Anna Hotel Budapest

We slept for 2 nights in the hotel. The rooms were very clean. We also booked breakfast. They had various options from croissants to pasta. When you want to go to the city you can walk 5 minutes to the tram or 10 minutes to the metro. We bought the 72 hour Budapest travel card so we could travel easily from the hotel to the city. Parking for your car is included.

The hotel is clean and attractive though a bit off the beaten track. The room was comfortable, immaculate, quiet, and the perfect place to rest after running around Buda and Pest. The gardens around the front of the hotel are lovely. We liked the hotel a lot and chose it because it was just a few blocks from relatives who live outside of the center. The room rate was good. There's a restaurant attached, which is nice looking, but we didn't eat breakfast there. The only bad thing was that one late afternoon we returned to the hotel wanting a coffee and snack but the whole restaurant was closed for a wedding until 10PM that night. It was several blocks to go to a cafe, so we did without because we were tired. It would have been nice if the hotel agent had told us about the restaurant closure so we could have gotten something on the way back that day. No idea why we weren't told.

There are definitely positives and negatives for every place and depending on each traveller’s needs and requirements it can be a yay or a nay depending on priorities. I will start with the negatives first then move on to the positives. It is located in an industrial area with a tram depot near the hotel. No night life, a bit intimidating to walk on the quiet street at night to the tram stop. No places to eat out around the hotel and the restaurant closes at 9 pm. The checkin wasn’t friendly nor a great experience as I am a travel agent and an avid traveller (travel internationally at least 5 times a year and domestically more), I gave the reception my business card on checking in to which he flipped it back to me without looking because we were here early morning and told why were we here too early instead of a welcome to Budapest, I was surprised since we work in the similar industry- tourism, would I book my exhausted clients here after a long haul international 12 hour flight plus transit and another flight of minimum 8 hours depending on the hub city of the airlines from a different continent - no, different story if they lived closer for eg in Europe which the flights are just a few hours maximum. Budapest has multiple large train stations, if you plan on using the train to navigate in between cities check which station it is if you plan to stay walking distance to the hotel as this may not be the one. The airport bus drops off in the city from there to the hotel is another 25 minutes of a direct tram ride so might be more convenient to get airport transfer instead which is around 50 Euros with uber so you don’t need to drag your bags around. Positives the hotel and rooms are clean, loved the large bathroom. The staff accommodated my request despite the twin beds, they put the beds together so it converted to a double bed. We were able to leave our luggage at the hotel so we didn’t have to drag around or stay and went to the hot springs instead to spend the extra time and relax until our room was ready to check in. The hotel is a 25 minute tram ride away into the heart of the city, the tram stop is just 5 minutes walking from the hotel which makes is convenient to move around and tickets can be purchased online on the app, best value is if you do daily or multi day ticket. The hotel itself is a great value for money for a 4 star hotel as it is almost half the price of similar to the ones in the city at similar quality so probably a good way to save some money if you don’t mind staying a bit further away rather than staying at a 2 star hotel instead in a prime location at the same price or a 4 star at double the price in the heart of the city- it’s a give and take. They do have maps there to collect and navigate around. Breakfast is handy as there is no where else to eat around unless you hop on public transport, as per any European city simple breakfast eggs, sausage, cured meat- however the bread and cheese is great and I loved the local sour cherry jam which was different to the usual menu. The hotel has lifts to easily take your bags up and down the different levels of floors as some hotels in the old towns in Europe lack this and stairs are the only way. Nice greenery in the garden outside of the restaurant to sit and enjoy a cuppa. The wifi is great in terms of speed and connectivity across the whole hotel. Nice touches of personalised decor and pictures around creating a feel of a local family owned business. Free and ample parking spaces available on site which is a luxury in most compact European cities. I suppose it’s up to your expectations and needs on your travel it might be the perfect stay for some traveller or not a great one for others, hence the mixed reviews online. This feedback were based on my personal experience, hope it helps in your travel plans.