My wife and I just returned from a 3 night special over the New Year 04/05 staying on the 4th floor of the Hilton.

I have read the other comments and can certainly see that they have improved from the situation in 2001 and even early 2004. The staff were fairly attentive and helpful, but could have gone that extra yard to make you feel "warmly received". Our prefered non-smoking room wasn't actually non-smoking, but as we could tell the difference we did not say anything. The decor was very good throughout, and they were modernising the proper entrance when we were there (til march 2005 so they said) which means a haul of the luggage up spiral stairs, and along corridors to get to the lifts to the rooms.

The comments about Airport Shuttles seemed a little unfair, as the Hilton is one of the few hotels that offers a free shuttle, (a coach for the 18 of us who arrived from London). I would say that its the mad system in the airport itself that may cause half the problems with busses.... the drivers walk to the Bus Information Desk and call out the names of the hotels they are going to, if you miss yours or they say it differently to how you expect it to be pronounced, then you are in for a wait. My advice - stay close to the desk and make sure they know where you need to go.

The Hilton was perfect for roaming down into the city, for fit people like us the walk back up the hill worked wonders for our legs and our digestion, we didn't use many of the very touristy shops & restaurants in the castle area, prefering the local places in town. There is a lift up the hill, and an included railway but we didn't use either.

Other than that, enjoyed our stay, but would chose a different hotel next time merely because we enjoy variety and not because of any negativity towards the Hilton.

I read all the Reviews of the Budapest Hilton with great interest. Like some of your reviewers, I am not a great fan of the Hilton chain generally, and for all the reasons given. But two years ago we took advantage of excellent winter rates to to stay at the Buda Hilton for my partner's birthday in February. There was 12 inches of snow, sunshine and no wind, so very romantic!

Yes, it has a "corporate" feel- there is nothing "Hungarian" about the Hilton. Added to which there was much bad feeling, locally, when the Hilton was built - it commands the Buda cliff and this very modern building cannot be ignored from the Pest embankment; also it was built over the remains fo a fourteenth century monastery.

I have to say, though, that all the staff we had anything to do with were friendly, helpful and courteous - with one singular exception detailed below. This is a five star hotel and it is not cheap but we had no complaints about food, drink or service. My partner suffered acute dental pain on his very birthday and Reception found us an emergency dentist and packed us into a cab with a map to the surgery, post haste, having arranged that we would be seen out of hours - which we were, almost immediately.

The shuttle bus - this is a thorny one. We travel to Budapest quite often and always uses it if our friends cannot collect us. My experience is that it is a matter of sheer luck when you get on one at the airport - it can be ten minutes or an hour. It depends on the time of day. And, yes, it does seem that there are fewer drivers willing to go across the river to the Buda Hilton.

The shuttle bus is not all that cheap - it is around £6.00 per person. If there are four of you or more, it is cheaper,quicker and much more preferable to take a taxi.

Getting around from the Hilton - there are always taxis and it is not far to the main centre of Pest. We always used to walk down the hill to Moskva Ter and get an underground train. It is a pleasant walk, even in 12 inches of slippery ice and snow! And there is a big modern mall (The Mammut) cross the road. Then you can walk back up again, or get the little bus from Moskva Ter. But we appreciate that this will not be everyone'schoice. Another way to do the journey is to walk along the castle ramparts to the Siklo, the funicular railway, and travel down to the Chain Bridge that way, after which you can find a taxi. Staying on Buda is something we enjoy because Budapest is so picturesque and we like walking, but if you want to be near the shops, museums, theatres, galleries etc at all times then you should not be staying on the Buda side at all, and certainly not if you have any mobility problems.

The Castle area has been enormously developed for tourism over the past ten years and is unrecognisable as the area I first discovered over 25 years ago. I regard almost every shop and every care/restaurant as a tourist ripoff. But there is a little enclave of shops almost opposite the Hilton I can recommend for its bookshop/cafe.

The Hillton has a small open air theatre area used for chamber performances of opera/music in the summer. The hotel is next to the fabulously beautiful St Matthias church which has regular concerts and organ recitals all year.

