FlyerTalk Forums - W Budapest, Hungary [Master Thread]

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W Budapest, Hungary [Master Thread]

Creating a dedicated thread for the forthcoming W Budapest now that the property page has come online at the attached page.

The W will be housed in the beautiful Drechsler Palace right across Andrassy Avenue from the Hungarian State Opera, and as per the property announcement, will open with 162 stylish guest rooms and suites, a restaurant and a destination bar, W Living Room, three meeting and event spaces (including a Great Room for larger celebrations), an Away® Spa, FIT® fitness center and WET® pool.

Attaching renderings of the product below; looks like it'll be a beauty.

khabah

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d315c1eca3.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...46a2f29d6a.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f583110d79.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5ee19c023e.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ae9e0aebf0.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9069e051d9.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3640f4b9c5.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3cba5699af.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...33834d3065.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c0b9c32e9f.jpg

Hot take: Interesting that the W brand continues to persist for new openings, and that this property in particular will be branded as such. When I think of W, I think of intentionally over-the-top, garish attempts to be avant-garde (bright red everything, sensualized artwork, etc), usually located in “party” locations and attracting a corresponding clientele. This…is not that, and I feel like it deserves something better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arlflyer (Post 34949243)

I agree with this take, and believe that this building and location [particularly with the Hungarian State Opera right in front] deserved something with more dignity than a W. I would have loved to see this as a flagship St. Regis if it were within Marriott, or a Park Hyatt or Waldorf Astoria - much more stately and fitting a location and building of this nature… but alas, the owners get what they’ll pay for, and by gum they want a W on that awning.

Fun fact: this building was initially signed as The Regent Budapest back when Rezidor/Carlson briefly owned the Regent brand. Would’ve also been quite fitting, so it’s a shame it never materialized.

khabah

Booked this for September - very excited! Apparently, it opens in July!

Quote:

Originally Posted by khabah (Post 34949420)

The twin building across Elizabeth Street from The Matild a Luxury Collection property near the foot of the Elizabeth street Bridge will be a St. Regis. It is currently under reconstruction. The Matild is an incredible property and the breakfast, second to none.

James

According to this press release, W Budapest is open at last - and looking positively glorious.

khabah

will be staying there next week !

Has anyone managed a stay yet? Looking at booking this for September, although rates are rather robust. I guess it may be worth it to meet the legendary ElevatorEnthusiast

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radiation Station (Post 35454324)

Has anyone managed a stay yet? Looking at booking this for September, although rates are rather robust. I guess it may be worth it to meet the legendary ElevatorEnthusiast

Hah! Luckily, I was able to capture my September date a day before rates seemed to shoot up about 100 EUR and have stayed there since.

PM your dates, if you'd like, and I can see if there is any overlap as I'll be in Budapest for 4 nights (Matild Palace, W, Hilton Castle, and Marriott).

The GM here was previously the GM at W Amsterdam. Be ready for some elite benefit "who shot john" when on corporate rates.

Hello I finished a 4 night stay and it was speactacular ! The Hotel is truely amazing piece of architecture and history. I'll post more pics later but some quick notes:\
- Stunning building , design and architecture that permeates through out public areas and rooms
- Got a suite upgrade that was stunning in design (photo's to follow)
- Amaing location !
- Amazing staff and service, everyone is highly trained
- F&B was not up to W standards but will improve. This was my only area of improvement.

The Hotel is technically in a soft opening however this is one of the best soft openeing's I seen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunil (Post 35457472)

Sunil I am sure we would all love to see those photos :)

According to the pre-arrival email I received, the hotel is still not accepting American Express "due to their soft opening phase" - it's not an issue for me but just a heads up.

Well, well, well - honestly, besides one major issue, I really liked the W Budapest. I'm hoping that they change their tune towards suite upgrades as they continue their operational journey. While I started my stay quite angry, it's impossible for me to deny the quality of the hotel, most of the service, and the absolute deliciousness of breakfast. Here are my pros, cons, and photos - after the storytime of my arrival:

Storytime: I had seen several days before arrival that I had been upgraded to a Cool Corner King - interestingly, these rooms sell for far more cash than the Studio Suite types and are one category below the Fantastic Suites. Fantastic Suites are in the SNA pool. While I noticed Fantastic Suites available online, I decided before arriving that I wasn't going to ask about them (personal choice). However, as I was going through the check-in process, I was told that a higher category suite (the Fantastic Suite) was available for the low price of 200 EUR - I hate upsells. I don't stay in hotels for the car dealership experience. I asked if the suite was part of the upgrade pool for Elites and was told by multiple people standing at the desk that it wasn't. I told them I wasn't planning on paying extra and declined the offer. Inside, I was fuming - I don't want to be shaken down for extra money at check-in. I had noticed my room number on a piece of paper with an arrow and 200 EUR written down, so this was pre-planned.

