Rudas Thermal Bath — Attraction in Budapest

Wonderful place with a few buts.

We arrived from the countryside by train to Budapest-Déli (south) terminal and from there we took a tram from across the street directly to the spa, which took about 15 minutes, so it’s super easy to get there by public transportation.

My husband loves the spas in Hungary and this place was amazing. We visited on a Sunday, when the Turkish bath is co-ed, but the entry ticket was much more expensive then during the week. This was not exactly surprising as we did some research on their website prior to our arrival. The lady in the ticketing office was not the friendliest but this wasn’t surprising either, we got used to people not really to smile in Hungary.

After we purchased our tickets and two aroma therapy massages, we tried to find out what kind of changing options we have, if we got a cabin or just a locker on our entry watches, as we were not offered any options at the time of the ticket purchase. When we approached the first gate, two men at the entry given us some guide, and advised we got lockers. The locker room was clean and tidy, and when we were on our way to the massages, I realised they have a few safe available. When I asked the lady how is it working, she said I was meant to purchase the access for a safe at the ticket office for 1000HUF upon arrival. Unfortunately, we have not been offered this option either.

Our day at the spa started with the massages. A few years ago we visited the most famous spa of Budapest, which is the Széchenyi spa and the massage was excellent there, however the aroma therapy massage at Rudas spa is mostly made out of nothing but applying oil on our bodies… we were really not satisfied with it, so we don’t recommend you to waste your money, no offence to the masseurs.

After the massage we tried the Turkish bath which was fantastic. The temperature was great, there was not many people and we really enjoyed the small baths in the corners, the saunas, salt rooms etc.

The small bath on the roof is wonderful, with great view but because of its size, it’s get filled up really quickly. The baths with very hot and very cold water is really great, but I advise you to follow the instructions the best as you can, because I didn’t, and I felt a bit unwell at the end 🤣

The other thing I found a bit negative is the lack of spin machine for our wet clothes and towels. I found one tiny at the end of our locker room that literally fit only a swimwear as it was the size of a kettle, so I had to take home our towels wet.

Other then these, the spa was clean and tidy, the food was ok, but I recommend you to have some cash on you as it took us 30 minutes to pay because the terminal was...

1. I'd give 5 stars to the massage therapist László who is a real professional and knows what to do. Unfortunately, this review has to consider the rest of the establishment, too.

2. Rudas Baths is the only place in Budapest left with men's and women's days which is something Budapestans were used to but which doesn't serve the tourists. Tourists come mostly in couples. They want to visit the place from the guidebook / from Instagram together. And the management can charge them 5 times more than the regular, mostly elderly Budapestans. So the choice is clear: let's make it all coed.

3. Even on what's left of men's days, the charm of the original experience is gone: you can't feel free anymore, relax the way you want (in swimsuit, in apron, or naked), you need to cocoon yourself into TWO (!) aprons and there are security guards watching EVERYWHERE. Even looking inside the pools. Even lurking through the windows of the relaxation room, in case one of the sleeping guests comes a little unveiled, among other sleeping guests. Even shouting at people. Always going around, in groups. Why? So that no one shows a bit skin in a place that yesterday allowed nudity as the most natural thing? In a country where nudity in baths has had a long history, just like everywhere else in the former Austrian-Hungarian Empire? But most importantly, what's left of the relaxing experience if the guests feel under constant surveillance? And for what? For hysterical fear that Rudas might be by some people used as a cruising area? I've never seen any "action" there.

4. If common decency is suddenly so important to the management of the baths, perhaps they could do something about the 2 cm wide gap in the door of one of the toilets? If they are so concerned with our privacy, perhaps they could grant us that privacy during our most private moments?

5. All of these baths are state owned. It's clear that some of them will always be touristy. But Budapestans need some place they can visit on regular basis, without the feeling of having to sacrifice, so the prices should reflect that. But what the current management does is basically expulsing local people so that as much money as possible could be pumped in...

I've now tried four different Baths in Budapest, each different and each one has something to recommend it. Having recently been to Gellert, I found Rudas to be much less busy and used more by locals rather than tourists.

I particularly like the Sauna World; it has best saunas I've been to out of the four baths. Sauna World has three saunas, a steam room, cold pool (14C) and I love the automated three part shower, each one different temperature, pressure and pulse. It also has a relaxation room and access to the upper deck above the swimming pool.

The swimming pool has lanes unlike the Gellert, which makes it easier to swim, particularly if you prefer freestyle, it also has a small sauna by the pool and a relaxation area. Don't miss the thermal pools in the "Wellness Section", I did on my first visit, they are beyond the end of the Swimming pool. Note you must wear flipflops and swimming cap if you want to use the pool.

The Turkish Baths operate women and men only days. Four Thermal pools surround a central octagonal pool with temperatures 28C, 30C, 33C and 42C, but these "corner pools" are quite small compared to Gellert which operates four large Thermal pools, two at 36C and two at 44C. So for Thermal pools I prefer the Gellert. Two steam rooms at temperature of 45C and a cold pool temperature 17C.

Another thing I like is being able to seperate the facilities. Other Baths I've been to charge one all inclusive price. You can do that here but if you want to just use a) Swimming Pool/ Sauna World/Wellness Centre or b) Turkish Steam Baths, you can pay a lower price for one of these rather than the combined all in price. I think the best value which really has everything I want is option a) but note the Sauna World opens at 11.00am

Depending on which option(s) you chose, the wrist band will give you access to that area.

So in Summary, if Thermal pools are your priority I would chose either Gellert or Szechenyi. But for Sauna (combined with swimming) I would chose Rudas over Gellert. Also with this option alone, it's considerably cheaper, 5900 huf v 9400 huf. If you opt for a) and b) above...