Danubius Hotel Astoria — Hotel in Budapest

I booked a round trip from SC, USA, to Budapest, with side trips to Vienna and Prague. Therefore, I stayed in this hotel on two separate occasions. The 5 stars is from my first stay as it was the longest. ||On my initial arrival they had my room ready after I had traveled all night. IIRC, I was about an hour earlier than check-in. This was MUCH appreciated. They requested I pay up front, which was different than other hotels I have stayed in but this was my first time in Hungary, so when in Hungary, do as the Hungarians.||My room was on the third floor and very spacious. I had elected to have the non-renovated rooms without the coffee maker. I loved my room! The only issue was trying to figure out the A/C. Upon requesting help, I was told that the windows had to be shut. My thought was why is someone opening the windows.....then when the A/C did not produce, I figured out why people were opening the windows. The nights got down to 55 degrees and I had those windows open! I slept fine....no street noise (I was on the third floor, this is important) and on the side of the hotel that was not on the street (also important). ||They provided a free large bottle of water which really hit the spot after traveling all night. The room also had a refrigerator. The bathroom was about standard size for an European hotel, with a standup shower. The sink area was not large but was big enough for this solo person to layout my toiletries. ||When I first arrived I had no hangars and a request to the front desk and I had hangars in 5 minutes. Likewise, once they did not leave all my towels, and housekeeping was up with more towels in minutes after I let the front desk know. No one or thing is perfect; it is how you respond. And their response was fantastic.||I also opted for the breakfast each morning which had a variety of hot and cold items, with fresh fruit, juices, and machine which produced a variety of coffees. ||The front desk was very helpful when I was attempting to use the BKK app (which I highly recommend you download for metro/bus/tram travel) and helped me figure out the best routes. Which brings me to location, location, location. While this hotel is not in the most visually appealing location, it's location was superb for getting around on public transportation. The subway (Metro) is right there (though the straight down escalator to the bottom was scary for me and I hung on for dear life); the E100 bus from the airport stops right there; and most tourist locations that I wanted to visit (for instance the Szecheny Baths) had a bus with a stop at Astoria.||My first stay was fantastic - now to my not so fantastic second stay.||First of all, they upgraded me to a renovated room which sounds great but wasn't. First of all the room was tiny. I stayed in monastery guest houses in Italy and this room was smaller than any of those rooms. The bathroom was nicer than in the old room. It was also hot! The thermostat was set to 26.4 C, which is 79.52 F and could not be lowered to make it any cooler in the room. According to the Front Desk, this was set for the whole hotel. When I opened the windows, I was assailed by street noise. I was not on the main street side but I was on the second floor. No fans were available. They were going to send up maintenance to see if they could get the room cooler, but I requested a room as I had booked, not the upgrade. ||The Front Desk walked me up to a 2nd floor "old style" room and I immediately said yes. The room was at least twice if not three times the size of the "upgraded room". It also had two large windows which I could open because this room was also hot. It was not as stuffy because it was so much larger. Again, I was not on the main street side of the hotel but still on the second floor, which meant all night of street noise (from the main road filtering in) and of people screaming at each other after leaving a bar in the area. It was not a good night sleep and I had to be up at 3:00AM. ||I'm leaving my review at 5 stars because the majority of my stay was great; the Front Desk did what they could do to mitigate the issues from my second stay; and I would return to the hotel and recommend. ||For my tips: get the non-renovated rooms, request an upper floor, and request non-street side. The upper floor is key - the 3rd floor was no noise and the 2nd was a screeching nightmare. If it is the least bit hot, you will have to open...

This is a hard review to write because I've stayed at this hotel multiple times (and have even brought my groups over here) and while I've always had pleasant experiences in the past, this trip was mediocre at best. The location is great and yes, it has historic charm that gives it a certain vibe that is definitely worth seeing while in Budapest.

