bp888

No free breakfast. No lounge. Bath amenities are nothing to write home about. Gellert is walkable distance albeit a little far. It's a nice walk though via Vaci utca.

Smallish but adequate. Free to all registered guests. Facilities include 2 treadmills, 1 bike, 1 elliptical. Weight machine. Free weights. Indoor swimming pool with natural light. Lockers. Showers.

Spiff

Sauna/jacuzzi?

Thanks!

bp888

I don't know. I went in to use the treadmill and didn't explore the rest of the facilities. You could email and ask: [email protected]. They're pretty good at replying within a few hours.

Babaduck

We're booked into a business suite there on 12th & 13th May so fingers crossed it's all lovely... I won a competition with Malev incl. business class flights & the accom in Le Meridien

All recommendations for eating, drinking, visiting welcome!!!

magic111

We were there for 5 nights in April on a 4 nights 5th night free award and received an upgrade to a corner junior suite (large room about 50-60 square meters)

The interesting thing for us was that the doors to the balconies only opened about 4 inches, but if you signed a waiver absolving the hotel if you fall or jump off the balcony they send a maintenance guy up to remove the restraining bolts. I would guess that this option is available for all the rooms with balconies.

The entire time we were there the elipitical machine was out of order in the fitness room.

CaptainG

Don't miss the Matyas Pince restaurant, not a far walk from the end of Vaci Utca, but still a long walk from the LM. Also, there is a great open air restaurant on the Danube if you make a right out of the hotel, walk toward the river, past the UK embassy, second left, into the square, then first right in the square toward the Danube. Reasonable price, reasonable food.

There are a few good restaurants on the other side of the river, not within walking distance. Also, the LM has an agreement with a local opera company and they have tickets at the LM... there is a great little pub style just past the opera on the ring road.

Do make sure to visit the Dept. of State site, it has a good summary of the things my team saw while there:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1137.html

starsoly

There's a great restaurant called Spoon. It's on it's own boat docked between the Intercontinental and the Marriott, right across the river from the Palace. It's a short walk from the LM. You can't miss it. The views are great and the food is to.

Spiff

The health club is really quite nice. The pool is ok for laps if you aren't sharing the pool with anyone.

Good treadmills and exercise bike. I used both the sauna and the steam room afterwards.

Definitely a great hotel for the 99 Euro rate I got + an upgrade to a corner suite. I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

The Deak Ter subway has an entrances right by the hotel making it extremely convenient for sight seeing and for public transportation to and from the airport (need a bus + subway ride, but the price is worth it, especially if one doesn't have a ton of luggage).

colberto

I just stayed 3 nights on award points (30,000) at the end of June. It was a nice hotel and located in a good location.

+ Room and pool/spa
+ Service was good
+ Feel it is a good value for Cat. 4

- Had many tour groups and a large convention which made the lobby busy, noisy and elevators hard to come by.
- No business center.

I would stay there again if in Budapest.

Rusty65

I have returned from a stay at Le Meridien Budapest. I found the location of the hotel to be very convenient and walked almost everywhere in the city. The hotel is obviously one of the top hotels in the city - the lobby, the elevators, the hallways, etc. were VERY luxurious. The staff was very accomodating, but we had no special needs so I did not ask or receive anything that I would not have gotten from a well performing 4 star hotel.

My Gold status was not "recognized" - I did not expect to get a suite, but there did not seem to be any preferred floors and my status was never acknowledged. The room I received was quite small considering that the rate advertised at the front desk was 500 Euro. There were two of us and the two single beds in the room were separated by 6 inches.

