Features

Boutique Budapest

24 Nov 2007 by Mark Caswell

Budapest is home to grand, sweeping architecture redolent of its Hapsburg history, but it is also now a flourishing and creative city where big isn’t necessarily beautiful and is definitely not cool. Its hotel industry, however, has taken a while to catch up with this trend, but fortunately for a newer generation of business traveller, the past two years have seen the rise of a smaller breed of hotel, where the emphasis is on innovation, design and a more personal level of service.

The latest evidence of this trend is the brand new Lanchid 19, Budapest’s first design hotel, whose small but exquisite facade stands out from a row of modest terraced houses below the castle on the Buda side of the Danube (see box for full review). Already a popular meeting place for Budapest’s creative industries, the Lanchid 19 has attracted a great deal of international interest since its opening in August, and its Hungarian owners are hoping that its combination of panoramic views and cutting-edge design will find favour with visitors who have grown out of traditional chain hotels.

Sonzja Demeter, sales manager of the Lanchid 19, says: “We are targeting business travellers who come to Budapest for a few days and don’t want ten bellboys running after them when they arrive, who like a calm atmosphere, and want to be inspired by a bit of architecture and design.”

The theory that business travellers are starting to look for something different is given weight by the success of Hotel Zara, a boutique four-star property situated towards the south of District V. Since its opening in August last year, this elegant yet cosy hotel has seen occupancy rates of around 80 per cent, an achievement which sales manager Szilvia Oravecz attributes to the personal level of service made possible by the Zara’s smaller size.

“Business travellers are bored with standardised hotel chains and they’re looking for something more unique,” she says. “We are focusing on atmosphere and service – we want to make ourselves different from the large hotels where the service is impersonal.”

The Zara has teamed up with a local radio channel to organise regular parties for its guests, and claims to be the only hotel in Budapest to produce its own CD of lounge and jazz music. Inspired by the Zara’s success, its Jordanian owner now has plans to expand the brand and open at least two more four-star hotels in District V, although plans for a more avant-garde property have for the time being been shelved.

Zara’s claim to be the first boutique hotel in Budapest, however, is disputed by the Best Western Hotel Parlament, a beautiful, Spanish-designed 65-room property which opened in March 2006 in a former 19th-century apartment house near the Parliament building. The hotel’s success is partly attributable to its excellent location, but also, as with Hotel Zara, to its innovative attitude to service. As Szilvia Oravecz, the hotel’s sales manager, puts it: “People don’t want to spend their nights and days in hotel factories. They like to come to hotels like this, where the service is more personal and there are smiling faces at reception.”

The Parlament’s Italian owner is also planning to build on his success. Renovation work has already started on a small but elegant 19th-century palace on Lorinc Pap Ter, a beautiful square in District VIII. Due to open at the beginning of 2009, the new four-star plus property will have 80 rooms and, it is hoped, will be part of the World Hotels grouping.

Another recent arrival in the boutique market is Atrium, an agressively funky four-star property in the city’s still run-down but rapidly developing District VIII. While the other boutique properties mark their owners’ first ventures into the hotel market, Atrium is the product of one of Budapest’s most prolific hotel chains and one of its biggest success stories of recent years.

The Mellow Mood group is owned by two Jordanian entrepreneurs who have lived in Hungary for 20 years, and who started in the hospitality industry a decade ago with a couple of youth hostels. From these humble beginnings, they’ve expanded rapidly and now have nine three-star properties, all in central Budapest, as well as the four-star Europa Hotels and Congress Centre, and Atrium, the first representative of the group’s new Fashion Hotels brand.

Mellow Mood’s sights are now set firmly on the upper end of the market. Two more Fashion Hotels are in the pipeline: the Buda Castle, a set of 24 luxury serviced apartments, is due to open on Uri Street next year, to be followed in 2009 by an as-yet-unnamed property on Nador Street in District V, which will follow the Atrium model and comprise 112 rooms, a large conference suite and fitness facilities.

Next year will also see the opening of Mellow Mood’s most ambitious project to date, the five-star Klotild Palace. This famous landmark at the foot of the Erzsebet Bridge will house 102 rooms and 32 apartments, and will be the second hotel in the world to bear the branding of Paris’s famous Buddha Bar (Prague’s Buddha Bar hotel is due to open earlier next year).

That there is a market for smaller luxury properties is evidenced by the enduring popularity of the Andrassy Hotel. Housed in a 1930s Bauhaus-style mansion on Andrassy Avenue, this five-star offshoot of French chain Mamaison has been a favourite with high-end business travellers since its opening in 2001, and by the end of the year will have completed a complete refurbishment of its 70 rooms.

Eric Montagnon, the Andrassy’s sales manager, says: “We have swapped the original French provençal style for a more modern decor with more muted tones but a luxurious feeling. The feedback from our regular guests has so far been very positive – they liked the old rooms but say that this is more trendy.”