The view from those rooms which face the river is unquestionably the best in Budapest, facing Parliament and with a panorama of the river. You have to have one of these rooms: there is little point in staying at the Hilton otherwise, so insist upon it. In winter the hotel is under-occupied so you should get a river view just by asking for it - we did.

Our long week-end at the Hilton was marred by three events. The first, and naturally by far the worst, was that 10 mins from my partner's birthday itself, just as we had returned to the hotel, we learned via a phone call from England that his brother had unexpectedly and tragically died of a heart attack. The second was the emergency root canal treatment Steve needed only hours later.

The third concerned the Hilton itself. Having established that there was no merit at all in taking an earlier flight home, we searched for something to do on the Sunday to take Steve's mind off everything and restore some of the purpose in going away in the first place, so we went down to the Hilton's wine cellars. There we were told all about the history of the old monastery by an enthusiastic young man, and also something about Hungary's wines. We sampled a few glasses of reds and whites, and also had some cheese and biscuits. We were not surprised to be charged for this (though I have been to wine tastings that charged only for the bottles you buy) but the price, (about which we were not advised beforehand) turned out to be staggering, considering that this was little more than a promotional excercise in order to sell bottles of wine.

We were then advised to buy some "rare and very exceptional" wines. Neither of us were particularly interested in this, and neither of us are knowledgable about wines, but we needed cheering up and Steve liked the taste of one of these so we said we would have it. We were then presented with a bill that included £120.00 for this "very special" wine. We immediately turned it down. We were then persuaded to buy a cheaper but equally "rare and special" wine for £80.00 To this day I cannot think why we bought it, but the sales pitch was quite intense and we were trying to make the best of a week-end which had begun marvellously had ended horribly.

When we arrived at the airport we found exactly the same Tokaj wine, the same bottle, the same year of production - for around £7.00.

It took me the best part for nine months to make a complaint to the Hilton group, what with dealing with the funeral when we returrned home and various other family matters. When I did it was by telephone. The girl I spoke to made it perfectly clear that not only was she uninterested in what I had to say, but was not even listening. She punctuated every phrase I uttered with "Uh-huh......uh-huh......uh-huh......uh-huh....." until it became apparent that I was wasting my energies. I never did pursue the complaint but I would advise any visitor to the Hilton to avoid their well publicised "wine tasking experience" at all costs.

In common with the last reviewer I was a little wary about whether the Hilton was the right choice, particularly when I learned that substantial refurbishment was going on during my visit. The hotel was understanding about my concern and offered a free upgrade to a room with a Danube view.

The location is pleasant. Though the old town on the top of Castle hill is very heavily reconstructed, it does retain some charm. However, the remoteness from central Pest could be a disadvantage to some tourists. Unlike the last reviewer, being mean and finding it fun to make use of public transport, we did not take taxis but made heavy use of the little bus which leaves from outside the hotel to the Moskva Ter tube station every few minutes. The journey only takes a couple of minutes and, from here, you can rapidly connect to pretty well anywhere in the town by metro or by taking one of the many trams or buses which travel through this hub. If you are using public transport a lot, which I recommend, you should get a Travel Card from a metro station. A 7-day pass costs only 2700 Ft - though this may have gone up on Jan 1 - and is valid on all forms of transport in the city except the funicular.

The hotel is well-staffed, and the rooms comfortable as you would expect. During the refurbishment the public areas can be rather crowded: this was particularly so over the New Year holiday when there was a shortage of space at breakfast. The food at breakfast was excellent.

I can also recommend a meal at Gundel Restaurant which I thought reasonable value given the quality of food, decor and live music.

5* star Hilton Budapest excellent 3 night stay courtesy of an internet deal prior to Christmas.
Hotel is ideally located in the castle quarter on the Buda hill, main reception undergoing refurbishment due to be completed March 2005, temporary reception set up and works well.
Greeted with a welcome drink, efficient check in, great standard of room. Buffet Breakfast with a very good choice. There are many excellent a la carte restaurants close by ie Jenko, Café Perriot, Rivalda. For an afternoon coffee and cake try Ruszwurm – worth the wait to get a seat.
For guys wishing to propose the Fisherman’s Bastion overlooking the Danube following a romantic dinner is sure to gain brownie points! It worked for me…

