Pack your bathing suit!
by brwgrl
Bring a day pack for all of the walking you'll do. We were here in March and the weather was a bit gloomy but pleasant enough to walk every day. I'm guessing that we walked somewhere between 4-10 miles a day depending on the day. Bring good walking shoes. Both because it's easy to walk around the cities (Buda & Pest), but also because some of the sidewalks are very uneven and you want to make sure that you don't twist an ankle anywhere, especially in some of the old parts of the cities. Febreeze - helps with the fact that all of our clothes smelled like cigarette smoke and fried food at the end of every day. We just spritzed them and were good to go.
We stayed at the nH Budapest and they had toiletries in each room if you forgot anything at home. We brought 2 cameras - a regular pocket 35 mm and a digital camera. We used both. Just remember to bring extra film or SD cards because there's so much to take pictures of. Seemed to be plenty of places to buy film, but you can bring it with you. Bring your swim suit! The baths are great - we went to the Szechenyi Baths and spent about 2.5 hours in the outdoor baths and the sauna. Whenever the baths are mixed you will need a suit. Even some of the non-mixed will require suits so be aware. Also bring a towel - you can rent them, but sometimes things get lost in translation (or the lack of translation).
Couldn't ask for more!
by TripAdvisor Member Bev21
I'm actually sitting at the PC at the NH Budapest Hotel whilst I await my taxi back to the airport.
We are four friends who have been staying at the hotel for 3 nights and it's been wonderful. The rooms are immaculate, the breakfasts are superb - the choice is second to none! The staff are extremely helpful and speak perfect English.
The hotel itself is a perfect base - the location is central to everything.
Anyone visiting must visit 'The Darkness' bar and grill round the corner (to the left of the hotel), you can have a local beer sitting next to skeletons!!
I would recommend Budapest to anyone and will definitely make a return visit (especially to this hotel!
What a bargain
by TripAdvisor Member zoobenny
Can't believe I only paid 39 pound a night for this hotel (easily worth double), which even included breakfast (didn't eat lunch at all in Budapest because I was so full from breakfast, and I normally eat on the hour every hour!)
I normally stay in chain hotels and although the NH Budapest is part of a chain, it's the most individual hotel I've stayed in. Very light and airy and didn't have to walk along miles of corridor to the room. The bar was quite inviting as it was open to the lobby and not in a separate room, nice to come back after a long day for hot chocolate (normal or white chocolate - divine!). Free internet access in the lobby, and pretty fast too.
The hotel room was very nice, the beds were fab and the shower is probably the most powerful shower I've ever had (lastminute described it as 'being pummeled like a banana in a hailstorm'!). Nice little touches like a book of bedtime stories. Electronic safe that you set your own code for, so don't need any keys or to bother reception. Only complaint, the toiletries and tea/coffee were never replenished.
Location of the hotel was excellent, with good transport links in every which direction. Close to the Westend Shopping Centre with a few hundred shops, including normal food court type places, plus proper restaurants. Cheap night in the cinema on a Monday night, less than 2 pound, and the seats/leg room were so good, even I didn't fidget! palacecinemas
We travelled to the hotel by public transport, which worked out at 80p each, and was so easy. I would recommend this hotel to anyone, we booked through octopustravel - join the octopus travel club (no cost, just need to give a few basic details) and you can save more (nearly ten pound a night for the weekend I checked in April).
Tips:
Take plenty of warm clothes if you're going soon, cos it was flipping freezing when we were there (last weekend), and definitely a scarf to wrap around your face, cos the wind can be quite biting.
Make sure you do validate your tickets on the public transport, because they are quite keen, we got inspected on the metro.
Try and plan a large portion of what you want to see/do to make the most of it. Prague I found you could just wander and see all the sights. But Budapest has much more of a city feel about it like London, and I felt it was better to plan ahead rather than walk aimlessly and hope to find something of interest.
If you want to see the Opera House, you're probably better off booking to see a performance rather than going on a tour because you can get cheap tickets for just over a quid, but the tour cost £7. jegymester
Right, enough waffling!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS :o)
This Hotel Gives all the Bang for the Buck!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Fantastic value. Great location on the Pest side of the city. New hotel with very nicely appointed rooms. The bar looked good although we didn't try it out. We didn't eat breakfast at the hotel (our great price didn't include that!). I worked out in the gym one night - small but not bad. Sauna didn't work, but when reported, a guy came and fixed it (watch out for hotel guest stripping down to nothing in the sauna though!). There were 2-3 great restaurant recommendations by the hotel within walking distance, and during our return trips from eating I saw some really fun looking bars / pubs. Watch out for taxi drivers from the hotel - they charge you about 2000 florints to go anywhere when the price is actually more like 200.
Anyway, highly recommended location and hotel. Could not beat the value for the money - one of the nicer hotels I've stayed at on Trip Advisor (and I've stayed at many!!).
Wonderful weekend
by A TripAdvisor Member
Myself and my girlfriend stayed at this hotel in February 2005 (four nights)and neither could fault it in any way. The hotel rooms were well appointed and beautifully fitted out. The staff were very helpful and nothing seemed too much trouble, even booking tickets for shows and mailing postcards.
The breakfast was superb with a huge choice all included in the bargain price. The bar made a superb white hot chocolate.
The location of the hotel was handy for the main No4 (200m) and No2(300m) trams, the Westend shopping centre (5min walk) and walks down the Danube.
I have already recommended this hotel to my friends and family.
4star hotel @ 3 star prices
by TripAdvisor Member MirDublin
We're just back from a weekend break in Budapest from a stay at the NH Hotel. Must say I could not fault this hotel, staff are extremely friendly, rooms are large & spacious, spotlessly clean. I would also rank their hotel power shower as the best I have ever had. Hotel is very central, less than a minute from a tram stop, 2 minutes from the metro. Great coffee shop "Europa" round the corner. I'm definately going back.
Forum Posts
Hotel dilema
by karl_pearson
A big thank you to everyone for the information recieved on my last post. But I have since read a few bad reports about the Hotel Budapest and also some good ones. Am now in 2 minds about whether to stay in the Hotel Budapest or after looking at some reviews pay slightly more and stay in the Nh Budapest. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas about which.
Hotel Budapest sounds to be in a very good location for sightseeing, which is what we are wanting to do not massively bothered about shopping but would like to go to some good restaurants/bars, but the hotel doesn't get great reviews.
The Nh Budapest gets very high reviews as a hotel but it seems to be out of the way slightly. Could I please ask for your expert guidance again.
Thank you.
Re: Hotel dilema
by danbp
No, Nh Budapest is not out of the way at all! It's right on Grand Circle, near Western Station (Nyugati palyaudvar), next to the Vigszinhaz (~ Happy Theater). The Parliament, Western Station and Margharet Island are within walking distance and all other sights are within a range of 10-20 mins by public transportation. You'll find the 4 6 trams (Grand Circle Line), the 2 2A trams (Pest Embankment Line) and buses 15 City-busz (Pest downtown line) and 26 (Margharet Island line) useful. Nearest metro station is at Nyugati palyaudvar.
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