Hilton HHonors - Hilton Budapest (Castle) Hotel Trip Reports and Reviews

Hilton Budapest hotel (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/BUDHITW-Hilton-Budapest-hotel/index.do)
Hess A. ter 1-3, Budapest, Hungary H-1014
Tel: 36-1-8896600 Fax: 36-1-8896644
e-mail: info.budapest@hilton.com; concierge.budapest@hilton.com; execfloor.budapest@hilton.com etc.

Hilton HHonors Reward Category: 4 (30,000 points per night)

This hotel is situated just behind Fisherman's Bastion and near Matthias Church in the old Buda Castle district. Incorporated into the hotel are the ruins of a 13th century Dominican monastery and church, as well as a 17th century Jesuit college. The remains of the church tower and nave have been incorporated into the hotel's design, and one can tour the cloister and wine cellar halls. Most, if not all, of the hotel's facilities have been recently refurbished; it is owned by the Danubius Hotels (http://www.danubiushotels.com/) group, and is a Hilton franchised property. (Interesting: Danubius has its own frequent quest scheme, as well as adhering quite well to Hilton HHonors - and their GMs had a group meeting here June 24.) (The wine cellar in the bowels of the monastery ruins is currently closed, unfortunately.)

Access is via taxi, private vehicle or city bus - the nearest tram service is at the bottom of the hill. This hotel has brilliant views of the Pest side of the Danube city, particularly in the afternoon (or night with illumination.) The location is fantastic - you can walk the entire Castle district, even walk down the nearby steps to near the foot of the Chain Bridge and walk into Pest's Roosevelt ter in perhaps 25 minutes - the historic #2 tram takes you up or down the waterfront (but note the #2 route is stitched together with a bus due to construction that began June 24.)

On a discounted PointStretcher award stay (18,000 points per night) in June 2008, we were greeted and referred to the third floor Executive Lounge, where the concierge changed our room to a nearby available room - we had arrived at 11:30 AM and expected to store our luggage whilst we explored and went to lunch. Instead, we were given nonsmoking king room 382, with spectacular views of Pest and the Danube, with lounge access. Rooms are 33 square meters in size, capacious for Europe. (Rooms mostly face Pest, or - including the two-story suites - the street in front of the hotel - transited by myriad tourist busses, cars and local transit busses, no big prize.)

The Executive Lounge itself is pretty spectacular, as it is spacious, open extended hours (early a.m. for an extended Continental breakfast that includes quite a spread of fresh and preserved fruits, savoury and sweet breads, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, several fish and cheeses, etc. etc. and a lovely automated coffee making machine that makes decent cappuccinos, among other things. Staff is super - Petra, who we had contact with several times, can not do more to help. This Diamond can offer nothing but praise at our treatment here, even with HP and other major corporate events going on while we were here.

Afternoon tea is served, and evenings you can easily dine here - several hot dishes including two meats, hors d'oeuvres, pastries, etc. mean if you have a large-ish lunch, supper is here. Additionally, a selection of fair Hungarian wines and liquors is available, as well as three beers, bottled fruit juices, still and sparkling water, etc. (All consumables are for lounge use only - no taking to rooms, etc.) Hotel guests with Lounge access are allowed to bring in one guest after breakfast is over, and the concierge staff is most helpful and welcoming.

Our room is comfortable and spacious, has brilliant Pest views, and is quiet. Color schemes are creamish with blue highlights and warm woods, a large LCD TV with many channels, Everything works, AC is more European style - it cools, not freezes, but it could get warm on the afternoon (street) side, I suspect. The king bed was covered with twin duvets, so no "who snatched the covers!" battles. ;) There is a desk, the room is supplied with HSIA - but only using the Lounge's two good HSIA access computers (but since the CPU is locked up, no access with thumb drives for your files,) I have no knowledge of prices. I have also seen guests using their laptops with the Lounge's WiFi; again, no idea of costs.

The bathroom is tile and marble, with separate tub and shower, a shaver outlet for 110/220 VAC US / Euro etc. plug, with the usual amenities, plenty of towels (bath sheets,) and kept very clean. I am not sure about the far wing, but in the Exec Lounge wing, the best rooms are 371 - 383, with Pest views; 354-360 have street views (plenty of traffic) and 361-370 have courtyard or end views. Lots of electric plugs, but of course all 220 VAC Euro twin round prong. A large (2 liter) bottle of water is supplied daily, and we received a nice tray of chocolates on arrival. There is an exorbitant minibar, but the Lounge has so much one wonders why an Executive guest would bother with the minibar. (N.B. Budapest hotels, and the Hilton is no exception, also charge exorbitantly for laundry - if they lose or damage your clothing, they pay five times the cost of laundry, which might well pay for new replacement clothes!)

The hotel is within walking distance of everything on the Castle hill, which is of course quite congested with tourists during the season. Three blocks away on Fortuna utca (street) at No. 14 is the excellent Café Pierrot (http://www.pierrot.hu/) restaurant, with a selection of really good Hungarian wine, helpful staff and good Hungarian and Continental foods (bookings strongly suggested evenings; the goose liver trio is... to die for, if you eat it regularly. ;). Add a rare bottle of 2005 Marengó Egri Bikaver ("Bull's Blood") Superior St. Andrea (black label) wine for a special meal! Turn right out the hotel entrance: Fortuna is the second street to your right; the first street, Táncsics Mihály utca, leads to the old Jewish Quarter and prayer house.

Departure was handled excellently again - Petra arranged for a car to take us to the (very dodwy and dodgy) Keleti train station, charged it to the room, and we were gone. The concierge (see above e-mail listings) can arrange auto pickups at the airport or wherever you arrive. Of course, we wouldn't hesitate to stay at this property again!

We stayed after a couple of days at Pest's supposedly excellent (Starwood) Le Méridien hotel, and can only comment that the Hilton has far better service and is considerably cleaner (no mold in shower enclosure, etc. as we found in the Méridien's SPG floor,) though the Méridien, Four Seasons, etc. are much better situated for discovering Pest. (But the Méridien is all show and little go in our recent experience, except for dinner in the excellent restaurant.)

I will describe more, and post photos, probably in July after arriving home.

We stayed in the corner room next to yours, 383, over Easter this past March. Fabulous hotel; one of my favorite Hiltons.

The staff in the exec lounge are outstanding, especially Tibor and Petra. There was a big wine festival going on that we were unaware of until Petra clued us in.

We ate Easter lunch at Café Pierrot and I can attest to the wonders of the goose liver trio. :D

Enjoy your stay and do hit one of the baths. We went to Rudas, the oldest Turkish bath in the city (built IIRC in the 15th century). Quite an experience.

nonsmoking king room 382...and the concierge staff is most helpful and welcoming.

Three blocks away on Fortuna utca (street) at No. 14 is the excellent Café Pierrot (http://www.pierrot.hu/) restaurant, with a selection of really good Hungarian wine, helpful staff and good Hungarian and Continental foods (bookings strongly suggested evenings; the goose liver trio is... to die for, if you eat it regularly. ;).

I stayed there earlier this year and was in love with the place. Petra is something special in the Executive Lounge. Hope she is still there!

