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Reviews Noted In This Post
- Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel
- Ritz-Carlton Budapest
- Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest
- Marriott Budapest
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InterContinental Budapest is a modern 1970s or 1980s monstrosity that sits along the riverside pathway a few buildings up from the Marriott Budapest, which also has no beauty in terms of external design. These buildings are fairly foul from the outside, and the InterContinental feels dated on the inside, but you can’t beat its location.
InterContinental Budapest is also one of the main departure and drop-off hotels for Viking River Cruises, and there is a large Viking River Cruises desk centrally located in the lobby, ready to deliver and direct passengers on and off their boats.
While we usually offer free benefits at luxury hotels, including InterContinental hotels, when you book via our luxury travel concierge. In Budapest, we offer simular free benefits at the Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, the Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and the soon-to-open Mandarin Oriental. Regrettably we don’t offer benefits at this InterContinental.
It is not luxurious enough to partake in our benefits partnership. If you would like a cheaper hotel alternative in Budapest which includes our free breakfast, welcome amenity, hotel credit, and room upgrade, our cheapest luxury options in Budapest include the Kempinski Corvinus Budapest, Dorothea Hotel Budapest Autograph Collection, and W Budapest.
Location
InterContinental Budapest is located across the roundabout from Four Seasons Budapest next to the waterfront and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. This chain bridge spans the River Danube between Buda, where you will find tree-covered hills and Buda Castle, and Pest, where this InterContinental can be found.
This is one of the best-located hotels in Budapest. Its frontage looks towards the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, and its side is flanked by the pedestrian waterfront boulevard that runs along the side of the river. Trees shade this wide pavement, and it has hotels and restaurants to the land side of the walkway, and a tram line that runs adjacent to the river on the other. The views across the Danube are stunning, and you can walk from one end of central Budapest to the other in pedestrianized bliss and without the bother of cars along this waterfront.
Style & Character
The style of this InterContinental isn’t great. It is in need of refurbishment in my opinion so falls quite far down in a list of the best hotels in Budapest. The Four Seasons across the roundabout, the Ritz-Carlton, the Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and even the Marriott Budapest a few blocks up are all vastly superior in terms of luxury.
The hotel feels like it still lives in the 1990s. The lobby is a mish-mash of old sofas and random spaces. Nothing seems particularly well thought out. You can seek a nice sofa seat and grab a drink at the bar, but there is nothing swish about the design. It feels like a bunch of sofas, cafe tables, and seats have been plonked in a big room.
That said, this is all taken into account in the price, and this hotel is one of your cheaper options in Budapest. Given its great location and views on the riverside, it is not all bad. Just don’t expect this hotel to be one of the best InterContinental hotels in the world. It definitely isn’t.
Service & Facilities
This InterContinental has plenty of facilities, including an indoor pool, a gym with elliptical machines, free weights, a stair stepper, a stationary bicycle, and a treadmill. There’s also a club lounge at the InterContinental Budapest, which appears to have been more recently refurbished than the lobby, has river views, and is actually quite a nice place to hang out.
Rooms
The rooms here are dated, and the base rooms are fairly small compared to the luxury hotels we usually feature. We recommend you book a room with club lounge access if you can.
Classic rooms face the city and have oppressive brown furniture and grey carpets. They are 23 m² in size. Premium rooms have river views and can be up to 40 m² in size (although some are still 23 m²).
Food & Drink
There is a lovely alfresco restaurant in the hotel that spills out onto the waterside walkway called Corso. I’m not sure if this restaurant belongs to the hotel or is a franchise, but it is a lovely green space to spend time in.
The main bar area is dated. I highly reccomend crossing the roundabout and taking advantage of one of two bars at the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest. Both bars are phenomenal and are in a different league from the bar and restaurant at the InterContinental.
Review: Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest
Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest is a haven of luxury and tranquility set amidst the ever-evolving bustle of Budapest. Our arrival was on a hot day. It was around 35 °C centigrade outside, and upon entering the cool and classy Gresham Palace, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders as the bellmen relieved me of my bags and ushered me over to the smiling receptionist. Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest has the best location of any hotel in Budapest.
Conclusion
The InterContinental Budapest needs to be refurbished. It’s brilliantly located and has wonderful river views, but the interiors need updating.
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