I was then escorted to my Cool Corner facing the Opera House. As I sat there steaming, I noticed that the AC was quite poor (only one vent facing the window) and the room was very noisy with road noise. There was a whole thing with Engineering and the desk that ended up resulting in the admission that the fan in the AC will never be loud and that there are quieter rooms available. The manager who had earlier attempted to upsell me found a "show room" on the other side of the property with a "real bathroom." We visited the room together, and I much preferred it - real, separate bathroom (the opera-facing Cool Corner had the sinks and bathroom open behind the bed), two AC vents (I could kind of hear a fan), and quieter noise due to it facing two alleyways. To their credit, the staff did move my luggage for me, etc.

Pros:

The bed was fantastic - super plush (soft) mattress, plush pillows, plush covers - absolutely amazing bed that I've only seen replicated at some other W properties
Shower pressure was very good from the rainfall head - didn't try the wand
I like all of the green in the room
Bath towels were comfortable and large
In my original room, I had a nice set of chocolate chess pieces and an interesting lemon raspberry cake (not my favorite as it has far too much jelly), but nice gesture
Besides the upgrade nonsense, I thought the service was friendly
- Alessandra from W/W took me on an art tour of the property, joined me in the bar for a free mocktail and conversation about the US, and wrote a nice departure note with a box of local hand cream and beard oil (funny as I don't and will never have a beard)
- Offered late checkout - no issue with the 2 PM I requested
- EUR-HUF exchange rate was fair
Common areas and hallways are very nice and look authentic
Elite breakfast was truly delicious
- The best eggs royale I have ever had - delicious truffle hollandaise, perfectly cooked, such good salmon
- Breakfast is a la carte with one hot item, pastries, and unlimited drinks
- Service was very friendly - addressed by first name, thorough
- Tasty croissant

Cons:

Upgrade nonsense
AC could be problematic - seems focused on environment, some of the rooms don't have many vents, my new room would not go below being set at 20.5 (the first room would go down to 19.5) - I did wake up sweaty at 5 AM
Found a random screw on the makeup table - glad it wasn't on the floor
No shades in the bathroom - only a sheer curtain, which seems like you would be visible to the building across the alley at night with the lights on

W Budapest ("Ballet School")

Here's my take on the hotel - we had the same suite that youhavebeenupgraded video'd (or actually the mirror of it, there are two of these on each side of the über-über suite)

Location - excellent central location, right opposite the Opera. It's not on the river, so if you want river views, go elsewhere.

Architecture - a landmark building, lovingly restored to its former glory (as opposed to the Dorothea mentioned above, where basically they ripped out everything behind the facade and built a new hotel behind)

Room - this was a redemption. It cost at first 58k/night, revisiting the booking later it was 40k, so rebooked. Applied SNA, received a "Fantastic Suite". It was jaw dropping. One of the BEST rooms I ever had, with face on view on the holiday lit Opera and the main Andrássy boulevard. Good sound isolation, no noise from the boulevard. I keep saying "room", because technically I think it would be a huge room, with no separate sleeping and living areas/rooms. The bathroom was just "wow".

The cash price would've been ca. 350€ for the basic room, ca. 900€ for this suite, so 40k + SNA is a very good value proposition.

F&B - the site of the Dreschler café of yesteryear is the restaurant-cum-bar. Breakfast is table service only, no buffet. We also had lunch there, VERY good.

Personnel - Very young, attentive and enthusiastic.

Spa - didn't check it out

Now some of the not-so-positive things - must be nitpicking to find some

Entrance is from the side street, first time visitors might struggle to find it. From the boulevard there's only the restaurant terrace, which is closed during the winter season
Reception is a semi-hidden hole-in-the wall.
The view from the non-Opera-facing rooms are nothing spectacular, on buildings on the other side of the narrow side streets.

Would I return? Absolutely. Would it be my first choice? The jury is out, the Matild's location is arguably at least as good and their suite is an actual suite with free minibar use (!) So probably a strong second choice, depending also on price (€ or points) at the moment.

PS - the colloquial name of the building "Ballet School" comes from the fact that there used to be a ballet school in the building between 1936-2002