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Reviews Noted In This Post
- Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest
- Marriott Budapest
- InterContinental Budapest
- Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest
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There are two hotel brands that give their guests the feeling of a big hug from the moment they arrive. These brands are the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton. The Ritz-Carlton Budapest is one of those very special hotels that shares the love (and often a glass of champagne or fresh orange juice) from the moment you arrive. The rooms here are classy and modern, and the hotel offers a gorgeous pool, gym, and the best club lounge in Budapest. If you’re searching for a well-located classy hotel in Budapest, you can’t go wrong with this Ritz-Carlton.
Location
The Ritz-Carlton Budapest is beautifully located in a palatial building overlooking Erzsébet Square, an iconic, leafy square in Budapest, with a play park, a skate park, lots of seating and trees, and a giant Ferris wheel. The Budapest Eye Ferris wheel has a height of 65m and is apparently one of the largest Ferris wheels in Europe, offering awesome panorama from the top.
To the other side of the hotel is Fashion Street, where all the smart shops are, including a huge Philipp Plein store and the hotel’s main restaurant spills out onto this pedestrianized street. This street leads onto a bunch of other shopping streets which include all the usual stores, Clare’s accessories, H&M, McDonald’s, KFC, and numerous chimney cake shops.
For those not in the know, chimney cakes seem to be elaborate ice cream cones with hollow centers shaped like, you’ve guessed it, chimneys! Ice cream is placed on top, and these shops give out a sweet, waffly scent that drifts into the street.
Beyond the shopping street is the Danube Rover, and beyond the river are the hills that house Buda Castle and the Citadel.
Next door to the Ritz-Carlton is the Kempinski Budapest, which has its own Nobu restaurant. The Four Seasons, Marriott, InterContinental, and Mathild, A Luxury Collection hotel are all a 5-10 minute walk away.
The Marriott and InterContinental are both riverfront hotels. Although they don’t offer a comparative level of luxury, if you walk over to them, you will discover a lovely tree-lined riverside promenade, which is a great place to grab a bite overlooking the river in the evening.
The main historic bridge that leads to Buda Castle across this enormous Danube river, which incidentally is the second-longest river in Europe, is situated in front of the Four Seasons hotel and is a 5 minute walk from the Ritz-Carlton.
Style & Character
This Ritz-Carlton hotel has an impressive marble foyer housing beautiful flower arrangements, a bar, an atrium restaurant, and a brasserie that spills out onto the main fashion street in Budapest beyond.
If I were to describe the Ritz-Carlton Budapest in one word, it would be “classy.” However, it isn’t the classiness that will leave an impact, even though it is undoubtedly a great word to use to describe this luxury hotel. It is the warmth of the staff that has left me wanting to return. Everyone goes out of their way to help you, making little jokes when they serve you and welcoming you back into the foyer when you return from your day’s explorations.
The foyer itself is spacious and stunning, just what you would expect from an internationally renowned hotel brand like Ritz-Carlton, with lots of marble, plush carpets, and comfy seating. The extra touches, like the sparkly modern light installation at the entrance and the generous fresh flower arrangement, make this hotel stand out.
Check-in here is quick and efficient and is accompanied by fresh orange juice or champagne. Rooms are reached via a classy lift and long corridors, some of which offer vertigo-inducing high balconies to one side overlooking the atrium.
Service & Facilities
There is a fantastic, almost rooftop pool, which is unusual for Budapest; most hotels in Budapest do not have a pool. The Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons do. The Kempinski does, too, but it’s not very nice. The pool at the Ritz-Carlton is reached via the hotel’s gym and is designed into the rooftop of the hotel, and you can see the intricate rooftop gableing from the hotel’s facade through the glass roof. As the pool is inset into the building, there is no view from this pool other than off the rooftop and sky.
The la piece de la resistance at the Ritz-Carlton Budapest is the luxurious club lounge, an intimate and contemporary space with five daily food presentations. This is the best club lounge in Budapest.
