Hajdu Lovasudvar Hortobágy

The house itself is beautiful, filled with Hungarian collectibles, and I usually feel comfortable in places like that. But my one-night stay on 21 August 2019 was so strange that I wanted to write about it. In a year of travel, I’d never had an accommodation experience like this. The husband and wife hosts speak several languages, though only a little English, which is the only language I speak. Judit greeted me and asked me to sit in the dining room. She offered a horse and buggy tour of the national park, run by her husband. When Albert came back, he told me about the tour and showed me a guestbook with comments from other guests. I mentioned I hoped to see water buffalo because I’d read they were in the park. He snapped that they weren’t native and became rude, saying he couldn’t help me, this was the tour he offered, and I apparently didn’t want to go. I said I still wanted to go if he was willing to take me. He replied that it was too late and I was only one person, as if I wasn’t worth the effort. He sounded very whiny. After going out, he returned and said his wife had told him to take me, so we would go. I told him it seemed clear he didn’t want to, and that the offer had come from his wife when I arrived. He said he couldn’t help me see water buffalo and told me goodnight. Later, his wife offered tea and tried to make polite conversation, apparently to smooth things over, though it felt forced. I came back to the dining room later because the wifi upstairs wasn’t working. Albert told me I couldn’t sit there because it was a family room. I explained that Judit had directed me there and that I hadn’t known it was for the family. He nearly dragged me out, then showed me a guest dining room I hadn’t known about. I asked if I could leave my luggage for a few hours the next day and was told yes. He also said his wife would prepare breakfast for guests in the morning. His manner was so rude and antagonistic that I felt uncomfortable and thought I’d skip it. The next morning he was waiting when I came downstairs. He said there were lockers at the National Park, suggested I leave my bag there, and said they could take me on a tour to see the water buffalo. Then he said goodbye. It felt like he was kicking me out. Maybe they disliked me for some reason, but Albert in particular seemed deliberately unpleasant, almost as if he were putting on a performance. I’ve stayed at other guesthouses in Hungary where the hosts spoke little English, and the exchanges were straightforward and polite.

Absolutely loved it 😍 I’d definitely recommend this place 💯

It’s a quirky place with a lot of potential, though it could be managed with more care. The countryside setting is quiet and everything was clean. The hosts were genuine and welcoming, but their English was very basic, so even a short conversation was difficult. I would have liked to learn more about their customs and way of life. When I was hungry, they kindly made breakfast as dinner for me at no charge, since the only restaurant open at 7 pm was 20 km away. They also unexpectedly offer massages. There are no blackout curtains, and the basic bed wasn’t very comfortable. The wifi signal was so weak I couldn’t connect my laptop. The bathroom needs renovation, the towels were worn, and the toilet has a hole at the front, which seemed odd. There’s a 5€ daily fee for dogs, but the place doesn’t seem very suitable for them because they have cats.

A very welcoming apartment, with a friendly owner who knows a lot about Hortobágy. He also speaks German and French.