If you want a great Indian dinner, have them make you reservation at Indigo on the Pest side. It was an amazing dinner and more than worth the taxi ride!

Thanks for the very timely report, JD, as I have four nights planned in mid-July....I'm looking forward to "more later". Did you arrive via the train, boat or plane? We (the Mrs. and two jailettes) are planning on cabbing it from the train station, but are open to expert advice?

Great report. I booked myself and 4 colleagues into this hotel for the 31/7. They paid for lounge access, I paid for a standard room, and have an email confirming an upgrade to the exec floor. Quite looking forward to the trip.:)

There are three railroad stations in Budapest - Keleti is primarily the international one. The easiest way to arrange a pickup is to e-mail concierge.budapest@hilton.com with name, date, train, time etc. arrivals details and they will have a car waiting - the driver will be at the train engine with a name board. Cost HUF6,000 (USD $40 or slightly less,) which can be charged to the room iirc. (TO Keleti it is less, because they are not charging for the pickup.)

The wonderful Petra at the Executive Lounge (the expert advice) assures me this is the safest way to arrive, as some of the taxi drivers can be a bit "difficult," and the law apparently allows private taxis to charge what they want (thy load higher rates into their meters, so even if the meter is running, it runs for them, not for thee...)

BTW, the train stations - Keleti, anyway - is quite dodgy and frumpy. It is very crowded, there are hangers-on trolling for tourists for their dodgy offers, and the only place that you can use reliably for information is the status board before the train gates and employees will either tell you they do not know in response to departure information, or make it up as they go along. The train departure information can be posted as little as several minutes prior to arrival / departure, and it can be a long haul to some of the piers; we missed our train to Bratislava precisely due to this issue - it pulled out as we arrived huffing and puffing. (RR travel in eastern Europe is NOT like train travel in more western parts of Europe - the train we did take to Bratislava had no air con, and a pit toilet - the only "ventilation"was open windows, with everything from bugs to dust and dirt coming in, but it was over 90 F outside: in First Class! Trains routinely run late, 10 - 15 minutes is not uncommon, but we saw some marked "100" on the status boards - meaning 100 minutes and OVER . Stick with EC EuroCity trains for best results, but then again, this is no AVE or Thalys.)

We arrived by riverboat, which included a couple of nights at Le Méridien - the service levels there are not even close to Hilton Budapest's.

Thanks, all, for the feedback and recommendations!



Thanks for the very timely report, JD, as I have four nights planned in mid-July....I'm looking forward to "more later". Did you arrive via the train, boat or plane? We (the Mrs. and two jailettes) are planning on cabbing it from the train station, but are open to expert advice?

Hilton Budapest hotel (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/BUDHITW-Hilton-Budapest-hotel/index.do)
Hess A. ter 1-3, Budapest, Hungary H-1014
Tel: 36-1-8896600 Fax: 36-1-8896644
e-mail: info.budapest@hilton.com; concierge.budapest@hilton.com; execfloor.budapest@hilton.com etc.

Hilton HHonors Reward Category: 4 (30,000 points per night)

This hotel is situated just behind Fisherman's Bastion and near Matthias Church in the old Buda Castle district. Incorporated into the hotel are the ruins of a 13th century Dominican monastery and church, as well as a 17th century Jesuit college. The remains of the church tower and nave have been incorporated into the hotel's design, and one can tour the cloister and wine cellar halls. Most, if not all, of the hotel's facilities have been recently refurbished; it is owned by the Danubius Hotels (http://www.danubiushotels.com/) group, and is a Hilton franchised property. (Interesting: Danubius has its own frequent quest scheme, as well as adhering quite well to Hilton HHonors - and their GMs had a group meeting here June 24.) (The wine cellar in the bowels of the monastery ruins is currently closed, unfortunately.)

Access is via taxi, private vehicle or city bus - the nearest tram service is at the bottom of the hill. This hotel has brilliant views of the Pest side of the Danube city, particularly in the afternoon (or night with illumination.) The location is fantastic - you can walk the entire Castle district, even walk down the nearby steps to near the foot of the Chain Bridge and walk into Pest's Roosevelt ter in perhaps 25 minutes - the historic #2 tram takes you up or down the waterfront (but note the #2 route is stitched together with a bus due to construction that began June 24.)

On a discounted PointStretcher award stay (18,000 points per night) in June 2008, we were greeted and referred to the third floor Executive Lounge, where the concierge changed our room to a nearby available room - we had arrived at 11:30 AM and expected to store our luggage whilst we explored and went to lunch. Instead, we were given nonsmoking king room 382, with spectacular views of Pest and the Danube, with lounge access. Rooms are 33 square meters in size, capacious for Europe. (Rooms mostly face Pest, or - including the two-story suites - the street in front of the hotel - transited by myriad tourist busses, cars and local transit busses, no big prize.)

The Executive Lounge itself is pretty spectacular, as it is spacious, open extended hours (early a.m. for an extended Continental breakfast that includes quite a spread of fresh and preserved fruits, savoury and sweet breads, scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, several fish and cheeses, etc. etc. and a lovely automated coffee making machine that makes decent cappuccinos, among other things. Staff is super - Petra, who we had contact with several times, can not do more to help. This Diamond can offer nothing but praise at our treatment here, even with HP and other major corporate events going on while we were here.

Afternoon tea is served, and evenings you can easily dine here - several hot dishes including two meats, hors d'oeuvres, pastries, etc. mean if you have a large-ish lunch, supper is here. Additionally, a selection of fair Hungarian wines and liquors is available, as well as three beers, bottled fruit juices, still and sparkling water, etc. (All consumables are for lounge use only - no taking to rooms, etc.) Hotel guests with Lounge access are allowed to bring in one guest after breakfast is over, and the concierge staff is most helpful and welcoming.

Our room is comfortable and spacious, has brilliant Pest views, and is quiet. Color schemes are creamish with blue highlights and warm woods, a large LCD TV with many channels, Everything works, AC is more European style - it cools, not freezes, but it could get warm on the afternoon (street) side, I suspect. The king bed was covered with twin duvets, so no "who snatched the covers!" battles. ;) There is a desk, the room is supplied with HSIA - but only using the Lounge's two good HSIA access computers (but since the CPU is locked up, no access with thumb drives for your files,) I have no knowledge of prices. I have also seen guests using their laptops with the Lounge's WiFi; again, no idea of costs.

The bathroom is tile and marble, with separate tub and shower, a shaver outlet for 110/220 VAC US / Euro etc. plug, with the usual amenities, plenty of towels (bath sheets,) and kept very clean. I am not sure about the far wing, but in the Exec Lounge wing, the best rooms are 371 - 383, with Pest views; 354-360 have street views (plenty of traffic) and 361-370 have courtyard or end views. Lots of electric plugs, but of course all 220 VAC Euro twin round prong. A large (2 liter) bottle of water is supplied daily, and we received a nice tray of chocolates on arrival. There is an exorbitant minibar, but the Lounge has so much one wonders why an Executive guest would bother with the minibar. (N.B. Budapest hotels, and the Hilton is no exception, also charge exorbitantly for laundry - if they lose or damage your clothing, they pay five times the cost of laundry, which might well pay for new replacement clothes!)

