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The standard for hotels in Budapest is increasing. Large international chain hotels offer the consistency you'd expect in both maintenance and service, while smaller locally owned properties may harken back to less service-oriented times. In general, prices are lower than in other European capitals, so you can get much more for your money in Budapest than in, say, Paris or London or even Prague.
Budapest's best boutique hotel is housed in a Bauhaus-style structure built in 1937 and once used as an orphanage. Most rooms are large, but the only nod to actual design are the lighting fixtures. That said, the terra-cotta, blue, and cream color-schemes are cheery, as is the light-blue-and-cream tilework in the bathrooms. Many rooms have lovely balconies overlooking the trees and mansions of the Andrássy út.
Tucked into a calm side street in Pest's up-and-coming 9th District, this Hungarian-owned budget hotel is just a few blocks from the Museum of Applied Arts and busy Ferenc körút. The tiny rooms in the Sissi wing are a bit cheaper than the Corvin, but just as nice. Decorated in cheery blue and yellow, with Scandi-style blond-wood furniture and blue-and-white checked tiles in the bathrooms—some with shower stalls, some with tubs—everything is sparse but functional. You will have more room options in the Corvin wing. Booking a room overlooking the hotel's quieter courtyard space is recommended.
The older, much more attractive next-door neighbor of the Danubius Health Spa Resort Margit-sziget was built in 1873 by Opera House architect Miklós Ybl in neo-Renaissance style. It was here that the Hungarian writer János Arany, a regular guest in the late-19th century, composed some of his greatest novels. Ceilings are high, and rooms are decorated in Empire style, with red- or blue-upholstered antique-looking wood furnishings. Guests have free admission to the thermal's well-equipped spa facilities, directly accessed by a heated, underground walkway.
The leafy lanes of Budapest's embassy district are where you will find this quiet, simply furnished hotel. Majestic Heroes' Square is but a short walk away, and your transport to the center is the antique underground railway line, the Földalatti.
This unfortunate-looking cement-block building has a very fortunate location: a small square just off famous Andrássy út, within easy walking distance of the Opera House, Budapest's theater district, and the Millennium underground. Inside, its former Soviet-era-institutional trappings have been replaced by friendly, restrained modern furniture. The good-humored front desk service and low prices make the Medosz an attractive budget option.
A funky three-star hotel located in the Jewish District, Roombach offers trendy colorful design with a homey touch. Front-facing rooms have a view to the gorgeous 1872 synagogue designed by Otto Wagner, while guests in the back escape the nightly bustle of partygoers. Complimentary breakfast is served in a bright café and bar facing the street. While this place may not have everything, what it does have is a central location at an affordable price.
Brody House is a hip-as-you-like guesthouse, where each of the rooms is named after the local artist whose work adorns the walls; it also offers a few apartments. Are these artists dilettantes or geniuses? You decide. Sky-high ceilings and free-standing bathtubs make this hotel popular with the bohemian set. The historic palace that houses the guesthouse is situated in the inner Palace District of up-and-coming District VIII and provides a very central location. Brody House also serves as private arts club, so members will be coming and going in the common areas.
