Onyx Luxury Budapest

The reception closes at 11 p.m., and our stay at Onyx Hotel was really disappointing. The beds were unusable because the mattresses weren't fitted properly to their frames and shifted whenever we moved. The front desk ignored my request to replace one or move us to another room, even when I offered to pay extra. The fire alarm also went off twice in the middle of the night. Afterward, my email about the stay got no response. I've travelled a lot and never had an experience like this. I don't think the hotel deserves four stars because it doesn't meet the requirements.

The noise was the worst part of this stay, though there were other problems too. We were put on the first floor and woken at 5:30 a.m. by very loud noise as dirty laundry was taken out. We could hear it with the windows closed, and nobody warned us at check-in. The bathroom radiator was dusty, the shower head wouldn't stay on its holder, and the corridor carpets were visibly stained. Housekeeping seemed selective about what they cleaned. This was our second time at the hotel, after a good previous visit, but this stay was a big disappointment. At check-in we were told we had two rooms. The second had been booked as a single, even though we paid the same price for both. That meant breakfast wasn't included for the second guest. Reception showed no interest in helping and made dismissive comments to each other like “so what now?” That's unacceptable at a 4-star hotel. The poor upkeep and service make us question whether we'd return.

We gave this hotel one star because the fire alarm went off at 23:55 for no reason, then again at 4:15 a.m. At checkout, they told us someone had been smoking in the room. I don't recommend the hotel.

Our family of four had two bedrooms and a small kitchen, and breakfast in the morning was excellent. Staff were polite, and the residential street was quiet, so we slept very well. Public transport is handy too, with a bus stop three minutes away and the metro ten minutes away. A couple of things to know: both bedrooms had two single beds pushed together, so there aren't double beds. At night there are lots of dog walkers, and the streets looked like there was a lot of urine around. That seems to be common in Budapest generally.