I used the promotion for buying 2 nights and getting the third free - and at 109 euro with a free night I am not dissatisfied. But if you stay in this hotel and pay anywhere near what they are routinely asking, expect to get your value in the lobby and the luxe surrounding and not the hotel room itself.

dhotchkiss

I stayed here earlier in 2007. Initially it was ~8 days booked directly. I checked in via the SPG lane and was given a balcony room. After checking out, going to the airport, and discovering my flight was cancelled I called Amex from the lobby to book another night under the FHR rate. On check-in, I was actually billed for less than Amex had quoted and given a very nice corner room. FHR amenity was a large tray of fruit, chocolate, and a bottle of Tokaji.

I don't recall exactly what I paid, though remember thinking it was a very good deal. Brunch was ok, but unnecessarily expensive compared to the cost of food in Budapest. The room bathrooms were extraordinarily nice. All in all, I enjoyed this property a lot.

ehe123

I stayed in August, and had a wonderful impression of the property. We were given a Platinum upgrade to a beautiful suite overlooking the square. The hotel is quite magnificent, and in a wonderful location. We regretted the fact that we only ate at the hotel restaurant on the last night, as it stood heads and shoulders above the rather touristy restaurants that get the better reviews. The staff were very helpful (including giving our room in the early morning after flying in). We look forward to returning.

craz

Just finished a weeks stay, as a Plat was Upgraded even before I got there to a very nice Suite, the stay was on pts.

The only Cons I can think of are 1 the swimming pool is small but being indoors and on the 8th floor its better then nothing

2- no Lounge

there is a sort of super mini mkt across the street. Leave the hotel go right, it will be diagonally across and 1 block in. Best way to get across is by going down the subway and crossing the road down there. Its called Match and is on the corner. I believe the entrance was on Kirby Uta

Otherwise everything in the above posts still holds.

BTW if youre a Plat the local gift is The Eyewitness Guide to Budapest, I passed and took the pts.

The most luxurious Hotel it is not , Id say that goes to The 4 Seasons, which is at the foot of The Chain Bridge.

We walked everywhere , including the City Park which was 25-30 mins , by walking you get to see the Mansions on both sides, alot are Embassys today.

Last Tues it was over 90 degrees

brae

I just returned from a 2 night stay at this hotel, very lovely property. upgraded to a "business suite" which was very comfortable. The hotel staff was very accomodating. I chose to eat in the hotel restaurant on our last night for their "hungarian food and show" and was very pleasantly surprised by how good the food was and how entertaining the show was. The hotel is in an excellent location at the junction of three metro lines, adjacent to the very pricey pedestrian shopping area, and the hop-on-hop-off tour busses pick up right across the street. If returning to Budapest, I'd definitely choose this property again.

ericj

I stayed there in April. This is indeed a nice property.

As a Plat I was upgraded to a Business Suite (is anyone else amused by the fact a "Business Suite" is a big room with a fax? I mean, is that particular piece of technology dead with the XXth century or what?).

Apart from being mean to the presence of a fax, the Business Suite was huge and nice. There was a huge "Fashion Street" light sign just out of the window, which was a little bit too ritzy & glamorous to my taste, but that's what Starwood inovated by inventing curtains, right?

Front Desk/ concierge (for some reason we checked in at the concierge desk) was super nice. Guest Relations was rather zombi-like but that's what you expect. Making nondescript guests feel special is an exhausting job. She half heartedly attempted to explain the room, then uttered "Oh well, you're Platinum, so you know", and left. I truly respected her for this insight.

Business Suites are a hallway, a sitting room (complete with armoire, chaise, sofa, armchair and various "pieces of art", including the terrible paintings and tacky magazines you expect to find). Then a huge bedroom with three round windows, some kind of antiquated TV, a desk, various useless pieces of furniture, leading to a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and a great shower.

For the ones following my posts, the bathroom is AGRESSIVELY beige.

I 1000% agree that the Four Seasons is a better property (out of this world, really), but still, it is not our favourite loyalty programme, is it?

I am not a big fan of Le Meridien, which being originally French is a very sketchy bag (while Westin - or Four Seasons - is very consistent). But this one truly honours the brand, as does the wonderful one in Hamburg.

Now you go there
EJ