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Budapest Marriott Hotel is a huge hotel found on the banks of the River Danube in the center of Budapest. It was recently refurbished, so it has modern and stylish interiors and fantastic river views.
Location
The Budapest Marriott Hotel sits along the scenic banks of the River Danube, positioned near the end of the riverside promenade. This walkway extends from the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, where you’ll find the Four Seasons Budapest and the InterContinental Budapest, down to the Erzsébet Bridge, which lies closer to the Marriott. Both bridges span the Danube, linking the Buda side, with its tree-lined hills and the historic Buda Castle, to Pest, where the main shopping street and many of the city’s luxury hotels are located.
Built in the 1970s, the Marriott’s towering concrete structure is the tallest building in the vicinity, noticeably larger than the city’s surrounding architecture. I don’t know how such a large, imposing 1970s block got planning permission. The result is a hotel with incredible river views from many of its rooms as well as from the rooftop bar (pictured above), thanks to its location and size.
Style & Character
This Marriott feels beautifully modern. The lobby area feels fairly generic, with an extensive shiny marble floor and a long wooden check-in desk. But the seating area to the side, the M Club lounge which leads off the foyer, and the restaurant are all contemporary and refurbished.
These communal spaces have been recently decorated with exciting lighting fixtures and trendy furnishings that make each area feel intimate, even though the space in the foyer, halls, and restaurants is vast. The restaurant and foyer both spill out onto a lovely terrace with loads of external seating with views across the river.
The corridors to the rooms are also fairly generic but have fresh new carpeting and feel renovated. The rooms are also recently renovated and inviting.
Service & Facilities
The Budapest Marriott M club lounge, located on the ground floor, offers the same stunning views and can be accessed just off the main lobby. To find it, turn left as you enter the hotel and double back. You’ll need your room key card to unlock the door to the lounge.
The Budapest Marriott M Club Lounge is spacious, boasting stunning views of the River Danube. At the center of the lounge, a generous buffet awaits, surrounded by ample seating along the edges for relaxation and socializing.
One end of the lounge opens to a beautiful terrace, where guests can enjoy complimentary food and drinks in the open air, overlooking the picturesque riverside walkway and the Danube beyond. This is a perfect setting for alfresco dining when the weather is warm.
Beyond the M Club Lounge this Marriott offers a gym with floor-to-ceiling windows so you can work out with river views. It also has a sauna, steam bath, and jacuzzi.
Rooms
The base rooms here are fairly standard and not huge. They have a large king bed with crisp white sheets and a sofa seat by the window that you can laze on to enjoy the views. This sofa seat can be converted into a bed for a 3rd person in the room.
The decor in the rooms is modern, with an oatmeal color palette, wooden floors softened with a stripy rug, two generous light brown side tables, and two bedside lights dangling from the ceiling.
The room has minimal furnishings, giving it a large, airy feel. One useful feature in the room beyond the sofa next to the window is the desk and chair, which sits against the wall opposite the bed. The room is also furnished with a wall-mounted TV opposite the bed.
Pick a room with river views, as these views are stunning, and if you are visiting during an event like New Year’s Eve, you will be able to enjoy fantastic fireworks right from your bed.
Even better, pick one of the suites with two different aspects and a balcony to enjoy those glorious river views. These double-aspect rooms are spacious with the same oatmeal color palette as the smaller rooms, with a wooden floor, a seat and table set, sofa seats, and a gorgeous balcony with unbelievable views.
These rooms would be particularly good if you like space and want to celebrate. Even if you visit in the winter, they have a bay window in front of the River Danube, so you can make the most of the views even if you don’t fancy going outside.
Food & Drink
The main restaurant at this Marriott is beautifully designed and highly cosmopolitan and offers a farm-to-table menu and feel. There are lots of pots and pans hanging from the ceiling in the restaurant, which helps with the rustic feel, and chalkboards and metal dividers segregate this huge room into different areas.
The bar area is located in the center of the room and is exceptionally stylish, with wooden detailing on its base, bar stools dotted around its edges, and glasses and wine bottles balanced in a metal frame hanging from the ceiling.
The restaurant and foyer lounge area spilled onto a lovely terrace with loads of external seating. When we enjoyed a meal here, a singer and musician played music outside, giving the terrace a great ambiance.
Upstairs, at the top of the building, is a fantastic rooftop bar with a vast terrace. If you want a cocktail with a view in Budapest, this is the place to come as this terrace overlooks pretty much the entire of Budapest.
Part of this rooftop bar area is indoors, so you can enjoy the views even if the weather is bad, but if you can, grab one of the tables on the balcony’s edge and watch the river boats and trams chug past you down below.
This space was being used for a corporate event when we visited. It would make an excellent venue for a wedding, too, and whether you decide to sit inside or out, there is plenty of seating and a modern ambiance to enjoy with your cocktail as the sun goes down.
Conclusion
The Budapest Marriott has had a recent spruce up, and it shows. It is head and shoulders above the InterContinental, a few blocks down for style, and the entire hotel feels contemporary and fresh. The club lounge and views stand out here, and it’s, without a doubt, one of the best Marriott hotels in Europe.
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