Exclusive Budapest Residence

It can be a little hard to find at first, but this secure, well-appointed hotel is just behind Parliament Square in the Pest part of Budapest. The stay was good enough, though I’d arrange breakfast myself. Trams and buses are easy to reach. Bus 16A departs about a kilometer away and crosses Chain Bridge to the Buda side.

A nice place right in the center of Budapest, with huge, very comfortable rooms. Parliament is only a few minutes away, and it’s a five-minute walk to Istwan cathedral and the District with restaurants. There’s also an Aldi in the same building.

I booked a room for my brother using my credit card for September 8 to 10. The hotel emailed to say their web system was temporarily frozen and they couldn’t charge the card. When my brother arrived, he paid for one night in cash. He changed his mind about staying in Budapest, and after we negotiated, one night was proved. But they charged my card for one night too. When I spoke with the manager, they denied everything. DO NOT TRUST THIS HOTEL, GUYS.

We lost half a day waiting around with our bags because the luggage drop we’d arranged never happened. We’d called a week earlier to explain we’d arrive at 7 am with two very heavy suitcases after three weeks of travel, and were told the cleaners could let us in if we phoned the office. On arrival, the office said they didn’t have the new cleaners’ number and told us to come back at 2 pm. At check-in, though, we were told reception did have their mobile number and dropping the bags that morning would’ve been easy. What a mess. The apartment was dirty even though we hadn’t used the kitchen, the wallpaper was peeling and held together with tape, and the pillows were really uncomfortable. It was unbearably hot with no air conditioning, and the fans were loud and didn’t help much. We opened the windows, but the place is on a main road, so that made it even noisier. None of us slept, after already missing sleep during the trip. Honestly, you’d be better off on a bench by the Danube. Don’t waste your money or time.