Having read some of the reviews on this web site, I was a little bit worried if the Hilton would be the right choice. But we were pleasantly surprised: The hotel lobby is currently being renovated, but that was not a real problem while we stayed there. The room was very nice and looked as if it had been renovated recently. We did not have a view (but therefore our rate was cheaper), instead looking out on the restored wall of the monastery ruins the Hilton was built into. The hotel is in a very quiet area, right next to 2 of Budapest's must see sites: The Fishermen's Bastion and the Matthias Church. To go downtown we took the advice from this web site and called one of the cabs listed as reliable in the Where magazine in our room. The cab was at the hotel in under 5 minutes. A cab ride to downtown costs about $20-$25 (at the horrible 12/2004 exchange rate). If you want to dine near the Hotel, Cafe Pierot is excellent and only a short walk.

Facit: The Budapest Hilton is highly recommended.

P.S.: For an out of this world dining experience go to the Gundel restaurant (near Heroe's Square). This is a very elegant restaurants, so you need to dress up!!! Dinner for 2 with wines was $200, but worth every penny.

We stayed at the Hilton in Buda for three nights last week. We got a cheap rate by paying for our room in advance which is such good value.
I had asked for a room with view over the Danube and that's exactly what we got. Our room was overlooking the Fisherman's Bastion, the Danube, the Parliament, the Chain Bridge-What more could one ask for?
The hotel has a corporate feel to it like all these big hotels which definitely lacks in charm but it's the views I was interested in and to me this is the best located hotel in Budapest.Service is excellent and very efficient.

Stayed at the Hilton for two nights and at the Le Meridien for the third night. We were in an executive room which was brand new and had a great view of the river and Parliament building (The executive lounge and hallways could use a refit but I am sure this will happen) All the rooms have been redone and are very nice. They are currently redoing the lobby until March 2005, so you enter on the side via the conference area which is fine although the walk to the room is slightly longer. I would stongly recommend staying here for at least one night due to the location. The Hitlon is in Buda which has all of the historical sites right next to the hotel. I highly recommend the Laberinth of the Buda Castle which is situated in the caves of cellars underneath the Buda Castle District (My favourite place) The Dominico restaurant at the hotel is formal, offering silver service and is expensive. Due to the renovations they give you a 20% of voucher which we took atvantage of and we were very pleased with our meal, just dress up a bit before going. As for the Le Meridien, it was one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed at and would recommend staying here for one night of your trip.

Together with three friends, I just spent the weekend at Budapest Hilton having booked the rooms via internet at a great rate - 95 euro/room & night. The pickup service was fantastic (we even got a free ride back to the airport). The ambiance and service level were tiptop. We got rooms facing the church at the side, which was really beautiful. The rooms were clean, quiet and luxurious. Perfect! I would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Budapest. It´s a 20 min walk downhill to the city centre, and a 10 euro taxiride back. No problem.

My wife & I stayed at the Hilton 1-4 Nov.04. Got a great deal by paying for room in advance.(80 euros.) Breakfast was 20 euros and well worth it for choice & quality. Rooms were exc., large & looked newly refurbished. Couldn't fault the service. Agree with latest posted review on bar prices, restuarant etc. but there is plenty of choice near at hand.(not that cheap, prices generaly quite high) Overall a great location, great hotel, v.f.m. Would recomend Budapest for weekend or short break.

Excellent hotel located in a quiet part of Budapest. Don’t mistake this Hotel being in the center of town because it isn’t but it is in a major tourist site and a very desirable area for restaurants and landmarks. You get a great view of the city from the Fisherman’s Bastion and getting into town is a minor annoyance. There is a short shuttle to a major train station (five minutes max) and don’t bother waiting for the bus that the hotel recommends (No 22 if I remember) because we never once saw it where the shuttle comes every few minutes.

There are quality inexpensive restaurants all around so don’t get trapped in the excellent but very expensive Hilton offerings. The same for the bar; good service but at a price.

The rooms were good but housekeeping could be better. Still ok all in all. Tour buses seemed to be a standard fixture of the entryway and they could do a better job of moving them along.

Pricey but there are deals available, especially if you book ahead.