First problem - The lobby stank like a bathroom all three days that we were there. If you notice, other people have commented on this as well. It was pretty strong and nothing seemed to get done about it. Going up one floor though eliminated the problem so at least you don't smell that in your room(s).

Second problem - This was an issue with room services/amenities. We had four shampoo bottles in our bottle but no shower gel. Then, when we asked for our towels to be changed, our kleenex was empty and never refilled. We also could not open the cabinet where the fridge was (or maybe we didn't have a mini-fridge? No way to tell because the door was stuck). There was no laundry bag in the closet like there usually is. The wood under the sink in the bathroom is so damage and warped from getting hit by the water spray. Furniture in the rooms is old and definitely haven't been updated in awhile. The AC was practically non-existent (we woke up every night sweating even though we had it on the coldest setting and while you can open the window, it will be loud as others have said). While some of these were not very major, it's still a downgrade from how on top of everything they used to be.

Third problem - We also had an unexpected experience with our check-in time. In the past, the front desk and management staff has been incredibly accommodating, always helping however they can whether it be early check-ins or having bagged breakfast ready early in the morning for my group (like we're talking high quality service here). This time though, I needed to check-in an hour early so that I could verify internet and make sure everything was set for some virtual work I had to do right at the usual check-in time. When I emailed the hotel to see if this was possible, I was told they couldn't make any guarantees and we would just have to wait and see. Since I couldn't chance it, I told them we'd probably have to cancel the reservation and then suddenly, it was no problem.

Fourth problem (or just concern I guess) - We stored our bags in their bag storage area since our flight got in early and when we came to finally check in, there was essentially no one checking bag tags. We were told to just go into the room and get our bags. Now, while I don't really care much about this, I'm sure other people do and also, this isn't the standard for this hotel from the past. Again, in past visits, they have taken care of everything and this time, it was just like they had given up.

I know COVID changed a lot and Hungary did just drop their restrictions like two weeks prior to being there so it's entirely possible that the hotel just hasn't gotten back into their grove yet but it was pretty disappointing. It saddens me to see this hotel in this kind of state because I think I'm done using them as a result -- for less or the same amount of money, you can stay at a number of other hotels nearby or even in better locations. And again, I used to really love the service and vibe of this place but it's functioning at a 2- or 2.5-star level now and just isn't...

Horrible Experience – AVOID AT ALL COSTS! I honestly don't even know where to begin with how awful my stay was. This place is a nightmare. First off, the room was disgusting. The moment I walked in, I was hit with a musty, stale odor that never went away. The carpet was so filthy it looked like it hadn’t been vacuumed in months—there were crumbs, stains, and I even found a few pieces of what I hope were just food leftovers, but who knows. The bathroom was a horror show. There was hair all over the sink, on the floor, and even stuck to the shower walls. The toilet had clearly not been cleaned in ages, and there was mold growing around the edges of the tub. I don’t even want to think about the state of the towels—thin, threadbare, and stained. I seriously debated going without a shower just to avoid touching anything. The main issue is the cleaning staff. I don't know who hired them but it definitely wasn't an intelligent choice. The location was also terrible. There was absolutely no place to park your car and the area could be considered as a perfect hangout for homeless and weird people. To make matters worse, the bed was an absolute disaster. The sheets were not only stained but also clearly hadn’t been washed in a long time. There were so many hairs on the pillowcases that I felt like I was sleeping on a shedding animal. I’m not even sure the mattress had ever been replaced—it was lumpy, saggy, and creaked with every move. The staff? Don’t even get me started. The front desk people were rude, unhelpful, and acted like they couldn’t care less about anything going wrong with my stay. When I complained, they just shrugged and told me it’s "just how the rooms are here." If you value your health, sanity, and well-being, stay as far away from this place as humanly possible. It’s nothing short of a health hazard and a total waste of money. It also wasn't cheap. If u have any sort of expectation, I can guarantee you won't pe pleased. I wouldn’t even recommend it to my worst enemy....