Hollóköves Vendégházak

A lovely spot for a two-day city escape, and I liked the tradition of the baker leaving fresh bread at the door early in the morning. One safety concern: there was no covering at the top of the staircase, which seemed dangerous for families with small children. Also, the nearby church bell will wake you at 5am :)

I hadn’t planned to write any more reviews, but this stay pushed me to do it. We booked one night for me, my wife, and our boys, aged 3 and 6, at the Pászti house. It was drizzling all day when we arrived, with temperatures around 18-20 degrees. We still went around the village and visited the playground. By evening we were tired and a bit cold, even with layers and raincoats. At about 8pm, when we went to bathe the kids, there was no hot water. The woman who checked us in was wonderful, kind, and helpful. She said she’d send the colleague on duty, as the guard had apparently gone out. He called back soon after to say his colleague was in the basement and had started the boiler, and that the water should be ready in 10 minutes. He apologized. But even after 11pm the water was only lukewarm, and the kids had fallen asleep before we could bathe them. Proper hot water only came in the morning. I know technical trouble can happen, but at 50 thousand forints a night, hot water should be standard. This was the first night of our family holiday, and the boys were completely snotty and sick the next day. It put a damper on the trip. Our older son is starting first grade, and even if he recovers before school begins, he’ll have to spend the last week of August at home, feeling miserable. In the morning, staff asked whether there was hot water yet. Nobody seemed very surprised, which made it feel like this may have happened before. They offered no compensation beyond what they’d already said when we arrived: since there were no guests coming after us, we could stay longer before checking out. We just moved on as quickly as we could. I know we were unlucky, but this experience has put my family off Hollókő for good. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this accommodation.

The house was impeccable, and there wasn’t a single negative thing about our stay. We had two dogs with us at "Hollóköves Vendégházak Oláh Külső ház" and were met with an extraordinary level of kindness from both our host and the village residents. We’ve been telling our friends about it ever since, and encourage everyone to visit this part of Nógrád county. And anyone who goes should try the bakery’s wonderfully delicious onion bread! :)

We stayed in an authentic cottage over 100 years old, and it felt like stepping back in time. The built-in stove kept the kitchen pleasantly warm whenever we went in, making us forget that the house actually had central heating. It was such a peaceful place to relax. We’ll come back in another season.