Hotel Kristály

Bowling downstairs was a lot of fun, about 8 euros an hour per lane, and there are four lanes. The bar itself is pretty standard. We also enjoyed the restaurant’s range of food, the friendly staff, and sitting out on the terrace. The area around the hotel is quiet, though we couldn’t find basketball or tennis courts nearby. Lake Balaton is about 30-40 minutes away by car. Breakfast was average at best. Staff didn’t seem very interested in good service, leaving food on the floor and tables uncleared. The wellness area was small, with just one pool. The cold plunge and jacuzzi weren’t working, and you have to ask for the sauna to be switched on, which takes 30-60 minutes. The manager came to do it but forgot to press a button, so it took even longer. There’s a decent range of facilities, including infrared, Finnish, steam, and salt rooms, but only some of them work. Online, the hotel looks different and could use some improvements. I got the impression that conferences are the main source of profit and that the hotel doesn’t focus much on the experience for regular guests. My partner and I booked through a well-known platform. At check-in, the receptionist was friendly and spoke with us in Hungarian and English. We were given the last wellness card, which seemed odd since they should have more available. Our room also wasn’t what we’d booked: we’d chosen a double, but got twin beds. When we went back, the receptionist tried to say it was our mistake and that we should have called to explain what room we wanted in the booking notes. That may be true in some cases, but we’d checked that the listing said double bed and the booking was called “double.” She could only offer to push the beds together. We took a while to think over our options. By the time we returned, the manager was back from her break. She was friendly and understood what had happened, then moved us up to a junior suite, apparently at the expense of someone arriving the next day. There were some good moments, like the upgrade and restaurant, but plenty was still disappointing.