We had the opportunity to have stayed in a few 4 star hotels in Budapest on our recent trip. Its a huge city and there are hundreds of hotels available. Listed below are some options to give you some ideas to help you choose a place to stay while you’re visiting the city. All of these options are just about the same price so it all depends on what part of the city you want to be in.
The Mirage is part of a larger chain called the Mellow Mood Hotel group and the Fashion chain is marketed as a fashionable Budapest option, with the Mirage being a 4 star, 19th century villa set in a great location overlooking Heroes Square.
All of the rooms are designed with Burberry carpet, we don’t know why but it was certainly interesting.
Our room was spotless and we really appreciated the powerful rain shower. I could stay under it all day. I think I almost tried to on occasion.
We were given access to the Mirage Luxury Suite and if I could I’d book it purely for the views (along with the jacuzzi) that are on the top floor overlooking Heroes Square.
What we loved: This hotel was in a great location. The staff went above and beyond to help us during our stay. I needed a cobbler to repair my leather shoe: they found one for me. We wanted dinner recommendations and they sent us to a perfect spot with local authentic food. The breakfast buffet had everything we needed to fill up before our long walks exploring the city. The internet worked well with no interruptions.
What we didn’t love: Having to leave. We definitely recommend this hotel to couples looking to be near the Heroes square area. Metro walking distance.
This historical building was originally designed and constructed in the 19th century and served as the residence of a famous Hungarian noble, Count Nándor Zichy.
We loved the sleek designs of the lobby and appreciated the bar area where you could have complimentary tea, coffee and water until 5pm. Perfect as we’d grab some water bottles before our tours and were able to stay hydrated throughout the day. The front desk staff were friendly and helped me locate a pharmacy and always had smiles on their faces, I would too if I worked in such a beautifully restored building. There was also a computer room with access to a free printer, which I thought was a very nice touch. There was also a sauna which we unfortunately didn’t have a chance to use but sounded great.
Also situated on the Pest side of Budapest, this lovely building had lots of impressive details and our room overlooked the pretty The Heart of Jesus Church. The photo below was taken right outside our window.
This hotel also had a rainfall shower so we could revive ourselves as Mike was feeling a bit sick. We also liked that you could control the temperature of the room electronically which was great because sometimes even though it’s cold outside, we like the room to be a bit cool as well.
What we loved: The free tea, coffee and water available until 5pm. The buffet breakfast was also impressive with a variety of fruits and meal options, lots of different kinds of breads and it was nice that they made the extra effort to decorate the fruit station with pieces of fruit- it’s the little things sometimes. This hotel caters to business travelers so there were always free newspapers. This was the best bargain for the price hotel with the breakfast included. The internet was also a good speed although we didn’t use it as much as we wanted to during our visit.
What we didn’t love: The tea and water station closed at 5pm. Why not leave it open all night? We had to constantly get boiling water for tea from the bar after hours. And the barman actually told me if I didn’t have any tea bags I’d have to buy some! What? You give it away all day then try to charge me for a tea bag at night? That was not good. The lighting in the rooms was very low. The desk in the room was not the most comfortable to work from.
This was our third hotel in Budapest. When we checked in I asked for a room away from the elevator so it was a surprise to me to make our way to the room- which was right next to the elevator. I went downstairs and asked again, so they brought a woman up with some keys and she proceeded to show me more rooms that were right next to the elevator. I don’t understand why or what was lost in translation but after a few rooms I just gave up. The staff was very kind and the woman was trying her best, communicating with the front desk but as we were tired I realized it was just a small thing, and the room we ended up getting was a nice size. We appreciated the fruit plate as a nice welcome.
The first thing we noticed was a sign in the room telling us that the temperature of the room could not be switched from hot to cold- the air conditioning was not working. This was unfortunate because the room was rather warm and we wanted to cool it down, but there seemed no way to do so unless you left the window open, which was not really possible. I did call down to reception and they did try to help me but alas, the room stayed warm unless I opened the window.
Mike was finally recuperating from his cold and we were hoping to get a great night’s sleep that first night. Unfortunately for whatever reason, the fire alarm in the hotel went off around 3am and scared the crap out of us. People were shuffling out of their rooms towards the elevator and no one came by to tell us anything, obviously no one was answering the front desk phone so we really had no idea what was going on. We waited up for an hour to speak to the front desk and they did apologize, saying it was a system error.
The fire alarm did go off again after breakfast as we tried to take a nap. Apparently there was to be no sleeping at this hotel. I really do feel for the staff in situations like this, its just unfortunate that it happened during our visit.
What we loved: The room was clean. The staff tried their best to be helpful. The hotel did have a coffee and tea station open all night which was great so I could keep making tea for Mike to help him recover from his cold. The breakfast itself was very good and again there were lots of options available. Love the espresso machine!
What we didn’t love: The fire alarm problems. The fact that there was no way to control the temperature of the room. The chaotic breakfast setup- one morning there was actually a ‘wait’ line to get a table! The space is too small for that many people. Overall I think this is a good hotel for people with families as there were a lot of people with families and groups here. Not for romantics or people looking for a whole lot of privacy.
*Note: We did read online that the Hotel Parlament has undergone a renovation in the month since we visited, and the space seems to be much larger for the breakfast area, so it seems they have addressed the major issue we had with it. Good news! If you stay here please let us know how you liked it!
Stay tuned for our next post to find out where we spent our last night in Budapest….
*A very big Thank You to Tourism Hungary, who very graciously coordinated with these hotels to host our stays. As always though, all opinions are our own.
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