The hotel is within walking distance of everything on the Castle hill, which is of course quite congested with tourists during the season. Three blocks away on Fortuna utca (street) at No. 14 is the excellent Café Pierrot (http://www.pierrot.hu/) restaurant, with a selection of really good Hungarian wine, helpful staff and good Hungarian and Continental foods (bookings strongly suggested evenings; the goose liver trio is... to die for, if you eat it regularly. ;). Add a rare bottle of 2005 Marengó Egri Bikaver ("Bull's Blood") Superior St. Andrea (black label) wine for a special meal! Turn right out the hotel entrance: Fortuna is the second street to your right; the first street, Táncsics Mihály utca, leads to the old Jewish Quarter and prayer house.

We stayed after a couple of days at Pest's supposedly excellent (Starwood) Le Méridien hotel, and can only comment that the Hilton has far better service and is considerably cleaner (no mold in shower enclosure, etc. as we found in the Méridien's SPG floor,) though the Méridien, Four Seasons, etc. are much better situated for discovering Pest. (But the Méridien is all show and little go in our recent experience, except for dinner in the excellent restaurant.)

I will describe more, and post photos, probably in July after arriving home.

We stayed there for 10 days in Oct/Nov 2007 and hand a wonderful time in Budapest. Hubby LOVED the history.

I have a photo album that I would be more than happy to share with anyone from this hotel...just let me know and I will send it over.

We LOVED the Budapest Hilton.

Dawn

Totally concur that this property is a great place to stay when visiting Budapest. OP managed to get PointStretcher award stay (18,000 points per night) in June 2008, and that makes it a steal!
After twice visited Budapest, I still plan to return.

Yes, Budapest Castle convinced also me and it takes good care about diamonds ^

Jdiver:

I just have to ask what you thought of their exercise room!

:()

I am now really looking forward to my stay there next month!

Now you have made me want to go!!
Hmmm I remember that the river cruises do go to there. I will have to see if mom would be interested!!
JudyJFLA

Jdiver:

I just have to ask what you thought of their exercise room!

:()

Ok...love this property...but the gym does suck. One treadmill. One stepper. One rowing machine.

Only upside is that the amazing Petra was able to get me in there at 11 pm each night.

We did lots of walking after being told the exercise room was quite minimal. But you can do lots of hill climbing if you eschew the funicular. ;)


Jdiver:

I just have to ask what you thought of their exercise room!

:()

Stayed at Le Meridien during my visit to Budapest last year. It was good, not great. Nice location relative to subway and main tourist areas. I saw the Hilton when I toured the Castle area and was so envious. Based on what I saw and the glowing reviews on this thread I will definitely stay here next time.

We did lots of walking after being told the exercise room was quite minimal. But you can do lots of hill climbing if you eschew the funicular. ;)

That hotel was so beautiful! Our room was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! It was two story....kind of three if you count the dining area between the bottom floor (small kitchen/living room) and the top floor (bathroom and bedroom).

We had such an amazing time here. I actually did visit the gym and had a couple of works outs, but we did so much walking and visiting that I didn't worry about it. We headed over to the Amsterdam Hilton following this trip and that exercise facility was unbelievable. So I didn't sweat it for the time we were there.

We spent our anniversary dinner at the hotel. It was really great and they treated us (everyone) like royalty. I didn't think the price was more than the local restaurants. And, of course, hubby went to that famous bakery nearly every other day! It was so delicous.

Here are some good pictures of our fabulous trip....if you have any questions, let me know. We hired a private tour guide and have learned that is the best way to get to know the history of a country and do it on our own time. There is no other way for us....

Here is the link--you don't need to sign in...please scroll down to see the captions because that will tell you what you need to know (a lot of people don't realize there are captions)...the Hilton was lovely and just beautiful.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=4yogvh7.73w0tu7z&Uy=1i6inv&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=173047936689_900248112603&localeid=en_US

Dawn

Thanks for sharing, Dawn! I agree - a good guide can save money and time over taking several bus tours, particularly with two or more people. With Budapest, it can be also be useful due to the distances and wated time changing public transport that can be involved.

(We're in lovely and cool - maybe up to 80 F daytimes? -Prague right now, so I'll have to give it another more in depth look over once we get back to polluted sad Sacramento later this week.)

The one and only disappointment at this hotel was the Dominican Restaurant. We ate dinner there the first night as we were beat (BUD was our arrival city). The food just wasn't very good. I had a goose liver main that arrived barely lukewarm. CHGal had a goulash dish of mostly gristle. Staff seemed intent on pushing dishes/drinks to run up the tab. Also expensive by Budapest standards.

Everything else about our stay was so good, however, that this one bad experience didn't spoil our stay at all. Great hotel.

We spent our anniversary dinner at the hotel. It was really great and they treated us (everyone) like royalty. I didn't think the price was more than the local restaurants.

We never did try the Dominican Restaurant. Café Pierrot is just down the street on Fortuna, is cheaper and has great food and attentive service - two rooms, one non-smoking, and a garden in summer. We ate there twice, and never regretted it.

The one and only disappointment at this hotel was the Dominican Restaurant. We ate dinner there the first night as we were beat (BUD was our arrival city). The food just wasn't very good. I had a goose liver main that arrived barely lukewarm. CHGal had a goulash dish of mostly gristle. Staff seemed intent on pushing dishes/drinks to run up the tab. Also expensive by Budapest standards.

Everything else about our stay was so good, however, that this one bad experience didn't spoil our stay at all. Great hotel.

We never did try the Dominican Restaurant. Café Pierrot is just down the street on Fortuna, is cheaper and has great food and attentive service - two rooms, one non-smoking, and a garden in summer. We ate there twice, and never regretted it.

Yes, I agree as I mentioned in an earlier post:

We ate Easter lunch at Café Pierrot and I can attest to the wonders of the goose liver trio. :D

We mostly ate at the hotel the first night since we were so tired from traveling. Just want to warn FTers who might visit that our meal there was not so good.

Did you visit any of the baths?

The one and only disappointment at this hotel was the Dominican Restaurant. We ate dinner there the first night as we were beat (BUD was our arrival city). The food just wasn't very good. I had a goose liver main that arrived barely lukewarm. CHGal had a goulash dish of mostly gristle. Staff seemed intent on pushing dishes/drinks to run up the tab. Also expensive by Budapest standards.

Everything else about our stay was so good, however, that this one bad experience didn't spoil our stay at all. Great hotel.


I had read many reviews (not so good) about the Dominican Restaurant prior to our stay. I had pretty much decided that there basically was no need to try it. But it turned out that on the day of our anniversary, we were really tired from being out all day and we decided to give it a try.

We were very pleased and it was excellent! I don't give "excellent" ratings to restaurants because they are a close walk "home," but we were very pleased and everything was wonderful....we went down earlier in the day and picked our table. It definitely was a nice surprise. We had gone to the wine cave earlier and had some wine...maybe that helped (grin). But we would definitely go again if we were there. And again, we just didn't think the prices were much higher than any other fine dining establishment.

