Mercure Budapest Korona Hotel

100   Recommended
Room 701 , Junior Suite
February 10, 2020 by

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Mercure Budapest Korona Hotel
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Room 701

Junior Suite

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Junior Suite

I have decided to write a review of Mercure Budapest Korona as it has recently been refurbished and has a Privilege lounge, so I thought I'd share my impressions along with a few photos of the hotel. It was a 2-night stay and I was mostly satisfied. 

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The crowns (koronas) at the entrance are a particularly nice touch.

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The hotel consists of two buildings connected by a "bridge". The Privilege lounge called My Bridge lounge is in this passage. The rooms in the B building on the left haven't been renovated as of February 2020. The A building is completely renovated inside.

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Lobby:

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Winestone restaurant and bar in the background:

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Check In

I had checked in online and the key was waiting for me when I arrived at the reception. There was no room upgrade because I had booked the Junior Suite, which seems to be the highest room category in the hotel. A Deluxe Suite is mentioned on the website, but it doesn't seem to be available for booking (I checked several dates in the future, but it's never available.) I was given a welcome drink voucher for 2, valid for soft drinks, wine, beer and spirits and thanked for my loyalty.

   

Room

Junior Suite consists of two rooms, which are not really well thought out. There is a couch in the first room, but no coffee table, which would come in handy and there is certainly enough space for one. As it is, we never used this room because it was easier to just lie on the bed or sit in the bedroom. There is a desk in this room with a TV, as well as a safety deposit box, a mini-bar, complimentary bottle of water, a Nespresso machine with two capsules, which are replenished daily and a kettle.

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The bedroom is much better, with a very comfortable bed and fantastic pillows. There is a table with two chairs and another TV.

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The only problem with the room was that it was too cold for us. We tried cranking up the heat, to no avail. We did report it to the reception and they sent a maintenance man to inspect it, but he didn't find anything wrong with the ventilation system, even though it was clearly blowing cold air despite it being set to 30 degrees Celsius. We complained again the next morning and were told that nothing could be done about it and that the temperature in the system depends on the outside temperature. They did however offer to change rooms, which we declined as we couldn't be bothered to pack our things and move, after which they offered to give us a heater. 

Bathroom

Now, the bathroom was a big surprise. It's nice, but ridiculously small! It's smaller than Ibis bathrooms. This is why I said that the room wasn't well thought out. There is a lot of empty space within the room, yet the bathroom is tiny. On a positive note: there is a sliding partition between the shower and the rest of the bathroom that can be closed completely, so that you don't flood the floor when taking a shower. The rainshower is heavenly and the water pressure excellent. Amenities include the usual toiletries, as well as a toothbrush, Q-tips, a sowing kit, a nail file, a shaving kit, a shower cap etc. Two bathrobes and two pairs of slippers are also provided.

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Loyalty treatment

At the check-in I was thanked for my loyalty and being a Gold member and received a welcome drink voucher. Welcome amenity was a bottle of an excellent red wine, I was really pleased about that. They also taped a print out of an Instagram picture on the window with my name on it, and provided a personalised guide to Hungarian wines, which was another nice touch. I was happy :)

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Dining

By booking a Privilege room or a Junior Suite, you get access to the My Bridge lounge where you have breakfast in the morning and snacks from 5 to 8 PM. A simple upgrade to a Privilege room doesn't give you access to the lounge, you only get it by booking a Privilege room or a suite, or alternatively, you can pay to get access.

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Even though the ad above says that the lounge is opet from 5 PM to 11 PM, at 7:45 we were told that the lounge would close at 8 and politely asked to leave. :) So it's not one of those lounges where you can come at any time of the day and have some juice (for example, in Mercure Budapest City Centre or Novotel Budapest Centrum), but it's only open from 6.30 to 10/11 AM and from 5 to 8 PM.

Breakfast is fantastic. I was afraid that the offer would be limited because it's served in the lounge, but there was everything I needed and more. The food was of high quality, with lots of local products. The offer was different on the second day, so they are obviously making sure that the breakfast is not repetitive for people who stay longer.

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The snacks in the evening were even better! Fantastic dishes, very tasty, delicious! 

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There was absolutely no need to go to dinner afterwards, so I didn't have a chance to try out the Winestone restaurant. The bar, however, is very cosy and tastefully decorated and I used my welcome drink voucher to have some excellent red wine selected by the bartender.

Pool

There is a pool on the 1st floor that's finally been re-opened after several months and many complaints on TripAdvisor (completely understandable). However, I didn't use it as it is too cold for me (24-26 degrees Celsius). There is also a sauna next to the pool, didn't use that either.

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Gym

There is also a gym operated by a third party, I think. I didn't use it, but you need to get the entrance code from the reception. 

Location

Location is excellent, within walking distance of the city centre and there is an underground stop right next to the hotel, which is served by two metro lines and the airport bus stops there too. The view from the room is nice as well:

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Overall

Overall, highly recommended because of the location, the food and the service. 

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