The bar has also been raised in the larger four-star market, with the opening of the new generation Novotel Danube by one of Budapest’s biggest players, Accor, at the end of last year. The 175-room property, on the Buda side of the river, has all the high-tech bells and whistles you’d expect, like bluetooth printers, a Mac corner and free wifi, as well as stunning views across the river to the Parliament.

All of this adds up to excellent news for business travellers who are looking for a life less ordinary. As Best Western Parlament’s Reka Patakfalvi explains: “Budapest is trying to attract a new breed of leisure tourists, and business travellers are reaping the rewards.”

Budapest by bike

If you want a speedy introduction to the sights of Budapest, or to see a side of the city you’ve never seen before, two wheels is the way to go. Based in the Jewish quarter, Budapest Bike runs daily tours of the city’s highlights at 10am, but with a day or so’s notice will happily arrange an individual itinerary, and even deliver the bikes to your hotel if you’re pushed for time. Most of the guides are local students, who are very experienced at guiding novices safely through the Budapest traffic, and can offer a unique perspective on the city. I took the basic tour, which covers Heroes’ Square, the Castle, Fisherman’s Bastion and the Parliament building. My guide Matthias, a medical student, was a mine of information on topics as varied as the Hungarian healthcare system, the latest art cafés and the city’s Roman ruins, and prided himself on his ability to find something new to show the most experienced Budapest visitors. The standard four-hour tour costs HUF5,000 (£14); prices for individual tours negotiable. Budapest Bike, 13 Wesselenyi Street; tel +36 30 9 44 55 33; budapestbike.hu.

Lanchid 19

WHAT’S IT LIKE? Opened in August, Budapest’s first design hotel is an elegant four-star new-build on the banks of the Danube, with unbeatable views from Buda across to Pest. The Lanchid 19 has been four years in the planning, has won various awards for its innovative architecture, and is a member of the prestigious Design Hotels group. Among the most striking features of the hotel is the glass-panelled facade, which glows out across the river after dark. The individual panels are covered in tiny pictures of butterflies and fish, which form larger images of divers, bottles and other objects when lit up. They also move from side to side according to a system controlled from a meteorological sensor on the top of the hotel which reflects the currents on the surface of the Danube. The hotel can also boast its very own Roman ruins, which were uncovered when the foundations of the hotel were being laid. Local regulations prevent them from being covered up, so the architects decided to make a feature of them – they are now preserved in the level below the lobby, and the space can be hired out for meetings.

WHERE IS IT? Right on the river on the Buda side, directly opposite the Intercontinental and Sofitel. There are 12 parking spaces outside the hotel for guests – the pay parking opposite is HUF300 (£0.84) per hour.
HOW MANY ROOMS? 48, including three Panorama Suites on the seventh floor.

ROOM FACILITIES With the exception of the suites, all the rooms are the same size – and for a “design hotel”, they are surprisingly peaceful and practical. The decor is neutral and minimalist, with carpets and bedspreads in soothing neutral brown shades. The design element is in the range of funky desk chairs, which provided the inspiration for the artworks on the walls (in one room, for example, the chair looks a bit boney, so the artist has provided a set of silver clothing for it). All rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, and those on the back also have small balconies. Most of the bathrooms have a large walk-in shower, but rooms at the end of the corridors have a shower over the bath. Other facilities include flatscreen TVs, minibar and free broadband (ask at reception for a cable). If you want something a bit more spectacular, the Panorama Suites have funky yellow and blue checked carpets, large decked terraces, and spa baths with fabulous views.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS A breakfast buffet is provided in the restaurant on the first floor from 7-10am on weekdays (7-10.30am at weekends), which is also the venue for lunch and dinner. For drinks, there is a bright and funky bar area to the left of the lobby, which stays open late.

MEETING AND BUSINESS FACILITIES The largest meeting room is on the ground floor behind the lobby, and can hold 45 theatre-style. At present it is a plain white space, but an artwork is due to be installed soon, and there is a small break-out area with a glass floor and a view of the Roman remains. If you want natural light, a pleasant room on the first floor which can hold 35 theatre-style and has floor-to-ceiling windows with views onto the street. Free wifi is available in all public areas.

LEISURE FACILITIES There are no fitness facilities in the hotel, but five minutes’ walk away are two famous Turkish baths, the Racz and Rudas. The former is under the same ownership as Lanchid 19, and will include three baths and a swimming pool when it reopens after a refurb.

VERDICT A comfortable hotel with enough design features to keep you interested, but not so many that they get in the way.

PRICE Internet rates for a mid-week stay in mid-January, room only, started from €122 for a Standard room.

CONTACT Lanchid 19, Lanchid Utca 19-21, Budapest; tel +36 1 419 1900; designhotels.com.

