zwho

Hi leslie, Love the name, it's what we named our daughter! Thanks to you, we probably aren't using Priceline in Budapest. I'm sorry you got stung and I think everyone on Fodors should drop Priceline a email saying they need to change their rating protocol. Like you said, you could have paid almost the same price at another site and not be stuck! Look at it this way. Many posters say it really is close to all the action, and it may be a great neighborhood in itself, but mainly, you need to treat it like we treat our timeshares. Their locations are usually a good spot as a base, nothing more, and we just take daytrips each morning and return at night. You just have to do a trip report when you get back!

Christina

I don't know Priceline's qualifications on the stars, but it isn't true that a hotel can call itself anything it wants in most countries. Most Eur. countries have official grading systems, and the hotels report those grades. Tripadvisor and Venere make up their own ratings, that doesn't mean anything at all (esp. Tripadvisor which is horrible in the way it grades hotels, completely irrational). Expedia makes up ratings, also.

If you want to know their real rating, you have to look at a country or city's official listing, which is often at the tourist office website or something like that. I don't know Hungary's system, but a hotel will usually put the official rating on its website, also (if there is one, I've never seen them violate that). The Ramada Budapest on Tompa is officially a 4* hotel according to the Budapest tourist office.

lincasanova

i agree that if they get enough complaints maybe they will ZONE Budapest finally.

so maybe budapest is only safe for 5*s?

Leslie28

Thanks for all the positive posts. I'm feeling better about staying there since it does appear that public transport will be pretty easy to use. A tram along the river sounds nice. As far as "stars" go, I don't know who to trust anymore. This hotel came up as a 3 star on priceline in the past, but never as a 4 star, so it always makes me a little suspect when hotels upgrade themselves. It may be a 4 star, but it is still not the location I would have chosen and definitely no bargain on Priceline. It is simply not in the same league as the Marriott or Art'otel. I plan to leave in the morning, be out all day, and return to sleep, so hopefully it will work out fine. At least I learned a valuable lesson not to bid on priceline unless there are zones. I will absolutely post a trip report when I return.

WillTravel

I wouldn't say that Budapest is necessarily safe for 5* hotels, unless you've thoroughly investigated Budapest and determined that all possible 5* hotels, not just those that have been won so far, are well-located.

anatoleschadenfreude

I would not trust trip advisor - people today have such unrealistic, dreamy, goofy expectations that nothing could satisfy them. I have to go to Vegas on Business - I would love not to, but I must -a nd I pay my own expenses. Haven't been there for 47 years, so I need to decideon a mid-price hotel. I book Harrah's, then remember to read Trip Ad. So many bad comments. Then I read comments on the other hotels - all bad. So who cares? In every single retail area today, humans want Buckingham Palace & all of its contents for the price of a movie and by the way, have it delivered (free), immediately, and I do not pay taxes - is that clear? There is no limit to the greed and cheapness of the modern human.

Myer

Well, maybe I'm too inflexible to bid and like to overpay.

We stayed at the Marriott Millenium Executive Suites and couldn't be happier with the hotel and location.

A 2 room giant suite that's more of an appartment than a hotel one block from the river in the Pest side 50 yards from the main shopping street and 10 minutes to the Bridge.

Worth something.

lincasanova

i ditto comments about marriot ex apts. we stayed there also and could not beleive the value for the 2 bedroom/ 2 bath!.

we traveled with another couple and the bill for each couple per night was similar to a pension!

nice breakfast and staff, also.