Dawn

Glad you had a nice experience. Not that unusual to see people disagreeing about restaurants. :D

We loved the wine cave. What a great spot. The fellow working there (it was mostly empty when we went) said the owner (apparently someone other than the Hilton) wasn't willing to put any money into promoting/advertising the place, so it just sort of languishes. He seemed bitter about it as he recognizes what an interesting experience it is. Too bad.

We were very pleased and it was excellent!... We had gone to the wine cave earlier and had some wine...maybe that helped

The result is, unfortunately, that the wine cave is closed currently, and there is no indication as to when it might be re-opened. We were allowed to take a wander in the old monastery grounds and saw the wine cave through the locked metal gate.

Glad you had a nice experience. Not that unusual to see people disagreeing about restaurants. :D

We loved the wine cave. What a great spot. The fellow working there (it was mostly empty when we went) said the owner (apparently someone other than the Hilton) wasn't willing to put any money into promoting/advertising the place, so it just sort of languishes. He seemed bitter about it as he recognizes what an interesting experience it is. Too bad.

JDiver Thanks for a great detailed report. I just book a 3 night award stay for September at 18,000 points/night.

Good deal! We were also on a point stretcher, and we were treated very well. I suspect September will be easier for getting around than high tourist season, but we still had a most enjoyable time.

JDiver Thanks for a great detailed report. I just book a 3 night award stay for September at 18,000 points/night.

Stayed at Le Meridien during my visit to Budapest last year. It was good, not great. Nice location relative to subway and main tourist areas. I saw the Hilton when I toured the Castle area and was so envious. Based on what I saw and the glowing reviews on this thread I will definitely stay here next time.


Thanks for your thoughts on this. ^ I am considering both properties but it looks like I will focus more on this Hilton instead.

As mentioned, we spent two days in the Méridien as SPG Golds and were not so happy. They botched our nonsmoking request, our room on the SPG floor had moldy areas in the bath, we were ripped off in the bar, breakfast staff were often uncaring and unresponsive, the desk clerks seemed to display a "can't do" attitude, though the service and food in the restaurant at dinner were quite good. Our evaluation was replied to with a silly excuse and not even an apology.

We were much happier taking a taxi over the Duna and staying at the Hilton. Of course, if on business and needing to stay on that side of the river, there are other hotels in the Pest area than the Méridien...

Thanks for your thoughts on this. ^ I am considering both properties but it looks like I will focus more on this Hilton instead.

As mentioned, we spent two days in the Méridien as SPG Golds and were not so happy. They botched our nonsmoking request, our room on the SPG floor had moldy areas in the bath, we were ripped off in the bar, breakfast staff were often uncaring and unresponsive, the desk clerks seemed to display a "can't do" attitude, though the service and food in the restaurant at dinner were quite good. Our evaluation was replied to with a silly excuse and not even an apology.

We were much happier taking a taxi over the Duna and staying at the Hilton. Of course, if on business and needing to stay on that side of the river, there are other hotels in the Pest area than the Méridien...

Not to mention the Hilton Westend which is a decent hotel and in my opinion has a better lounge than the Buda Castle property.

mike

Ok, I'll bite. How is it better? The terrace looks nice. Food/drinks?

Not to mention the Hilton Westend which is a decent hotel and in my opinion has a better lounge than the Buda Castle property.

Ok, I'll bite. How is it better? The terrace looks nice. Food/drinks?

Smaller lounge, friender staff (concierge sits at desk near entrance as opposed to Castle where lounge staff are only servers) overall not as crowded, believe only Exec floor access, better food and drink options and you can connect for free to the internet via ethernet connections with your own laptop rather than waiting for the kids to get off the two PCS at the Buda Hilton.

mike

Friendlier staff? You've got to be joking. Did you interact with Petra and Tibor? Merely servers? No way. Petra not only arranged several outings for us, but she also had some interesting suggestions.

friender staff (concierge sits at desk near entrance as opposed to Castle where lounge staff are only servers)

Friendlier staff? You've got to be joking. Did you interact with Petra and Tibor? Merely servers? No way. Petra not only arranged several outings for us, but she also had some interesting suggestions.

Well what can I say?:)

On my last visit to Budapest we spent three nights at the Buda Castle Hilton followed by two nights at the Westend. Got a great corner suite overlooking St Matthias and the view from the castle property cant be beat. The downside to that hotel ( not to mention that the surrounding streets can be jammed packed with tourists ) is that seating at times is difficult to find in the lounge, so you have people sort of wandering between the two rooms looking for seats space with no assistance from the lounge staff. None of those problems encountered at the Westend, again probably because of less people using the lounge and some better food offering during the days outside of the normal peak use periods.

mike

I certainly and respectfully disagree with the statement that "the lounge staff are only servers." The Buda lounge has servers, and has staff - who are professional, knowledgeable and very friendly. Petra, iirc, has worked at the hotel for 8 years, including as a Concierge, and the desk is next to the entrance - they are happy to check you in and out, as well as make an array of arrangements and suggestions for guests. or example. The Buda lounge also has WiFi connections, unless I was seeing folks access some other form of Internet. Are you sure you are not thinking of another location? Or, perhaps during your last stay things were not as they are usually? :)

Smaller lounge, friender staff (concierge sits at desk near entrance as opposed to Castle where lounge staff are only servers) overall not as crowded, believe only Exec floor access, better food and drink options and you can connect for free to the internet via ethernet connections with your own laptop rather than waiting for the kids to get off the two PCS at the Buda Hilton.

mike

My last stay at the Hilton Buda Castle was in April 2006 at that time the concierge desk was a good twenty-five + plus feet from the lounge entrance so by no stretch of the imagination could they be considered " in the lounge".
One could enter the lounge without coming in close proximity to the concierges, perhaps that has changed.
I had no problems with the concierges, the lounge staff on the other had appeared quite inefficient and a bit overwhelmed at times in handling the seemingly number of lounge users, any item which you could not serve yourself, such as coffee often entailed a bit of a wait.

Perhaps they have free wifi in lounge now, but during my visit you had to purchase 60 min or 1 day cards for use anywhere in the property. There were two PCs to the far left of the lounge main entrance.

mike

Well, now we know what the disconnect is. That was over two years ago! Return my friend. It is nothing like what you are describing.

My last stay at the Hilton Buda Castle was in April 2006

Like JDiver, I also stayed at Hilton Castle and LeMeridien in Budapest on the same trip. Budapest is a great city and I enjoyed my stays at these hotels. As HH Diamond and SPG Platinum, I was upgraded to a suite at each of the 2 locations. The Hilton has a great view of Budapest from the suite. It is also in a very nice (historical) area up on a hill. My suite at LeMeriden was, in my opinion, better appointed but no views as it is on the flat Pest side of Budapest. It is, however, closer to shopping and many restaurants. I like both of these properties and would not hesitate returning to either hotel if I go to Budapest again.

Sorry if answered elsewhere. Just changed my flights from LH to BA given the strike going on at LH.