Atrium

WHAT’S IT LIKE? Branded as a “Fashion Hotel”, Atrium is really a simple, well thought-out four-star with some funky design touches. The most notable of these is in the central courtyard, which houses the hotel’s restaurant/bar. As with all hotels housed in traditional Budapest apartment houses, Atrium’s young Hungarian designers faced the problem of what do with the four-storey blank wall on one side – their innovative solution was to turn it into a gigantic white clock with huge lime green hands. Other nice touches include the extensive range of discount cards for various shops and services which are hung next to the lift, and the striped hangings over the balconies on the separate floors. The service is welcoming, and the staff are friendly and efficient.

WHERE IS IT? Just east of Jozsef Korut, in the up-and-coming District VIII.

HOW MANY ROOMS? 57, including four smoking rooms. There are also two disabled rooms on the ground floor.

ROOM FACILITIES All rooms are the same size, and have been kitted out in exactly the same decor. (There are no suites, but some of the rooms can be connected.) On the hotel’s website, the green and turquoise colour scheme looks alarming, but in reality the feel is light and relaxed, the beds are comfortable, and the rooms are well-equipped with workdesk, safe, minibar, air conditioning and tea/coffee-making facilities. The bathrooms have showers over the bath and come with hairdryers, but surprisingly no shampoo or conditioner. Wifi is available free throughout the hotel – log-in details and passwords are provided in the in-room information. The internet can also be accessed for free through the TV (ask at reception for a keyboard).

RESTAURANTS AND BARS The central atrium of the hotel houses a bright and pleasant bar/restaurant area, where a choice of hot and cold breakfast is served from 7-10am. Lunch and dinner are not provided, but the bar is open for drinks and snacks from noon to midnight.

MEETING AND BUSINESS FACILITIES A small and bright meeting room is available on the ground floor next to the restaurant, and can seat up to ten boardroom-style. The hotel has no business centre, but free wifi is available in all public areas.

LEISURE FACILITIES None.

VERDICT A pleasant and relaxing property which provides the necessary minimum of facilities without fuss and with a touch of funky style. 

PRICE Internet rates for a mid-week stay in mid-January started from €90.

CONTACT Csokonai Utca 14; tel +36 1 299 0777; atriumhotelbudapest.com.

Other options

Andrassy Hotel
Andrassy Utca 111; tel +36 1 4622 100; andrassyhotel.com.
Rooms from €153.30.

Best Western Premier Hotel Parlament
Kalman Imre Utca 19; tel +36 1 374 6000; parlament-hotel.hu.
Rooms from €98.10.

Hotel Zara
So Utca 6; tel +36 1 357 6170; zarahotels.com.
Rooms from €85.

Novotel Danube
Bem Rakpart 33 34; tel +36 1 458 4900; accorhotels.com.
Rooms from €92.

Rates quoted are for a midweek stay in mid-January, room-only.

Flight check: Malev

BUSINESS CLASS, London-Budapest

BACKGROUND After nearly two decades of trying, the Hungarian government finally managed to find a buyer for Malev in February this year. The national carrier is now owned by Boris Abramovich (no relation to Roman), a Russian billionaire who also runs Krasair, his country’s fifth-largest airline, and who has promised to invest E50 million to upgrade Malev.  The carrier also received a big boost in May, when it became a member of the Oneworld alliance.

I flew out to Budapest on the day after the clocks went back, which marked the start of Malev’s winter timetable. Until March 30, the carrier will operate 840 weekly and 120 daily flights to 51 cities in 35 countries, with codeshare flights to 71 cities in 39 countries. Malev codeshares with British Airways for its Budapest flights – BA operates flights from Heathrow, while the Hungarian carrier has two daily services from Gatwick.

CHECK-IN I arrived at Gatwick at 1700 for the 1850 flight. Malev flies from the North Terminal, and I went to check in at Zone A, at the extreme lefthand end of the departures hall. There were two desks open, one advertised as business and one as economy, but with only one queue for both. However, I went to the business desk and asked, and was checked in straight away. I was given an invitation for the Aviance lounge, and the staff helpfully told me how to get there. There was practically no queue at security, but I went through fast-track anyway, and was airside within 15 minutes of arriving.

THE LOUNGE The Aviance Executive Suite is two floors below the BA lounge, and one floor below Emirates. It caters for a number of smaller airlines, and can also be used for a fee of £17.95 (access up to three hours before flight departure time). There is a good range of soft and alcoholic drinks available, and a small selection of snacks. When I was there the furniture was looking a little shabby, but it was closing that evening (October 28) for refurbishment. It is due to reopen on November 20 and will be twice the size, with completely new furniture and fittings. The staff were helpful, and told me that the Emirates wifi could be accessed for free – as indeed it could, and the signal was strong. No flight announcements are made in the lounge, and there’s no departures board, but the staff told me just to ask them for details.

