Travel Diaries: Budapest, Hungary- Castle District & Hilton Hotel

This month we picked Budapest in Hungary where we went for 3 nights. We found a great deal on Wizz Tours where we got the flights and a 5* hotel in a package, which was really reasonable. We left Friday afternoon and arrived back Monday morning so it fit in perfectly with our weekend.

Castle District

We chose a hotel in the castle district- who doesn't love castles right? It was beautiful. Everywhere you looked there was an ornate and intricate castle, and above every tree, in the distance in every direction a spire or a dome would be looming above you. It had a real fairytale feel and is clearly rich with history and stories.

As well as these buildings, fit for princesses, the rest of the area was like a little toy village- perfectly neat and clean, incredibly well kept. The houses and restaurants were in chocolate-box buildings which looked just adorable in the sunshine but I feel would look even more divine covered in snow during the winter.

Fisherman's Bastion

We spent a lot of time admiring and taking photos around Fisherman's Bastion which had an incredible view of the land around, to the river and further. Not only was the view from the Bastion lovely, but when you were below it looking up, it was stunning, especially when it was all lit up at night.

The Bastion was built in the 19th century as a look out tower, which it must have been perfect for. Atop a small hill, you can see for miles. There are little turnstile gates to go through to get to the best view point but there is no entrance fee, it's entirely free and you can wander up there any time of the day or night.

The 5* Hilton Hotel, Castle District Budapest

I must say I wasn't impressed with the Hilton, Budapest at all. We booked and paid for the room in advance then as we were checking in, they were really going for the hard sell. Did we want a different room with a better view for €25 extra per night? We selected 'no' for breakfast, did we want to change our mind for €28 PER PERSON, PER MORNING?! Urm.. nah. It came across incredibly desperate and immediately left a bad taste in our mouths. To make things worse, they asked if they could swipe my card as a guarantee, didn't mention a deposit or anything of the sort, then 10 minutes later I receive a text from my bank that they've debited €30. That was 6 days ago and they still haven't released the funds!

The room itself was huge, with two double beds (unnecessary), but dated and not particularly clean. There were fruit pips and pills on the floor when we arrived, still there when we left. Even the location wasn't amazing, it was pretty close to the river but up about 500 steps which we didn't realise and made getting home in the evenings a real chore- taxi's there are an absolute rip off so the choice is either be robbed by a 'driver' or do a heavy workout!

In my opinion the Hilton was definitely not worth even half of the €450 per night full price room cost! The setting was beautiful, the Hilton common areas were grand, such as the entrance and the lobby but the place is well over priced, they're hell bent on conning you even once you've paid for your room and the location is not the best. Would not go back.

Keep an eye out for more posts about our time in Budapest and read all my travel diaries here!