Can someone comment on transport from BUD to Hilton Castle? Is that taxi only? Or train to station then cab? Also. How about taxi from Hilton Castle to Le Meridien or Hilton Pest side? Can you please comment on prices? Did anyone use internet access from room at Castle or Pest hotels? Price? I was able to get PC401 awards and cleared out my wife's HHonors account. Considering a night or two at Le or Pest. Any and all comments welcome. Thanks.

Sorry if answered elsewhere. Just changed my flights from LH to BA given the strike going on at LH.

Can someone comment on transport from BUD to Hilton Castle? Is that taxi only? Or train to station then cab? Also. How about taxi from Hilton Castle to Le Meridien or Hilton Pest side? Can you please comment on prices? Did anyone use internet access from room at Castle or Pest hotels? Price? I was able to get PC401 awards and cleared out my wife's HHonors account. Considering a night or two at Le or Pest. Any and all comments welcome. Thanks.

a couple of friends grabbed a shuttle van it was 4600 HUF $32, for both. They take CCs to make it even better. From what I understood a round-trip is cheaper , my friends didnt go r/t as they were catching a train to BTS. they simply walked up to the vans desk in the arrivals hall and were on therir way no prepurchase. Alot cheaper then a taxi, they did stop at the Meridien and Four Seasons for an extra 10 mins all in.

As for computers there are 2 in the Exec Lounge that are free, when they go down and they do simply ask at the Lounge desk and they will make arrangements for you to use the Biz centers computers w/o charge.

whenever we went over to Pest we walked it theres a staircase at the 2nd intersection after leaving the hotel and making a Left, it leaves you at the foot of The Chain Bridge right over the bridge is the 4S.Walked up teh same way.

If walking is a problem I did see some small public buses around or you can walk down to the veniculiar and use that it too drops you at the foot of the C Bridge.

Sorry if answered elsewhere. Just changed my flights from LH to BA given the strike going on at LH.

Can someone comment on transport from BUD to Hilton Castle? Is that taxi only? Or train to station then cab? Also. How about taxi from Hilton Castle to Le Meridien or Hilton Pest side? Can you please comment on prices? Did anyone use internet access from room at Castle or Pest hotels? Price? I was able to get PC401 awards and cleared out my wife's HHonors account. Considering a night or two at Le or Pest. Any and all comments welcome. Thanks.

If you're frugal like me, it is quite easy to take a bus to the subway station, and the subway can take you to downtown central rail station. The cost is like maybe $2 to $3 per person. From there you can take a cab. However, if you stay at the Hilton Westend, it is right at the mall next to the central train station, with a 3-minute walking.

I stayed at that Hilton last year. Obviously it does not have the view, but everything else was pretty good, and locationwise it's very convenient. The lounge offering is quite generous, with free PC/internet also. I got a bottle of bubbly as a welcome gift. With all the free booze, I never opened it. In the end, I had to return it, since I didn't want to check it on my return flight.

Keep the info coming. I'll probably do Buda, Pest, Buda for the stay credits. The Le is out after reading about the mold and of course no Lounge.

Keep the info coming. I'll probably do Buda, Pest, Buda for the stay credits. The Le is out after reading about the mold and of course no Lounge.


I stayed at the Le for 5 nights on the 1/2 off pts deal. Got a very nice suite, no mold nothing but a beautiful room. OK no views but a Great location.With a minmarket diagonally across the street which took CCs, it didnt bother me all that much that LeM didnt have a lounge. BTW The Marriott does :D which is a 5-10 min walk on the Danube on the Pest side. Cat 5. As does both Hiltons:D

Theres also an IC by the Chain Bridge but I dont use Priority Club so no pts there for me, so I didnt check it out.

The Hilton WE is a place I wouldnt go to unless thats all that was available or I was in town on Biz and the WE was near to the offices I needed to be at.

BTW even thou no Club @ LeM most everyday C&P is available 4000pts & $60 (or $75 with the tx)

Well just a quick follow up on my stay at the Hilton Budapest. As mentioned the hotel is in the castle district on the buda side. We arrived by pre booked taxi from the airport at about 2330 hours. We used Zona taxi's and they were definately the cheapest for transfers.

On arrival the lounge was closed so checked in at the lobby. Check in was very fast and we were in our rooms by 2340. We all decided to go downstairs for a drink in the bar even though it was late. The bar stays open until 0130 hours. I sat down at the bar ordered a drink and on looking to my right discovered I was sat next to Anthony Hamilton, Lewis Hamiltons father. As we were all Grand Prix fans this was an added bonus as we had tickets for the qualifying and the race. We had a quick chat with Mr Hamilton senior, who was very amiable before going to sit in the foyer.

The hotel itself was vey tidy, and the common areas and the rooms were well maintained. Whilst sat in the foyer we were approached by a female, who tried to talk us into going to the club accross the street from the hotel.
As the bar was closing soon we all thought we would go over later.

Thirty minutes later we all wander off to the club accross the road. Once inside we ordered some drinks. We were then almost jumped on by about 6 girls, whom all seemed to want to make our aquaintance. Yes you guessed it. The penny then dropped and we realised we had walked into not just a club, but one that offers other (ahem) other services. :eek: It became quite obvious that they wanted us to spend money on drinks for them, and for other services. Realising this, we managed to down our beers and retreat back to the safety of the Hilton.

The next morning we all just managed to make breakfast in the lounge. Breakfast was good for a lounge, offering a selection of hot and cold options. The lounge staff were very good and allowed us to keep a room until 1400 hours, as we were transferring to the Intercontinental hotel that afternoon.

Knowing what I know now I would have spent all 5 days at the hilton. The hotel and lounge was superior to the IC hotel, rooms and its club lounge. If anyone is thinking of going to Budapest go for the Hilton its a good hotel, and if you like that extra bit of service just pop accross the road, where the ladies will be happy to oblige. ;)

Thanks for the info. And additional info. I all of us were just so frank about all of our travel experiences. We hope to be there (Hilton) early next month.

Thanks for the info. And additional info. I all of us were just so frank about all of our travel experiences. We hope to be there (Hilton) early next month.
I will also be there(Hilton) next month (September 3-6)

I was booked for this coming Thurs night for 18k (PS). But once I changed my flight to 1 that will arrive at 10:30pm , I figured by the time I got up there it wouldnt pay. Then I was able to get The Marriott on their LNF (BRG) so its 75 Euro a night. Originally was to arrive at 6pm

Was gonna be at The Marriott anyway for Fri & Sat nights, so its a bit easier not having to switch hotels on Fri when I needed to be in Pest anyways.

Now Ill simply walk up to the Castle area to retake some pics that I didnt like sometime on Fri

Has anyone requested the Concierge to arrange a pick-up from the airport for you?
How did it go?

Has anyone requested the Concierge to arrange a pick-up from the airport for you?
How did it go?

I contacted the hotel via email to see if they could arrange for all 5 of us to be collected at the airport 2 weeks ago. They told me it would be 65 euro's or 40 euro's per taxi if they could not get a people carrier. Zona charged us 8000 huf each way in a people carrier about 31 Euro. If you check their rates on the website a standard car is only 25 Euro. I paid 1 euro extra to have them wait with a board at arrivals. Check out their website Link below:

http://www.zonataxi.eu/en/tartalom/fooldal/

I stayed here one night for work back in January. As a Gold HH member I was treated like royalty. I look forward to going back for pleasure sometime. The service was outstanding, IMO..they really made me feel welcome.

