of the big chain hotels are on the Pest side, facing Buda Castle and the palace. Others are on the Buda side, with views of the impressive Parliament building instead. In either case, of course, you'll have to request (and often pay a premium for) a room facing the right direction.
While the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace is the top choice in town and has the most beautiful hotel building on the river, its relatively low-rise structure only allows a few river-facing rooms. If you want a real panorama, book at the InterContinental, Sofitel, or Marriott, all within a couple of blocks of each other on the same riverfront as the Four Seasons. The Marriott, currently undergoing renovation, has a slight edge because rooms have a step-out balcony.
On the other side of the river, the god-awful ugly Hilton Budapest spoils everyone else's view of Buda Castle with its modern addition, but in does offer great vistas and a convenient location near good restaurants and the Hungarian Wine Club. The best view, however, might belong to the hipper art'otel Budapest, smack dab across the river from the Parliament Building, which is especially dramatic when lit up at night (shown here). That's the view pictured here. Regular rates at art'otel Budapest start at 198 euros, but check for package deals and surf around for specials. Outside of the busy summer season, killer views go on sale at all of these hotels.
[Photo: ladamic]
Related Stories:
· Budapest Hotel Guide [HotelChatter]
· Hungary Hotel Guide [HotelChatter]
Tags: Hungary Hotel Guide / Budapest Hotel Guide / Hotel Restaurants / International Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
Hungary Hotels Rundown: The Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal
HotelChatter Contributing Editor Tim Leffel recently completed a sojourn to Hungary the other week and has dutifully reported back to us on the hotel scene in Budapest. This week we'll be running all of his stories so if you have any questions about Hungary accommodations, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer.
The Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal is a re-imagining of the original Hotel Royal that opened on this Budapest site in 1986.
The Corinthia Group brought it back to life in 2006, returning the basement thermal bath and spa to its original design, restoring the impressive exterior, and re-imagining many public spaces as they appeared in the golden age, before the interior was gutted after a fire in 1956.
Tags: Hungary Hotel Guide / Hotel Spas / Hotel Video Tours / Hotel Restaurants / → All Tags
Hungary Hotels Rundown: Rogner Hotel & Spa Lotus Therme
HotelChatter Contributing Editor Tim Leffel recently completed a sojourn to Hungary the other week and has dutifully reported back to us on the hotel scene in Budapest. This week we'll be running all of his stories so if you have any questions about Hungary accommodations, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer.
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Everywhere you look in Hungary there's a spa hotel, but this one in the town of Héviz, by Lake Balaton, is something special. Héviz is known for its natural hot water lake, fed by mineral springs that are said to cure almost anything that ails you. It's the only place in Europe where the lotus flower grows.
Rogner Hotel & Spa Lotus Therme is the best of the lot here and one of the most highly regarded hotels in the country. The day before we arrived it hosted the presidents of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, so they must be doing something right.
Tags: Hungary Hotel Guide / Budapest Hotel Guide / Hotel Spas / International Hotel WiFi / → All Tags
Hungary Hotels Rundown: Danubius Thermal Spa Hotels on Margitsziget Islands
HotelChatter Contributing Editor Tim Leffel recently completed a sojourn to Hungary the other week and has dutifully reported back to us on the hotel scene in Budapest. This week we'll be running all of his stories so if you have any questions about Hungary accommodations, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer.
Like most big cities, Budapest can be loud, crowded, and polluted when you're in the center of it all. An island in the middle of the Danube River is this city's equivalent of Central Park: a green oasis where trees far outnumber cars.
Most of Margitsziget Island is filled with green space and recreational facilities, but there are two sister hotels that allow you to relax and spend the night there.
Danubius Grand Hotel Margitsziget is the more aesthetically pleasing choice, built in 1873 and containing a restaurant that spills out onto a terrace blending into the park. All the baths and spa facilities are at the Danubius Thermal Spa Hotel next door though, where we took this killer view shot from room 720.
Guests have free reign of the various baths, saunas, steam rooms, and outdoor pool and terrace. The spa here is not your typical seaweed wrap and new age music place though: this is spa therapy in the traditional sense, with treatments and mineral baths prescribed to deal with specific conditions. A full medical facility on site does a brisk business.
Which brings us to the main downfall of this hotel complex: the average age of the guests staying in the two hotels is probably 65. Part of this is due to the thermal spa, but the hotel also caters to group tours hitting Europe and most of those seem to consist of gangs of retirees.
We liked being able to get up and walk for miles in the morning on paths along the river, but we're still cranky about paying the usual Budapest hotel WiFi rates: $17.50 for a grand total of 2.5 hours.
Tags: Hungary Hotel Guide / Budapest Hotel Guide / Tim Leffel / → All Tags
Hungary Hotels Rundown: The New York Palace in Budapest
HotelChatter Contributing Editor Tim Leffel recently completed a sojourn to Hungary the other week and has dutifully reported back to us on the hotel scene in Budapest. This week we'll be running all of his stories so if you have any questions about Hungary accommodations, hit us on the tipline, or just comment below, and we will do our best to get you some sort of answer.
Why go to Hungary and stay in a hotel called New York Palace? Well, the name here is not some aspiration to match the Big Apple. The building was originally built by the New York Insurance Company and the New York Café on the bottom floor was a happening meeting place in Budapest's heyday at the end of the 1800s.
After the building sat abandoned for 10 years, new owners Boscolo Hotels bought it and turned it into a recently opened hotel. Of the total 180 rooms, 100 are open now and 80 will be finished in '08.
Depending on your view of Renaissance Baroque style, the restored café is either breathtaking or a visual overload, with all the gaudy glory of the gilded age shining again. It meanders into several sections on different floors, with a cigar bar, a formal restaurant, and the main room for coffee and Hungarian pastries.
The bright lobby occupies a space that used to be a courtyard, with glass now overhead. Architects effectively matched the historic style of the rest of the structure, a building constructed when banks and insurance companies tried hard to show off their wealth with marble and lots of ornamentation.
The spa here gets away from the historic feel, going instead for an "ice cave" look: think curvy white plaster and blue lights in the treatment rooms, lap pool, and gym. Rooms range from standards with designer fabric and Italian marble baths to an over-the-top Royal Suite that mixes Murano chandeliers with wall-mounted big-screen HDTVs.
With rates running from around $250 to $3,000, the Italian owners have priced it for those with plenty of Prada and Armani in their wardrobe.
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