Review: The Ritz-Carlton Budapest Club Lounge
We enjoyed The Ritz-Carlton Budapest Club Lounge on our most recent trip to this historic city in the Summer of 2024. This executive lounge can be found on the top floor of the hotel, and is set in a cozy, long room with big windows on one side, letting in plenty of natural light. There's also a small balcony in front of the windows, which you can access from this lounge. This club lounge is the best club lounge in Budapest, and has plenty of private sections, so you can sit and enjoy the complimentary food and beverage offered in your own space.
This Ritz-Carlton club lounge is a stylish room with dark wood, plush carpets, and seating. There’s a sitting area to one end with a set of four high-backed sofa seats in the middle and then intimate groups of two seats in each corner. The lounge continues with a central area with large sofas and a TV, which was mainly promoting the Ritz-Carlton cruises while we were visiting.
To the other end of the lounge, you will find a classy restaurant area with seats around tables where you can enjoy the fine food on offer. Next to these seats is the buffet, which is enthusiastically refreshed during eating times, so you always have a great choice of delicious finger dishes.
And boy, the food was really good. A full breakfast is served in the lounge with a private chef. There are snacks and fridges stuffed with every drink you could possibly want, along with a coffee machine to use throughout the day. However, the highlight for us was the unbelievably good cake and macaroons that were constantly replenished.
The two chocolate cakes I tried were a creamy mass of deliciousness, and although there were also nuts, cookies, and all the usual club lounge goodies available, the cake was first-class and took absolute priority. This is not a lounge that is kind on your waistline!
In the afternoon, the array of sandwiches, vegetarian cheese, and salami were all scrumptious. In the early evening, there was a wine flight where you could try lots of local Hungarian wines. This was the only time we saw the lounge full.
The evening spread was particularly noteworthy and served until around 8ish. We enjoyed small dishes of delicious fresh hot chicken tomato pasta, some Hungarian quiche-type things, and other small hot dishes. I had about 5 of the delightful chicken tomato pasta dishes, and they just kept replenishing them! There was also an extensive salad area, great olives, cheeses, cold cuts, min sandwiches etc, which were all delicious. There is more than enough high-quality food in this lounge to replace the need (and cost) of eating an evening meal elsewhere.
Rooms
The rooms at this Ritz-Carlton are modern with a blue and cream carpet. They are well designed with large bathrooms that include a bath, and Diptyque bath and shower gel. This is actually the same brand as the toiletries at many Four Seasons, but they have different scents (the Four Seasons scent is nicer).
The decor in the rooms is fairly neutral and inoffensive. The bed here is superbly comfortable, and the curtains are blackout. You can choose to face the park for magnificent Ferris wheel views, or you can choose to look out upon the quieter shopping street.
Food & Drink
Beyond the lounge, we tried the main restaurant for breakfast, and the food was excellent, but once again, what stood out was the staff, who were amazing, constantly checking you were OK and had everything you knew you wanted and a few bits that you didn’t know you wanted.
Both waiters who served us were kind and enthusiastic, pointing out the local Hungarian specialties they love. The croissant with chocolate sprinkled on top went particularly well with a coffee and was our waiter’s favorite. This kindness translated to an incredible atmosphere in this eaterie, which went hand in hand with the extensive breakfast menu, making the experience fantastic.
One morning, we came in a couple of minutes late, and rather than turning us away, they went the extra mile to keep the kitchen open to create our egg dishes.
Conclusion
The Ritz-Carlton Budapest has everything you would expect from a Ritz-Carlton. Namely, spacious bedrooms with excellent beds and blackout curtains provide a great night’s sleep. The club lounge is exceptional, and the cost of staying in Budapest is a steal when compared to other European cities. But it is the smiles and warm welcome of the staff that left the biggest impression on me, and makes this hotel, in my opinion, one of the best places to stay in Budapest.
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