Hotel Merid

The kind older lady eventually made me a coffee after I waited ten minutes at the counter, so that earned the one star. The young man seemed to be doing everything else, from cooking and tending the bar to checking guests in and looking for keys. One staff member folded pizza boxes with a bandaged hand, another stirred the pool water, and the third lady seemed unable to touch anything. We asked about arriving at noon and were told we could check in then, but we were lucky to get into our room by 2:30. It was in the basement, with people passing by visible through the window, so I hung a beach blanket over it. The air conditioner was an old, dusty fan, and the fridge had no shelf, though it could fit two liters of water. The table by the window was often occupied late into the night, at least until 2 a.m. It was noisy inside, and the road stayed busy with cars too. If you want a quiet place to rest, don’t come here. For the price, it was a huge disappointment. Honestly, a tent at the campsite would be better. The beach village is 800 meters away, so you’d be better off staying there by the beach, especially if you’ve spent all day walking with a suitcase after the beach bus broke down. The staff reminded me of Zimmer Feri, a classic many of us have seen, and it seems some people take it as a model. Never staying here again, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

We booked full board for two adults and two children, paid the full amount six months ahead, and were promised pizza for lunch plus a choice of two menus for dinner, each with soup, a main course, and dessert. When we arrived, they weren’t expecting us. We didn’t get into the room until 5 p.m., though we’d arrived at 2. The room had a double bed and a folding guest-bed type of thing for four people. There was no working refrigerator in any of the rooms, and we were told they’d be fixed next year. Some guests apparently didn’t even have a TV. Cleaning was very superficial, especially anywhere out of sight. We’d agreed there’d be no lunch on arrival day. For dinner, we got fruit soup with frozen potatoes and chicken nuggets. The next evening it was the same fruit soup, and the owner said there was some left from the day before and we should hurry because that was all there was, followed by pasta with cheese sauce. On the other nights, they served buffet breakfast. I asked the owner if this was some kind of joke, but was told we should be glad to have somewhere to sleep.

The room was up in the attic, with no air conditioning. There was a refrigerator, but it didn’t work. The bedding and bathroom were dirty, though there was toilet paper. No hand soap was put out, and water was standing around the toilet. Cleaning wasn’t thorough, and breakfast hadn’t been prepared when we asked for it, which may have been just as well. The young man in charge was arrogant and condescending, and the rest of the staff came across as indifferent. We couldn’t get into the accommodation until two hours after the advertised time. While we waited, they invited us to the “bar,” where there was everything from a dirty glass to a diaper left on the table. Real retro feeling, but not in a good way. I don’t know how this place can still operate in the center of Zamárdi. If I could give negative stars, I’d give it -2. Don’t come here if you want to relax.

We booked this very retro “hotel” for a beach festival at the last minute, so there wasn’t much accommodation to choose from. We weren’t complaining about the 70,000 forints for two nights, since we were there for the festival anyway. The room had a mini-bar style fridge that didn’t work, and the fan was broken too. We didn’t bother trying the TV. There was no mosquito net, curtain, or shutter on the window, and not even a bar of soap in the bathroom, despite this being a hotel rather than an apartment. The website mentions a wellness area, which must exist somewhere, just not at this accommodation. The photos don’t reflect reality at all. One star because breakfast was decent, and at least we could shower and sleep. 😂