I contacted the hotel via email to see if they could arrange for all 5 of us to be collected at the airport 2 weeks ago. They told me it would be 65 euro's or 40 euro's per taxi if they could not get a people carrier. Zona charged us 8000 huf each way in a people carrier about 31 Euro. If you check their rates on the website a standard car is only 25 Euro. I paid 1 euro extra to have them wait with a board at arrivals. Check out their website Link below:

http://www.zonataxi.eu/en/tartalom/fooldal/
Thanks!

Checked into #37X yesterday and am enjoying the hotel and BUD immensely. ^

BUD is a great place and you can not beat the views of the Chain Bridge and Parlament from the property.

And in regards to transportation, my advice:

1) The airport taxi is the easiest and most efficient method of getting to either Hilton property. Unlike some of the taxi companies in BUD, Zone is honest and do a great job.

2) BUD is a walking town for a majority of the sights that you will want to see, plus the public buses and trams do a great job for longer trips.

BUD is a great place and you can not beat the views of the Chain Bridge and Parlament from the property.

And in regards to transportation, my advice:

1) The airport taxi is the easiest and most efficient method of getting to either Hilton property. Unlike some of the taxi companies in BUD, Zone is honest and do a great job.

2) BUD is a walking town for a majority of the sights that you will want to see, plus the public buses and trams do a great job for longer trips.

I took the shared shuttle the last time arrived at 10:30pm it took Us 25 mins till I was dropped and saw some parts of the city I didnt back in May. although I did wait 20 mins till the shuttle driver came in to get us.

why back to BUD was also 25 mins on a Sun at 1pm

I use the Airport Minivan Shuttle (www.airportshuttle.hu/en_index.php) rather than the other BUD shuttle outfits. They have a attended kiosk in he baggage and I buy my there with a cc (about 3000HUF o/w and 5000HUF r/t) and they give you a chit. Typical waits are 5-20 min and usually makes 1-3 other stops. Actually almost a nice city tour. Make return reservations with the concierge about 24 hour in advance. Clean, efficient, cheap and never a problem.

MisterNice

Friendlier staff? You've got to be joking. Did you interact with Petra and Tibor? Merely servers? No way. Petra not only arranged several outings for us, but she also had some interesting suggestions.

Tibor is FANTASTIC! He aims to please. Must remember to send HH an email re: his impeccable service. Never saw Petra.

Really wish I could have stayed longer.

Tibor is FANTASTIC! He aims to please. Must remember to send HH an email re: his impeccable service. Never saw Petra.......ever.

Really wish I could have stayed longer.
I too have never seen anyone named Petra but often have had fine service by two 20ish female concierges in the exec level. As for Tibor, I have never seen better service by anyone on an exec level anywhere in the world including the Four Seasons and at any time. He brings refills at the exact proper time, remembers my choice of wines and desserts and gives perfect advice. I arrive this Fri for 2 nights and a couple of weeks later in the month for 7 nights.

MisterNice

I stayed in this property last week. It was an point stretcher award and I am Diamond so that I could have executive floor room.
I took Zona taxi from BUD to the hotel and it costs about 5300huf + tip. For my return, I asked Petra for the arrangement for the transportation to the airport and she made a reservation for a taxi waiting in front of the hotel for 6600 huf. It can be charged to my room bills though.

For my transportation during my stay, I purchased a 3-day travel card at Moskva Place and take buses, metros and trams to go all over the place. There is a mini bus running 6am - 23pm at least every 10 min in front of the hotel and it takes us either Pest side [Bus 16] and Moskva [Bus 16 and 16a] Place.

The executive lounge was very nice. Breakfast is a basically continental ones however there are few hot meals. The breakfast is ready before the 7 am and the hot meals arrived at just prompt at 7am. The food is provided throughout of the day, and the famous Hungarian Tokai wine was good.

As my conclusion, the stay in this property was very pleasant one.

Jun

Two taxi transportation data points:
-- From Keleti train station to hotel = HUF3500. Tourist info desk called taxi. Took ~20 mins on a Friday afternoon.
-- From hotel back to Keleti station = HUF3300 Hilton arranged, charged to my acct. They had me leave too early on a Monday morning due to the possibility of traffic, but I found the taxis use the bus lanes, so took only ~20 mins. Ended up sitting in the train station for an extra 45min.

Photo highlights:
Down the street (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2954207275/in/set-72157608161510933/)
View 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2953195781/in/set-72157608161510933/)
View 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2954043382/in/set-72157608161510933/)
Panorama (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2953463684/sizes/l/in/set-72157608161510933/)
Night view (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2952903763/in/set-72157608161510933/)
Room 379 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2953458864/in/set-72157608161510933/)
Lounge food (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/2953740670/in/set-72157608161510933/)
Full set (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mg_travels/sets/72157608161510933/) on Flickr

Awesome pics, boxo. Thank you for sharing them with us. I am getting excited about our trip to Budapest during the Thanksgiving holiday. Now I know what to expect! It looks like you had plenty of opportunities to indulge your sweet tooth. I'm more interested in the wine selection in the lounge, and that should be good from what I've read in this forum.

Thanks, taking flight. I was in the hotel 2 out of 3 afternoons, so yes, I tried the lounge offerings. Don't drink, so I have no idea about the wines. Enjoy your stay!

has anyone stayed in Budapest in January? How bad is the weather?

I thought I heard something about a free shuttle to one of the Hiltons but have seen conflicting information, can anyone confirm that?

I want a good stay for a few days but want the food in the lounge as a high priority to me. I also want what is practicle where you can get around easy and have never been to Budapest.

Has anyone stayed at both the WE and the Castle Hiltons recently? I prefer the cleanliness and the great options of food in the exec lounge.

Should I assume I have a pretty good chance of being upgraded as a diamond in January?

There are no current free shuttles I am aware of. Weather info at www.weather.com and a search on FT for "budapest" or whatever will readily give you mucho accurate info on both hotels

MisterNice

First some background, I am a Hilton Diamond Member. I stayed here using points and notified the hotel the trip was to celebrate my birthday.

Pre stay communication: very responsive, I was responded to by both Reservations Desk and the Concierge I was told that I would be upgraded to the Executive Level with a view and was given all the information I needed regarding the area, transportation and tours.

Transportation: Used Hotel Car to and from Train Station

Check In: upon I arrival I was informed that a special evnt was going on in the Executive Lounge so I would have to check in on the First Floor. Check In was quick and pleasant. Within an hour the Executive Floor Manager Petra informed me about the hotel, lounge, and local tours.

Room: The room was clean and comfortable and the view was outstanding. (I was told one the best views in the hotel .)

Executive Lounge: Stocked Bar of Local Red and White Wines --(Be Sure to try the local Tokaji - an Excellent Dessert Wine) with Soft Drinks and Local Beers. The Appetizers consisted of tasty meats, Cheeses, Fruit, and Vegetables. For Breakfast a Buffet Breakfast. For Dessert pastries. The Lounge Staff is excellent always willing to help out with whatever is needed. Petra and Tibor shine among the group--I was informed that Tibor had gotten employee of the year, well deserved!!! There were two computers and a Cable to plug in your laptop for free internet access as well. Petra even allowed me to use the lounge till my 10:00 pm Hotel to Train Station Transfer.