BOARDING The gate was announced at 1815, as advertised, and I went through to gate 51. We were finally called forward for boarding at 1845, with business class first.

THE FLIGHT The B737-800 was configured 2-2 in the first row, where I had a window seat, and then 2-3. The seats are dark blue, roomy and comfortable, and being in the first row I had plenty of legroom. A rather wobbly table came out of the armrest, and there was a small storage pocket on the bulkhead in front of me, too small for a water bottle but big enough for a book or magazine. As soon as we’d boarded, we were offered orange juice and a selection of magazines in Hungarian and English, including The Economist and the FT Weekend.  We waited quite a while for take-off, but were airborne by 1925. Hot towels were passed around, and dinner was served about half an hour into the flight. The food was standard airline fare, with a beef main course, a choice of Hungarian wines and a good chocolate pudding.

ARRIVAL We began our descent at 2200, and reached the stand at 2225. Disembarkation was swift, my bag was first off the carousel, and I was out of the airport by 2245.

VERDICT Comfortable seats and friendly service make this an adequate business class service, although I would recommend eating before you board.

PRICE Business class return fares from London to Budapest start from £641.

ECONOMY CLASS, Budapest-London

CHECK-IN I arrived at 1425 for the 1430 flight. The desk wasn’t opened for another 15 minutes, but once it was I was quickly processed. There was a minimal queue at security (which nonetheless moved very slowly), and I was airside by 1450. The airside facilities at 2A are currently very limited, but this is all set to change (see box). Smokers will want to stock up on the stunningly cheap cigarettes, but others will be restricted to waiting on the (comfortable) seats and watching the planes on the apron. Boarding started at 1605 from gate 26.

THE FLIGHT On this B737-700, the business class seating goes back to row six, but there were only two rows curtained off for the business class cabin on this flight. So I was slightly disappointed, given that I’d been one of the first to check in, not to have been given one of the larger seats (I assume they’re reserved for frequent flyers – even the Catholic priest on the flight didn’t get one). As you would expect, the seats in economy are narrower and configured 3-3 – however, they are also in smart dark blue, and fairly comfortable, and there’s a decent amount of legroom. The flight was almost full, but we were all boarded by 1625 and pulled back at 1630. Food was served shortly after take-off, and before the drinks trolley went round – a sensible arrangement, since the food can be handed out swiftly and everyone has something to do while waiting for a drink. The meal was perfectly pleasant, and consisted of a hot pasta and beef dish, a small fresh salad, and a Chunky Kit-Kat. Drinks were then served, including a range of juices and wine (but no Worcestershire Sauce to go with the tomato juice, sadly).

ARRIVAL We were on the ground at 1743, ahead of schedule, but had to wait ten minutes to get on stand. We were disembarked by 1810 via an air bridge, and had a long walk from gate 48 to passport control. This was so slow that my bag was already out when I got to baggage reclaim, and I was on the station platform by 1845.

VERDICT A good-value product – particularly if you can get one of the business class seats – with the same friendly service as in business class.

PRICE Economy class return fares from London to Budapest start from £106.

CONTACT malev.com.

Ferihegy airport: A new era

After years of waiting, change is finally underway at Budapest’s airport. Ferihegy was bought earlier this year by a consortium led by the German firm Hochitef, which is also responsible for Athens and Dusseldorf airports. The Hungarian government made modernisation of Ferihegy a condition of privatisation, and a total of E261m is due to be spent by 2011.

Initially, the focus of development will be Terminals 2A and 2B. By 2009, a new building, the Budapest Sky Court, will connect the two terminals, providing much-needed extra space for security lanes, as well as a large first-floor area for restaurants and bars. At the same time work will start on increasing capacity with the construction of two new piers, which when completed (in 2011) will add 16 gates.

There are also plans for an underground multi-storey car park in front of Terminal 2, as well as for an airport hotel, to be ready by 2010. At present, this is likely to be a four-star property with 250 rooms, but proposals are also in the pipeline for a full-scale congress centre to serve the whole of the southern Budapest area.

At Terminal 1, which takes the bulk of the low-cost traffic, development is restricted by the protected status of the Soviet-era building. However, the consortium is keen to expand capacity, so by 2011 the old structure will be used for departures, while a new building houses the arrivals facility.

The other major news for the airport this year was the long-awaited opening in July of a rail link from the city centre to Terminal 1. Low-cost passengers can now access the airport in 22 minutes from Nyugati station on regular suburban trains, at a bargain price of HUF300 (£0.84). A rail link to Terminal 2 is the logical next step, and plans are underway to connect it to Keleti station via a dedicated airport express. However, regular travellers should probably not hold their breath – the project is under the aegis of the Hungarian government, which is regarded locally as a guarantee of lengthy delays.

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