Sparrowl Apartments

I stayed here for the last few days of my time in Budapest. The room was small, but it looked just like the photos, and it was convenient for my stay. It’s also very close to the airport buses if you’re flying out of Budapest airport.

The location is good, but I really wouldn’t recommend staying here. The accommodation is very basic, and getting to it means climbing 120 stairs to the 4th floor since there’s no lift. The stairwell is in poor shape, with peeling paint and a smell. Its motion-sensor lights don’t come on quickly enough, so you can end up in the dark. Watch out for the step down into the room. Inside, the bed sheet was grubby and crumpled. The odd privacy curtains around the bed were useless, with one full-length curtain and one only half-length. The bathroom sink was blocked, and there was mould in the shower tray.

It’s cheap and right in the city centre, but that’s where the good points stop. The apartment is actually one big flat divided into four units, each with a bathroom, and one of them has its toilet out in the corridor. It’s dated and not very clean, and you have to climb to the 4th floor since there’s no elevator. The worst part was the cockroaches. They seemed to be everywhere during our whole week there. The owner said it was because of a treatment, but I’m not sure that explains it. He didn’t seem to care, and there was no in-person contact with him, only by phone. I wouldn’t recommend staying there.

The apartment was smaller than it looked in the photos, and the pictures seemed to mix several different apartments, so don’t be surprised if a bed or two aren’t there. It wasn’t very clean either. We’d arranged airport transport, but it never happened, and I had to argue with the owner to get an extra mattress. When we arrived, the place smelled of cheap perfume. I got skin stitches, probably from bugs. A really bad experience that spoiled the holiday.