Room Service: Did not use. My room included a plate of Chocolates and a nice welcome from the Hotel

Service: Excellent, always polite and can do service.

Location: Great Location in Budapest in my opinion. I loved the view and the feel of the Castle District. Pest is a pleasant 20 minute walk down the hill. Walking back after a full day of sightseeing can get a bit tiresome though

A belated Happy Birthday, sdcarver! And thanks for the great Tibor news - very well-deserved recognition.

Just completed a stay at both the Castle and the Westend Budapest Hiltons. I really enjoyed both.

I'm a Diamond, and at both I was escorted by reception to the exec lounge for check in. Received a room upgrade to suites at both (not on exec floor however), but not much of a view. Free large bottle of water in both rooms, and some nibbles at the Castle Hilton.

Exec lounges were nice. Very very quiet, plenty of drinks and evening nibbles. Breakfast selection was good at both for a lounge. Free internet provided at the Castle due to Diamond status. This was via a cable in the 'business corner' and not wifi.

Booked via the concerge email, a taxi from airport to the castle which was charged to the room (extra points !). Booked a taxi from westend to airport via the lounge, again charged to the room and hence earned points.

Had a meal at both hotels. Whilst I was earlier, say around 7pm, at both I was the only person in the restaurant. Both meals were OK, and service very good (as expected with a 3:1 staff to guest ratio!)

Location. Castle first. Great location overlooking the cities. Easy walk down the hill into town via the steps, took about 10 -15 mins to get to the river. A few homeless people in the park area, but nothing (during the day) to worry about. The walk up the hill almost killed me. It is very steep and a drag up the steps. On my second day I found it was easier to take the longer route along the roads rather than the staircase from hell up the side.
Westend. I walked from the Castle to the Westend. It took about 40 mins. The hotel is build into the west end shopping mall, and has an entrance into the 2nd level of the mall. Not as nice a location view wise, but more choice around the hotel - and it was flat !! You could see the castle hilton from the exec lounge of the west end.

I would stay at either hotel again. All staff were friendly and treated me well.

Just FYI, although prices of this property are listed by default in euro they still charged my credit card in HUF, which again triggered the foreign currency surcharge. (Transactions in EUR wouldn't.) Changing it to HUF gives the exchange warning and they switch back to EUR for the final booking. :rolleyes:

I just got back from BUD and stayed at the castle Hilton.

Notes:

The Beds are typical Europe style, two twins pushed together, ugh. Further they are HARD as hades! :td:

:-:Check for and or ask for extra pillows for us US comfort people, you'll need it.

View was awesome from the room:-:, tho a lil smaller than I woulda liked, as I read in an earlier thread, the suite room didn't have much of a view, so I guess i'll take the view.

In room internet is PRICEY! :td: Nearly 35USD for 24 hours, definitely make use of your own ISP if you can or use the ones in the lounge. HINT: there's a laptop port that the concierge can help you get to.

Jolina was awesome ^she was the Exec concierge that I worked with most of the stay.

@:-)NOTE: A word about taxis. If you arrange though the hotel its about 10,000 HUF (if you're tryin to make this in USD, drop the last two zeros, and take 1/2 of the preceding numbers to approx, in this case 10,000 HUF is about 50USD)

The restaurants on the hill were pricey, and most include at 12% service fee, that's their tip, so I'd go elsewhere.

@:-)NOTE: Another word about taxi's use CITY TAXI wherever you can, its the cheapest and request that they call you one at the hotel, if you go into the city (pest) do NOT get a taxi off the street. Stop at any hotel and request CITY taxi, for example, I took a taxi from the hotel to Pest and it cost 5000 HUF, when i got CITY back, it was 1200 HUF, that's about 25 bucks to 6 dollars, you do the math. Additional note, they charge you based on the type of car that takes you there, dumb eh?

@:-)Fill up on food, in the morning, in the afternoon (desserts) and in the evening, the open bar there ROCKS although I'm not much of a drinker myself.

All and all the staff was amazing, they treated me well, even though I used points for the whole thing....and I had a point stretcher and had them do a Diamond Service Arrangement for a day that I couldn't book. The cool thing about that is that the DSA is charged back to the company on their card, and guess what...you get points!!!:-:^

Stayed this week at both Castle and Westend Hiltons. Using the corporate rate, WestEnd offered deluxe room + breakfast + internet at 100 EUR, while Castle offered twin-room + internet at 122 EUR. Add 28 EUR for breakfast and 23% taxes on both stays, and it turned out to be a pricy stay.

Room-wise, Westend King Deluxe room was years ahead of the twin-room in the Castle. Great armchair, LCD TV, huge bathroom, the works. In the Castle the blanket was very small, fit for a very small person, not a laaarge blanket I would have expected.

Price-wise, I don't think I will stay for business in the Castle Hilton again, unless they get their corporate rates in-line with competition. It is a great location for holiday, but if you go to Budapest for work, it is far away from any destination. Restaurants in the area are expensive and add up to 15% tip on the bill, while in the center you can eat just as good at half-price.

Service-wise I got same good treatment from both hotels, with a plus for WestEnd where they guaranteed room upgrade, and with a minus for Castle for messing up the invoice at check-out and then claiming that it was my fault :S

Any recent updates? I'll be at the Budapest (Castle) Hilton next weekend. Can anybody please send me the email of Tibor or Petra?

Thanx

Any recent updates? I'll be at the Budapest (Castle) Hilton next weekend. Can anybody please send me the email of Tibor or Petra?

Thanx

Business card I have from the exec floor has this email:

exefloor.budapest@hilton.com

Enjoy.

I just returned from a fabulous weekend at the Hilton Budapest (HHonors Category 4), Hess A. ter 1-3, Budapest, Hungary, H-1014, Tel: +36-1-889-6600, Fax: +36-1-889-6644, email: info.budapest@hilton.com

As suggested by a previous poster, I contacted the hotel prior arrival by email and requested an airport transfer. They replied within 12 hours, confirming my request. The fare is a flat 10.000 Ft (currently $50) from the airport to the hotel and 6.600 Ft (currently $33) from the hotel to the airport. Both transfers can be charged to your room, so they generate additional HHonors points. We arrived at Budapest Ferihegy airport (Terminal 2) where the driver already was waiting right behind baggage claim. The average travel time from the airport to the hotel is 30-40 minutes. Due to the arrival of several European Leaders part of the streets were shut down, so it took us almost 75 minutes to get to the hotel.

Advise: While in Budapest I recognized several Taxi companies. Zona Taxi (probably the biggest company), City Taxi and several smaller companies. These companies offer much cheaper fares than the Hilton but I’m more than happy with the service the Hilton Taxi provided and I highly recommend to pay a few $ more if you are on a holiday and want to stay out of any trouble and hassle. If you choose to use another company, make sure the taxi has a yellow license plate AND a yellow taxi sign. If either one is missing, it’s not a legal taxi.

