Áurea Ana Palace by Eurostars Hotel Company

"This hotel is gorgeous and well located right by the Parliament. We had a large room with a great shower with good water pressure. We were celebrating our 25th anniversary and we had a lovely towel design when we checked in. But the BEST part is the morning breakfast in the ballroom. The breakfast is sufficient, but the beauty that surrounds you when you eat is lovely. While there my sister and I had 90 minute massages that were excellent and well priced. We followed that with time in the spa (hot tub, cold plunge, and sauna). We were perfectly relaxed for our dinner out that night. Our flight left so early in the morning meaning we would check out at 3:30am. The hotel arranged transportation to the airport since we were hesitant to get an uber at that time. Since we had purchased breakfast with our stay they provided us with a nicely packed breakfast bag for each of us. To my happiness there was a little cappuccino carton - much needed. I very much enjoyed eating at the airport while waiting for the flight. It came in clutch since a lot of places at the airport were closed."

"Not our first choice hotel which, when the travel agent told us the price, we baulked and after some discussion, were told that this hotel was every bit as good as the one we asked for - same star rating but, as it turned out, 1/3rd of the price. We reluctantly had to accept the realities of economics and decided to take the travel companies advice - and as it turned out, thank goodness we did. When we arrived, it was nothing special from the outside but walking in………phew, it was stunning - and a bell boy was waiting to take our luggage in for us. Located only a short walk away from the town centre, it is convenient for trams, bus and metro along with being very close to many of the attractions on the Pest side of the river. Equally, not too far to cross the bridges to get to Buda, however, at the height of the heatwave, we didn’t do quite as much walking as we would normally. Close to public transport was a clear advantage. The staff (receiption & bar) were brilliant, always happy and eager to help. The public areas were very spacious and really decorated in classic style with huge paintings and mirrors. Plenty of very comfortable seating and given the heatwave, fully air conditioned. Good use of lighting, mirrors in abundance and the marble walls ensured that the cleanliness and sparkling finish was clearly visible. We had two rooms, a double for my wife & I which again was spacious. In room bar, plenty of hanger space and probably one of the best hotel rooms I have had in many years of travel. Shower room and toilet was equally spacious, good aircon which was necessary thanks to the 40 degree daytime and not much cooler night temperatures. Extremely comfortable bed and with comfy chairs, decent TV and WIFI included, we really did have a home from home. My daughter’s room was on a different floor and it too, was very spacious. On two levels, downstairs was the entrance doorway a hallway and toilet with a short flight of steps up to the ‘living’ quarters. Like our room, mini bar, plenty of cupboards, drawers etc. A real home from home. Apart from breakfast (which provided an excellent range of foods), we only ate in the lounge area on the first night. Not an extensive menu but adequate and all three of us decided on the Chicken Paprikash. When it was delivered and we delved in, we all agreed it was delicious. A dish I have never seen before yet it’s simplicity was overtaken by the flavours and texture – a great start to the culinary delights of Budapest which we were about to experience. Some strange quirks though. The lifts had doors front and rear and I think the building probably consists of two buildings which are now one but on different levels. Took us a bit of getting used to going to two different floor 3’s (3a & 3b). My daughter exited on the opposite side of the lift which moved up a few feet when the door we had got into it opened for our floor 3. Also, the spa & pool are not open all day. Very short hours which saw us being too busy to be able to have an early morning swim so that feature really wasn’t available at times when most tourists would want to use it. Overall, I would say it was an awesome experience and without doubt, when we return to Budapest in the future, it will be where we will be staying. Awesome is the word I would use for this hotel and considering our holiday cost …………great value for money."

"The Aurea is located in a beautiful historic Art Nouveau palace in a prime location. Inside, it is somewhat labyrinthine due to the historic building structure. Unfortunately, corners were cut in many places during the renovation. For example, laminate flooring is installed in the rooms instead of parquet. Also, the duvets are rather on the cheaper side. Our standard room on the 2nd floor faced the inner courtyard and had little natural light. At breakfast, you notice that it is a Spanish hotel chain. There are more Spanish than Hungarian specialties. Unfortunately, the "juices" offered and the machine coffee were undrinkable for us, so we went out for coffee after the hotel breakfast. The service was quite distant and not particularly friendly. The day after our stay, I was charged 3.43 euros for the filtered water in the room. In other hotels, this is usually free of charge and there was also no price indicated at the Aurea. We previously stayed at the Kimpton BEM, which offered a great experience, in terms of service, breakfast, as well as the building. I would not book at the Aurea again."