5 Best Hotels in Budapest, Hungary

Much about this boutique hotel is small---the sauna, the fitness room, the adjoining cocktail bar Tuk Tuk, and the hotel's carbon footprint---but it's big where it counts, on style, service, and comfort. Just off the Jewish District's most bustling streets, the Casati is still in the middle of the action but with a slightly more low-key atmosphere. A green hotel, you'll find LED lighting, eco-friendly detergents, and recycled toilet paper. Public spaces are bright and colorful while rooms are decorated in either muted, neutral schemes or richer, deeper colors.

For an elegant and chic hotel stay, with flavors of old and modern Budapest, it is hard to beat this boutique conversion of the former palace of Hungarian Count Nándor Zichy. Recently taken over by the Eurostars group, there is no shortage of old-world charm to be found in the renovated 19th-century building in District 8, right down the street from some of the city's hippest new cafés. Comfortable rooms and spacious common areas characterize the Zichy. A good complimentary breakfast also gets high marks in a city where breakfast is the least fussed-over meal of the day.

Just behind Szabadság tér, tucked away on Hold utca (Moon Street), the dignified Hotel President offers a central but quiet location. A four-star hotel with all the expected amenities, it also offers special perks including a wellness center and a fantastic rooftop bar and restaurant. Occupying a statuesque urban villa, its standard rooms are mostly refurbished bearing a plain, modern look and are notably small. If possible, book a double instead as they are less bland.

A classic Bauhaus villa a short walk from City Park, the Mamaison Hotel offers contemporary design, an elegant restaurant, and comfortable rooms with high ceilings and large, modern bathrooms. Almost all the bathrooms include bathtubs and most rooms have a balcony facing the leafy green side street or Andrassy út, Budapest's most elegant avenue. The restaurant, Andrássy Garden, has a space overlooking the main avenue, where guests are served breakfast.

Offering all the charm of a high-ceilinged Budapest apartment, minus the vacation rental headaches, Opera Garden is set on pedestrianized Hajós utca, surrounded by quaint bars and restaurants, and just minutes from the Opera House and Basilica on either side. Despite its unassuming entrance, this is a historic apartment complex converted into a boutique hotel, complete with a gorgeous courtyard plus a rooftop terrace featuring impressive views. The rooms and apartments are spacious and tastefully decorated, with chic interiors set against classic dark-wood furniture, and many have kitchenettes for extended stays. A small on-site gym and sauna enhance its boutique allure.