Upon arrival at the hotel, a bellman opened the doors, took our bags and escorted us to the Front Desk. I was greeted very friendly by the Front Desk Agent who informed me, that there is a separate check-in for Executive Floor guests on the 3rd floor and his colleague will be waiting for me upstairs. As soon as I entered the Executive Lounge I was greeted by Petra who checked me in within a few minutes, explained the hotels facilities and handed me a personal welcome note. I was assigned a non-smoking room with two queen beds instead of a non-smoking king size. After talking to Petra for a minute she moved me to another room. When I came back, the bellman already delivered our bags. Unfortunately the VIP amenity (a plate with three different desserts) was delivered to my old room. The room was clean and spacious but unfortunately kind of dark. One bottle of complimentary water, A/C, a flat screen TV, a working area with internet access, bathrobes, slippers, additional pillows, in-room coffee-maker, iron, ironing-board and the Hilton clock were available. The minibar was stocked with: Coke, Diet Coke, Tonic Water 1,200 Ft, Red Bull, Perrier 1,600 Ft, Evian 2,000 Ft, apple juice, orange juice 1,200 Ft, Beck’s Beer, Stella Artois Beer 2,000 Ft, Unicum 2,000 Ft, Johnny Walker Red Label, Chivas Regal, Martell, Smirnoff, Gordon’s 2,500 Ft, sparkling wine 2,600 Ft and white wine (0.375 l) 2,000 Ft. The bathroom was also spacious, clean, well lighted, with a nice tub and the usual Crabtree & Evelyn amenities.

Advise: I was assigned room 338 which is facing the street. This room is not very far away from the Executive Lounge, the elevators and right above the hotel entrance. I woke up several times per night due to noise coming from guests passing by my room or from busses approaching the hotel and loading or unloading guests. If you are a light sleeper, I suggest you avoid all room # X34-X42. If you want a view, request a room # X07-X21 (X07+X21 are Corner Suites).

The Executive Lounge (opening hours: 06:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.) is located on the 3rd floor. Access is limited to two persons per room. There’s a fee of 20 € ($28) per day for an additional guest. International newspapers and magazines were available. They have two computers in a separate room behind the lounge with free internet access. Sightseeing trips, airport transfers or restaurant reservations can also be arranged through the Executive Desk. If you are staying at the Executive Floor, make sure to speak to Petra. As mentioned by another fellow FT’er before, she is absolutely fabulous. She’s very busy and you can see her everywhere but she always finds the time to answer any question, provide any information you ask for and fulfills every wish within a blink of an eye. We booked our sightseeing tour with her. It was a private English speaking tour for Hilton guests only. The tour guide picked us up right in front of the hotel and showed us all the major sights in Buda and Pest. After three hours we had the choice to either stay downtown or being dropped off back at the hotel.

The selection of F&B in the lounge was very good. For breakfast they offered almost a complete American breakfast. However, we ate downstairs at the ICON Restaurant as breakfast was included in our rate. In the afternoon they had coffee, tea, cakes and pastries and in the evening, a cheese plate with assorted cheese, olives, bell-peppers, celery, carrots with different dips and three hot items (fish, chicken, beef). Between 06:00 p.m. – 08:30 p.m. a good selection of alcoholic beverages (German Beck’s Beer, Hungarian Stella Artois Beer, Hungarian white, rose and red wine, Gin, Vodka, Martini, Unicum, Sherry, Whisky, Rum) was available. Non-alcoholic beverages (Coke, Diet Coke, Tonic Water, water, orange juice) where available throughout the day.

We had dinner at the ICON Restaurant. The restaurant has a wonderful view of the Danube River and the Parliament, especially in the evening when everything is lit up. If you are planning eating there and want a table next to the window, you need to make sure to have a reservation! The menu features hot and cold appetizers, soups, meat, fish and desserts as well as Hungarian specialties. We had a Goulash soup, a rib-eye steak with vegetable lasagne and two glasses of red wine for 10.000 Ft (including a 12% tip which is being added automatically).

We also had breakfast at the ICON Restaurant. As mentioned before, breakfast was included in our rate. Otherwise they charge 28 € ($39) per person. The selection was immense and the quality of the food very good. Coffee, milk, skim milk, soy milk, sparkling and non-sparkling water, assorted tea, eight different juices, French rolls, bread, toast, pastries, salmon, meat, assorted cheese, spread cheese, honey, marmalade, fresh fruits, fruit salad, yoghurt, green salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives and much more. Of course there was also a warm buffet with scrambled eggs, sausages, Hungarian sausages, baked mushrooms, baked tomatoes, potato balls and each day a different Hungarian specialty. Service was always very friendly and attentive.

There’s also a Lobby Bar next to the entrance. Due to Executive Lounge access and a superb selection of beverages in the lounge we didn’t try the bar. A Business Center is located on the 1st floor, opposite the gym, solarium and sauna. Several small shops are located adjacent to the hotel lobby. This is where you also can find an ATM. If you are looking for a nice restaurant, try Café Pierrot (http://www.pierrot.hu/) or 21 Hungarian Restaurant (http://www.21restaurant.hu/eng/index.php). Both restaurants are just down the street (three minutes to your right). A grocery store is three minutes to your left. For further information, the trip report from JDiver is still absolutely accurate.

As our flight left BUD in the afternoon, I asked for a late check-out which was granted right away. Check-out was fast, polite and accurate. After checking-out at the Executive Desk I went downstairs were the driver was already waiting. Drive time to the airport was 35 minutes.

Final notes: The Hilton Budapest is a great property with wonderful staff. Everybody spoke Hungarian and English and most of them even German. Everybody is very attentive, polite and tries everything to make you feel very welcome, especially Petra at the Executive Lounge. The onliest thing that was not absolutely perfect was the room. If you follow my previous advise and stay away from certain room numbers, there should be nothing negative at all. I’ll definitely return and I highly recommend this property.

*** pictures are available upon request ***

Very nice complete report servus. The Exec lounge staff there is instructed to give Diamonds and Golds (upgraded?) rooms that face the street and to offer them the rooms with a full/partial river view for an additional 20 euros/day. I have heard of few exceptions to this policy. Many rooms that face the street have inside shutters that give more noise protection but I have never had a noise problem there. IMO the street rooms hearer the church side can be slightly noisier. The revamped restaurant is indeed fine and IMO better than most or all restaurants in the castle area. I dont like the Hilton bar or its closeby lounge. It is noisy, has absolutely no charm in any way and usually has really nasty cig and cigar smoke do to poor circulation and its smoking policy. I disagree with using the hotel taxis. They are very expensive and are no faster than a regular radio taxi, or often, the airport shuttle. The airport shuttle (5000 HUF RT) is about half the hotel taxi cost and you get a smoother ride.

MisterNice

Per my earlier post, I was assigned a very nice upgrade, full river view, no up-charge (which from other posters, I'm told violates Hilton's TOS, but that's just what I've heard...reference needed)

We stayed here two weeks ago on the executive floor with a view on an award. Had a great time and we were also charmed by Tibor who makes service an art form. Best meal was at the Cafe Peirrott just up the street.