Where to stay in Budapest: hotels by district
A neighbourhood guide to the best areas to stay in Budapest, as chosen by our resident expert, including the best hotels in Downtown (District V), Castle Hill, Theresa Town (District VI) and Elizabeth Town (District VII).
Castle Hill
The Castle District is the city’s historic heartland, home to the former royal palace and site of many an epic battle over the centuries. Today the main battle is avoiding the crowds of visitors flocking to see the National Gallery, the extravagant Matthias Church and the views from the castle walls. Come at the start or end of the day to enjoy quieter strolls around the district’s cobbled alleys.
Where to stay
Buda Castle Fashion Hotel
Budapest, Hungary
7Telegraph expert rating
Other than its rather silly name, Buda Castle Fashion has much to recommend it. The accommodation is large and the 15th-century merchant’s house it occupies has been renovated sensitively so that you never forget you’re staying in the city’s medieval quarter. It lacks a restaurant, but there are good local options. Read expert review From £50per night Rates provided by Booking.com
Hilton Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
7Telegraph expert rating
Sitting on top of Castle Hill, among the pretty burghers’ houses and with the spires of the neo-Gothic Matthias Church alongside and the sweep of the Danube down below, this hotel hogs the juiciest, most heart-thumping spot in the whole of Budapest. Read expert review From £111per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Baltazár Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
7Telegraph expert rating
This small hotel of just 11 rooms is owned by the Zsidai family, who have been leading restaurateurs in the city for more than 30 years. As you’d expect, its restaurant is top drawer, and the hotel has a colour, character and attention to design detail that makes it very special. Read expert review From £78per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Downtown (District V)
District V (generally referred to as downtown) lies along the Pest side of the river, and is where much of the action can be found. It’s not only the country’s political and economic powerhouse – holding the Parliament building and banking quarter – but a hotspot for restaurants, bars and cafés. The pedestrianised Váci Street is lined with boutiques selling clothes and jewellery, while the lively Vörösmarty Square and looming St Stephen’s Basilica are tourist favourites.
Where to stay
Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
9Telegraph expert rating
Unlike some of Budapest’s other luxury hotels housed in 19th-century mansion buildings, the Kempinski is a modern construction of glass and straight-lined stone. You will struggle to find a hotel with a better location and the high-quality service and facilities take some beating. Read expert review From £178per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Prestige Hotel Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
From its classical façade – replicating the original 19th-century design even though it was actually entirely rebuilt in the 21st century – to the sleek glass lifts, this is a hotel with confidence and class. It has a good pedigree, its owner also responsible for the well-regarded Continental Budapest. Read expert review From £96per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Aria Hotel Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
The curtain is up on a new music-themed hotel in the shadow of St Stephen’s Basilica, whose rooftop bar could become the coolest place in Budapest for a cocktail. Other highlights include the soaring garden courtyard, complete with kitsch sofas and a space-age piano, and a seductive underground spa and swimming pool. Read expert review From £225per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Terézváros (District VI)
Theresa Town (District VI) straddles the Great Boulevard, and has the city’s grandest road running through its middle. Andrássy Avenue – a Unesco World Heritage Site – is a broad, elegant thoroughfare linking the city centre with Heroes’ Square and City Park. Along its length you’ll find the ornate Budapest State Opera House, the chilling House of Terror (in the former headquarters of the secret police), and the pocket of vibrant café-bars in Liszt Ferenc Square.
Where to stay
Casati Budapest Hotel
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
Artsy boutique hotels are all the rage in Budapest, a great many of them plasticky and bland. Named after Luisa Casati — an eccentric Italian patroness of the arts during the early 20th century who wore live snakes as jewellery and took walks with a pair of cheetahs — Casati Budapest is a cut above the rest. Read expert review From £48per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Mamaison Hotel Andrassy Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
7Telegraph expert rating
The designer of the Bauhaus building that houses Hotel Andrassy was, quite literally, an Olympian architect - Alfréd Hajós won two gold medals at the Athens Games in 1896, becoming the first modern Olympic swimming champion. An intimate boutique hotel on Andrássy út, it's just a stone’s throw from City Park. Read expert review From £86per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hotel Moments Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
Moments is sure to become one of Budapest's favourite hotels. Marrying contemporary design with the original spirit of its 19th-century building, this is a place with character and elegance. Read expert review From £68per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Erzsébetváros (District VII)
Elizabeth Town (District VII) contains the city’s Jewish quarter, its jewel in the crown the Great Synagogue – the second largest synagogue in the world and an architectural masterpiece capped with Moorish minarets. Craftsmen – from goldsmiths to tailors – still work in this area, but increasingly it’s better known as a trendy night spot. Gozsdu udvar, a complex of several linked courtyards that once held artisan workshops, is now given over to a lively collection of bars and restaurants.
Where to stay
Boscolo Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
You couldn’t accuse the Boscolo of being shy and retiring. From the columns and turrets of its façade to the frescoed ceilings of the opulent New York Café, this is a hotel of dramatic flourishes. The original building dates back to the late 19th century, constructed for the New York Insurance Company. Read expert review From £122per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Corinthia Hotel Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
I’ve always felt the Corinthia carries itself with an effortless grace that no other five-star in Budapest quite matches. Its wide spaces, light marble colouring and glass-covered atriums give a lovely airy feel to the public spaces, and there’s nothing frilly or overly fussy in the design. Read expert review From £174per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Continental Hotel Budapest
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
Today, the Continental’s lobby has leather armchairs and an arching glass roof, but an open-air pool once filled this space – this building was previously home to public baths. Since 2010, however, it has operated as arguably the city’s classiest four-star hotel, with top-quality service and facilities. Read expert review From £74per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Józsefváros (District VIII)
If you want a comprehensive sweep through Hungarian history, head to Joseph Town (District VIII) and the country’s biggest museum – indeed, the frescoed interior of the National Museum is worth the ticket price alone. There’s history too in the Kerepesi Cemetery, its peaceful, chestnut-lined paths winding past mausoleums of the great and good.
Where to stay
Brody House
Budapest, Hungary
7Telegraph expert rating
Brody House has genuine feel-good factor. With shabby chic communal areas and art-inspired bedrooms, the accommodation is as colourful and quirky as it comes. But the bohemian approach is more than a style choice. Read expert review From £97per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Hotel Palazzo Zichy
Budapest, Hungary
8Telegraph expert rating
The four-star Hotel Palazzo Zichy is a consistent favourite with those seeking characterful, refined accommodation at an affordable price. It occupies an elegant palace built in 1899 by Count Nándor Zichy, a devoutly religious nobleman who was once imprisoned for writing a political article critical of Habsburg rule. Read expert review From £60per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
