The Best Boutique Hotels to Book in Budapest

The shining modern façade of this luxurious hotel leads to a spectacular interior full of elegant details, from perfectly tended plants in the pristine spa to the cheerful red jug of fresh milk on the breakfast table. Chill in immaculately styled bedrooms; there are towelling robes and fancy toiletries in the marble bathrooms. With five on-site eateries, you hardly need to venture out, but – when you do – it’s a five-minute stroll to the Danube, where you can watch the sunset from one of the riverside restaurants.

If you’ve ever wanted to stay at Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, this might be as close as you get. The director came here in 2012, one of many celebrity guests over the 125 years since it opened, and took notes on the hotel’s colourful style and history. It’s certainly luxurious, but don’t let the Art Deco spa, copper-toned bedrooms or on-site bars and restaurants stop you from going out. The Corinthia is well-placed for exploring the historic heart of Budapest with characterful bars just around the corner – Mazel Tov offers an all-year garden, live music, draught beers and homemade apricot brandy.

Bursting with characterful design and a garden café, Stories is a boutique hotel full of surprises. From sloping aquamarine ceilings with skylights to striking mezzanine bedrooms, with retro tech for some 1970s style alongside state-of-the-art monochrome bathrooms, no two corners are identical. For groups or families, splash out on one of the colourful, three-storey Presidential suites, which come with a sauna and jacuzzi.

Nearly all the stylish, colourful rooms here overlook either the fountains and flowerbeds of Károlyi Garden or the tiled courtyard, with wicker chairs and miniature orange trees; upgrade to a suite if you want a balcony. Completely renovated in 2018, this upmarket boutique offers a choice of four great local cafés for breakfast. Stroll ten minutes to elegant Cyrano for French toast and warm pancakes or 15 minutes to Art Deco Marty’s for Hungarian smoked sausage, artisanal salami, organic ham and spiced, homemade cottage cheese.

Contemporary American artist Donald Sultan’s vibrant paintings, prints and sculptures provide decorative touches throughout this fancy hotel near the Danube, which also has a sauna, gym and bistro. Sultan’s 579 colourful works, showing flowers that border on abstraction, draw together the two very different halves of the building: the riverfront façade is a gleaming modern cliff of tinted glass and concrete, but go round the back and you’ll find a much older, wisteria-hung courtyard, with an ochre stone balustrade and ornate, shuttered windows.

Located at the centre of the Castle District, within walking distance of the Fisherman’s Bastion, Pest-Buda is a small yet splendid boutique hotel. A melange of country-house comfort and upscale urban style, each of Pest-Buda’s 10 guest rooms features original vintage furnishings as well as handcrafted local limestone bathrooms. The building itself dates back to 1696, complete with a lovingly restored Baroque roof, and has served as an inn, tavern and restaurant. The eponymous homestyle restaurant is unmissable if hearty Hungarian cuisine is what you seek – don’t leave without trying the home-made tokaj wine sausage.

Located in the historic Castle District, this family-owned hotel comprises 11 rooms and suites, each featuring stylishly unique furnishings and decoration. With a bohemian edge and luxurious feel, it is tailored for both style and comfort, with modern amenities seamlessly added to each room. There’s also a grill catering to hungry guests and Budapest residents, while the wine bar offers an array of wines from Central Europe.

The history of Maison is rich – it dates to the 1700s when the current Baroque-style building served as a well-known bakery. In 1964, bread made way for beats, with a nightclub occupying the site until the 1990s. After 20 years being closed, Maison Bistro and Hotel opened in 2016. Today, you can relax and unwind while taking in the refined atmosphere from one of the 17 rooms or within the garden courtyard. The culinary offerings, whether at the quaint café or charming Moorish-style bistro, are sublime and echo the elegant hotel aesthetic. The traditional Hungarian lecsó, a paprika-tomato ragout with onion, bacon, grilled duck liver and grated egg barley pasta, is a must.

Occupying a terraced townhouse in Budapest’s elegant District V – the political, financial and touristic centre of the city – the boldly designed Hotel Rum creates a sense of dynamism with a contrasting colour palette, fusing tradition with contemporary chic in the use of wood and black metal. While still retaining original characteristics such as a spiral stone staircase, Hotel Rum is unabashedly à la mode and a seductive sanctuary for the hedonistic urban traveller. Located on the seventh floor, the TOPRUM Rooftop Bar offers eclectic cocktails and panoramic city views. During the warmer months, live jazz performances by local musicians take place every Wednesday evening.

A giant black-and-white painted sloth or owl gazes from a patch of orange or purple wall by the bed towards the leather sofa. If this sounds like your kind of room, opt for a Cool room; if you prefer your paintings more traditional, opt for a Classic or a Heaven. There’s just as much choice outside this creeper-draped 18th-century mansion: a popular pizzeria next door, a fancy cake shop a few buildings down (don’t miss the seven-layered dobos torte), while the neighbouring streets are packed with classy little cafés.

Occupying a building that dates to 1896 in the heart of what was once the glamorous Palace Quarter of Budapest, Brody House opened in 2009. Many of the 11 individually designed rooms here are named after the artists who once called this building their creative home – you can stay in rooms that were once the studios of artists such as Alexander Tinei and Etienne Claret de Fleurieu. Other rooms feature the works of famed photographers, including Robert Capa, André Kertész and László Moholy-Nagy. Brody House overlooks the Hungarian National Museum and is within walking distance of several contemporary art galleries, including Kisterem and TOBE, making it the ideal hotel for art enthusiasts.

Created for the travellers of tomorrow or the tech-savvy ones of today, KViHotel is Budapest’s first paperless hotel. Located in the vibrant District VII, the hotel offers you full control over your stay via your smartphone – whether it’s booking, checking in or checking out. This hi-tech experience means rooms are opened via your phone, while room status, including cleanliness and temperature, may be monitored at any time from anywhere with just a click of your smartphone.