Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sleeping
Accommodation in Budapest runs the gamut from hostels in converted flats
and private rooms in far-flung housing estates to luxury guesthouses in the
Buda Hills and five-star properties charging upwards of €300 a night. In
general, accommodation in the Buda neighbourhoods is more limited than
on the other side of the Danube River in Pest.
BOOK YOUR STAY ONLINE
For more accommodation reviews by Lonely Planet authors, check out
ht-
tp://lonelyplanet.com/hotels/
. You'll find independent reviews, as well as recommend-
ations on the best places to stay. Best of all, you can book online.
Hotels
Hotels -
szállók
or
szállodák
in Hungarian - can be anything from (rapidly disappearing) run-
down socialist-era hovels to luxurious five-star palaces.
A cheap hotel is generally more expensive than a private room but may be the answer if
you are only staying one night or arrive too late to get a room through an agency. Two-star
hotels usually have rooms with a private bathroom; bathrooms are almost always in the hall
in one-star places. Three- and four-star hotels can be excellent value compared with those in
other European cities.
Because of the changing value of the forint, many midrange and top-end hotels quote their
rates in euros, as we have here.
Serviced Apartments
Budapest is chock-a-block with serviced apartments and apartment (or suite) hotels. All have
private bathrooms and usually kitchens - at the very least. Some are positively luxurious,
while others are bare bones.
Guesthouses
There are scores of
panziók
(pensions) and
vendégházak
(guesthouses), but many are in the
outskirts of Pest or the Buda Hills and not very convenient unless you have your own trans-
