So tell me, tell me, what do you think? This was one of our most fun projects so far! For me, at least, for husband also a bit challenging, but i love how it turned out! The week we visited Budapest, just some days before our trip, i saw Dax and Kristen´s music video and i loved it! I remember calling @me_and_mango and telling him we should do the same with the Budapest song. It tooked me a while to convince him, but 2 weeks later, here we are. Ahm, and also to mention that my sister had the exact same thought the moment she saw it on Ellen, oh, life, you´re so lovely sometimes :)

Now, back to business, if you´ve seen Wes Anderson´s The Grand Budapest Hotel movie and were wondering where the real hotel is, i might have found it. Yes, in Budapest, where else? ;)

I´m talking about Boscolo Hotel, with a stunning architecture and one beautiful New York Café.

But despite an unbearable resemblance with the one in the movie, i wanted to discover something else, that place in Budapest, that really brings you to a whole other level of coolness, urban sophistication and, like the movie, creates that magic je ne sais quoi..

and guess what, i actually succeeded!

I found 2 hotels, both quirky and visually stunning, one for each side of the Danube, Buda and Pest. And as i couldn´t decide which one i liked better, husband and i visited both.

I´ll start with the first, Baltazar, a cool boutique hotel surrounded by cobblestone streets, a hidden sakura alley, a nice square, Mattias Church and Fisherman´s Bastion. It is located in the Buda side of the city, in the fancy Castle district and it has 11 cool, individually-themed rooms and suites. We were lucky enough to have room number 12 (i know, i just said there are only 11 rooms, but the numbers don´t match the amount of rooms ;). It is a Keith Haring inspired loft suite for 4 with so many awesome details, i can´t even count. Ok, i´ll mention some, the brick wall, the heart drawing on it, all the vintage lamps and tables, the high ceiling, L´Occtinate toiletries, the huge windows..man, we loved everything!

I also enjoyed the library looking like wallpaper and the velvety sofa in front of it, you just saw it in the video, we had so much fun lip sync-ing there ;)

Yes, what else? Ahm, the breakfast downstairs, in the Grill restaurant was very nicely presented, we had the French breakfast bundle while talking to lovely Zsófi, from PR about the hotel and its owners, the Zsidai Family. These guys are great, they run several of Budapest´s top restaurants, like Pierrot, near to the hotel or the Opera Café. They´ll even open another small luxury boutique hotel in summer, yay!

My rating: 9´5

My review:

Booking rating: 9´3
affordable, excellent location, yet a very quite and magical neighborhood with great connection, the bus station is on the corner.
perfectly decorated rooms, comfy, spacious (our loft was 60m²)
the heat works just great (i´m very picky when it comes to that, i´m usually cold)
friendly staff

Curiosity: Baltazar used to be a print factory, cute!

Tipp: the best price is 140, but for 62 euros more you can book the loft, room number 33, it has this beautiful painting, Johannes Vermeer inspired Girl with the pearl. Otherwise, if you go with your family or in a group of 4, book our room, number 12 ;)

Now, we would´ve left beautiful Baltazar even sadder than we were, if it wasn´t because we knew Brody House awaited us.

Located on the opposite side of the Danube, Brody House is the most bohemian place i´ve ever seen and Pest´s best kept secrets, with unique rooms and artistic vibes in an old building that takes you back to the late-19th-century.

There is a total of 11 rooms, each different and decorated with the work of contemporary artists, the furniture is a mixture between antique and recycled, the walls are decadent, and the courtyard, oh, that courtyard with hanging ivy on the walls...

If you´ve been following me on Snapchat during my stay in Budapest you´ve also might have seen the member´s club and its honesty bar. I mean, how cool is that? We saw the lounge area in the evening, it was empty, just the two of us, the fireplace, mismatched vintage chairs, lilies and apple-cinnamon tea... The front desk is open from 8 am to 8 pm, but you can still use the member´s club after that, that´s why it´s called the honesty bar. In the morning we had a great breakfast there with lots of fresh fruit, muesli, a cheese plate and hundreds of pictures. I couldn´t help it, i mean, no one could, really ;)

Besides, The Brody House Group also venues The Brody Apartments, Villa, Studios and ArtYard, yeap, they´re great ;)

The word hipster doesn´t even make it justice, Brody is beyond that, it´s different, eclectic, it´s,

Budapest´s multicultural bohemian hub, according to The Guardian.

My rating: 9´5

My review:

Booking rating: 9´4
affordable, excellent location, on a quiet street in the Jewish Quarter with great connection (tram and subway)
perfectly decorated rooms, high ceilings, comfy, spacious (our room was 33m²)
the heat works just great, the floor in the bathroom is heated, oh, what a great invention!
cool staff

Curiosities:

there is no lift or TV, you might find it bizarre at first, but it perfectly suites the atmosphere
the building with its magnificent marble columns used to be a doctor´s residence.
the tiniest room is called Eszter´s Shoe Box and it´s only 12m²
each room has a little bottle on the door with the name written on it

Tipp: the cheapest room is only 70 euros, but i suggest you book ours, Tinei, for 120 euros the night. It´s one of the favorites and it has this gold painted bathtub in the middle, loved it! Also great is The Print Suite for 4 people.

So, do these 2 boutique hotels have the spirit of The Grand Budapest Hotel, or what?

My goal for this trip was to write a review of the best places to stay and i hope i succeeded. The only thing is that i kinda twisted my ankle and we had to go back home earlier, although we had a reservation at a lovely place, apartment 37, from Hi5 Apartments, very close to Brody House. Hope to be back soon and try it ;)

Now, the big question? Which one do you like most? I suggest you stay in each, they´re different, but both so very awesome! I call them the B hotels (best hotels in Budapest: Baltazar and Brody)