9 Best Hotels in Hungary

Dating to the late 19th century when it was constructed for the New York Insurance Company, the opulent New York Palace Hotel is as gilded and glamorous as its famous café suggests. After a tumultuous history that saw its historic site lying dormant following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the New York Palace Hotel reopened in 2006 as a five-star member of Italy’s Boscolo Hotels, and in 2020 it became part of the Anantara brand under the NH Hotel Group. The marble facade is adorned with ornate carvings and clock towers, while inside, grand columns, chandeliers, and frescoes transport guests back to a golden era. The gilded stucco and plush velvet of the iconic café extend into the hotel rooms where you will find warm golden hues, silk wallpaper, high ceilings, and elegant bathrooms. Executive Premium rooms have balconies with views of the parliament, castle, and basilica. It's worth exploring the cavernous underground spa, for its wide selection of signature treatments or just a relaxing dip in the heated pool.

The Corinthia first opened as the opulent Grand Royal Hotel, in time for the Magyar Millennium in 1896. The subsequent century unfortunately wasn't very kind to it---two world wars, communist rule, the 1956 revolution, and more contributed to the hotel’s decline and eventual closure, and it wasn’t until an extensive renovation in 2003 that it reclaimed its former glory. Its storied past has served it well, though, as the chief inspiration for Wes Anderson’s 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel. The expansive atrium lobby is full of Italian marble and wrought-iron ornamentation, and the hotel's Royal Spa---a dazzling reconstruction of a spa designed and built in the late 1880s and operating until 1944---is replete with a swimming pool, saunas, Jacuzzis, massage salons, tropical showers and more. Guest rooms and suites are stylish with dark wood and jewel-tone upholstery; bathrooms are all-Italian, from marble floors to gleaming fixtures.

It doesn't get much better than this: a centrally located, super-deluxe hotel in a museum-quality landmark with the prettiest views in town. No detail has been spared in restoring this stunning 1906 Art Nouveau palace to its original majesty: delicate wrought iron vents in the hallways, exquisite gold mosaic tiles on the facade, stained-glass windows, and cupolas. Three magnificent stairwells are so grand that you may not want to use the elevators. Rooms, some with balconies and vaulted ceilings, are similarly large and plush, with the best offering stunning views of the Danube and the chain bridge. Spanish-marble bathrooms---unlike any in Budapest---have both showers and deep soaking tubs. The lobby café is modeled after the building's original shopping arcade. You don't have to stay here to enjoy the setting over a drink at their impressive mixology-focused cocktail bar, Musza, or partake in Herend Afternoon Tea (weekends, 3–6 pm) where you can indulge in tea and cakes served on famed Herend Porcelain hand-painted china while classical music plays in the background.

The newly opened W Budapest perfectly marries classic and contemporary, situated as close to the center of the city as possible. Positioned directly across from the Hungarian State Opera House and housed in the former Dreschler Palace---a series of apartments originally built in 1896 to complement the opera house---the stately, long-abandoned building underwent a 10-year renovation to restore its former glory while ensuring its many historic features were preserved. Throughout the hotel, you’ll find the W brand’s vibrant color palettes blend seamlessly with the palace's original decorative motifs, stained glass, and iron banisters and columns. Rooms are imbued with rich pastel hues, as well as light fixtures, furniture, and other features that tread nostalgic-chic. The suites that face the Opera House honor the building’s past as a ballet institute and dance academy, designed in bold monochromes to pay tribute to Swan Lake. On the lobby level, Nightingale restaurant serves contemporary Asian Fusion cuisine and mixologist cocktails alongside stunning alfresco views of the Opera House, while basement bar Society25 harks back to the golden age of speakeasies.

Five-star luxury hotel Aria’s music theme starts at the entrance and extends past the space-age piano, to the subterranean Harmony Spa, throughout the hotel, and up to the sky bar. Rooms are named for different genres (opera, classical, jazz, contemporary), artists, and other cultural touchpoints---look for the Romeo & Juliet room in the opera wing, and the Lizst room in the classical wing. Each is playful and funky with statement light fixtures, marble, and chandeliers as well as high-tech features and luxurious in-room supplies. The top-floor sunrooms have one wall and a ceiling entirely made out of glass. Guests are treated to breakfast, daily wine and cheese, and a beautiful rooftop view.

A quick walk around the exterior of this hotel quickly betrays its mixed architectural origins—it was built in 1977 around the remains of a 13th-century Gothic chapel—but the modern and tasteful rooms, proximity to Matthias Church, and great views from Castle Hill will soothe the most delicate of aesthetic sensibilities. The hotel's LÁNG Bistro restaurant has gorgeous views of the Danube and Pest, while there are great drinking options both high above (the elegant White Raven Skybar, a rooftop Champagne and cocktail bar serving tasty bar snacks) and far below (the atmospheric Faust Wine Cellar, set deep in the caves below Castle Hill and offering various fun and informative wine tastings).

The moment you step inside the Kempinski, it's clear you're in one of Budapest's finest five-star hotels, as the lovely lobby area gives way to a charming promenade lined with lounge cafés, cocktail music bars, boutique flower and gift shops, takeaway delis, and even a small art gallery. Guests can also book in for a meal at the hotel's swanky Japanese-fusion restaurant Nobu. Head upstairs to find spacious, recently refurbished rooms and suites that offer modern contemporary fittings and furnishings, large smart TVs, and glistening marble bathrooms. Treat yourself to a stay in one of the five sprawling Corvinus Art Collection Suites, which come with stunning city views and fabulous artworks. The recently refurbished, second-floor spa has a swimming pool, steam bath, multiple saunas, and a well-equipped gym, and offers a host of massages and VOYA beauty treatments. Breakfast is served in the laidback ÉS Bisztró, with terrace seating out on Fashion Street; come back in the evening for a fine steak dinner.

It may be one of the least attractive buildings in Pest, but the Marriott's prime Danube location makes for some breathtaking views: Gellért Hill, the Chain Bridge, and Castle Hill are all visible from every single guest room. North American–style hospitality begins with a buffet of pastries served daily in the lobby, while facilities include a fitness center with river views, a spa with Jacuzzi and sauna, and a rooftop terrace bar. There are also two restaurants, the Hungarian food-focused DNB Budapest and the charming sky lounge bar Liz and Chain, named for the bridges on either side of the hotel.

A half-hour walk from the center of town, this larger than life hotel isn't much to look at (one might even be tempted to call it a blight on an otherwise idyllic landscape), but it offers a comfortable stay. And what it lacks in charm, it makes up for in swimming and wellness facilities, good food and drink options, and fine views. Rooms, though a little tight on space, have comfortable furnishings, full baths, and (in most cases) terraces. Rates vary depending on whether the rooms face the Danube or the forested hillside behind the hotel. The hotel is 3 km (2 miles) from Visegrád on Route 11 as you go toward Esztergom.