Budapest is a beautiful city, and luckily, there are some gorgeous places you can admire it from. In the city’s most elegant hotels, the finest suites offer fabulous amenities and the latest technology, alongside excellent food and stunning views. Our Guest Experience series has taken us inside the most high-end suites, and now we’ve rounded up the best of them.
Párisi Udvar Hotel
Guarding the entrance of the famous shopping street Váci utca, Párisi Udvar Hotel opened its doors in 2019 after 4.5 years of renovation. Before that, the building of the Belvárosi Takarékpénztár (Downtown Savings Bank), designed by Henrik Schmahl in 1912-1913, was dormant for many years. The hotel’s elegant interiors are a result of the exquisite refurbishment and the fact that even during its construction, it was not short of luxury features.
Because of its original function, the rooms are evenlarger than the five-star standard, averaging 33 square metres. There are also multi-room suites, such as the magnificent Hexagon or the nearly 300-square-metre residence at the top of the hotel, which includes a private spa and a 195-square-metre balcony. From here, you can enjoy uninterrupted views of the city but also admire the building’s beautiful Zsolnay tiled details.
Read our review of the hotel here.
Grand Margaret Island
The historical Grand Hotel Margaret Island, now known as the Ensana Grand Margaret Island Health Spa Hotel, has been welcoming the most elegant guests for 150 years. In addition to the spacious rooms, the peacefulness of the surrounding park gives a unique charm to the atmosphere. It feels like a touch of the Belle Époque happiness had been captured. One of the ‘curiosities’ is that they hosted sports teams, including the Golden Team and the Portuguese football team. The most beautiful rooms include the multi-room corner suites with balconies overlooking the island, which have hosted celebrities such as Indonesian President Sukarno and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace
The building is a sumptuous Art Nouveau masterpiece, boasting views of the Chain Bridge, a restaurant with fabulous cuisine (also open to non-hotel guests), and an award-winning cocktail bar. After being restored to its former glory, the interior exudes all the glamour and bohemian glitz reminiscent of The Great Gatsby.
Perhaps the most beautiful of the 179 rooms are those overlooking the Chain Bridge and the Castle District. Not to mention that the city in the evening light is simply breathtaking. Guests are up for a restful beauty sleep, even with a busy roadway below, as the hotel's beds are legendarily comfortable. Upon our visit, the two most lavish suites were booked, but we still got a pretty good impression of the luxurious conditions by peeking inside the rooms.
Read our review of the hotel here.
Hilton Budapest
Not many hotels can say they were built on the ruins of a 13th-century church and a 16th-century Jesuit college. But Hilton Budapest guests will experience this unique fusion of past and present. The Hilton Hotel chain’s first Eastern European unit was a true curiosity. For a hotel of such prestige to be located behind the former Iron Curtain was quite extraordinary. The 332 hotel rooms offer a choice of panoramic views of Buda or Pest, the Matthias Church, or the listed buildings of the Castle District. And yes, it is worth getting up early to see the sunrise.
Even if you’re not a guest at the Hilton, you can still enjoy an extraordinary experience by sampling delicious pastries in the coffee area while admiring the exciting architecture. Or sip a delicious cocktail at the White Raven Skybar, which opened last year.
Read our review of the hotel here.
Hotel Clark Budapest
Hotel Clark was completed in 2018 in what was once Budapest’s most expensive building plot. The uniquely styled boutique hotel features fine art mini-exhibitions, the Leo Bistro, and a rooftop bar with delicious treats and ice-cold cocktails. The lobby resembles an elegant and cosy library room, from where you can move on to the rooms. There are 7 categories and 79 rooms, distinguished not by size but primarily by views.
The top-floor rooms feature a large terrace overlooking the Chain Bridge, and you will spot lion motifs all over the hotel. Inspired by the lions of the bridge, the theme runs throughout the spaces, enriching the decoration with 1,650 lion heads in total. Dark colours and clean minimalism create a mystical atmosphere, while the stunning panorama is part of the cosy yet very sophisticated ambience.
Read our review of the hotel here.
Address: 1013 Budapest, Clark Ádám tér 1.
