The Grand is Budapest's largest hotel, and its core has been in operation since 1915. A modern extension to the building has resulted in an eight-story, 499-bedroom hotel. It’s located on the main road leading to the Erzsebet Bridge, with an easy walk into the centre of the city. The metro station is only a two-minute walk away, if you prefer to save those legs. If you’ve travelled by car, you can make use of the secured car parking (there may be a small fee for this service).
The hotel is a virtual shopping centre, and in the foyer, you’ll find a travel agency, gift shops, car rental, and florist. There’s a beauty and health centre with a sauna, gym, beauty salon, and therapeutic massage services. If you want to eat "in," then you can make use of one of the two restaurants or the lobby bar, which does afternoon teas.
We only used the hotel for breakfast, and this was a magnificent feast in a massive hall of a breakfast room. Virtually everything you could want for breakfast was on the buffet. All manner of cereals, varieties of bread, croissants, and a nice range of pastries were there to be tried. There was a range of different meats and cheeses that made me think I’d entered a delicatessen. Fresh fruit was available, and if you wanted a cooked breakfast, that too was available from the buffet. I did eat the cooked breakfast, but like many large hotels, this had been prepared in mass. If you gauged your arrival time right, it was fine, but if it had "sat there" for any length of time, it acquired the taste that requires lashings of sauce to make it palatable. Tea and coffee were in ample supply, and you could refill your plate or your cup as many times as your digestive system would allow.
The bedrooms were a good size, although our sons, who shared a room with twin beds, benefited from the addition of a good-size sitting area (enough for all four of us to enjoy a game of cards or plan the next day’s itinerary over a cup of coffee, made from the ample supply in the room’s tea- and coffee-making facilities). Although our rooms, with a very small balcony, overlooked the main road, the double-glazed windows offered total soundproofing, and the air conditioning meant that we didn’t need to open the windows. The suite was roomy and well-supplied, and room service was very attentive. Each day, the towels were replaced and additional soaps and shampoos provided.
The main reception lobby has a charming sense of old world decadence, and the seating areas provided great chances to enjoy a coffee whilst people watching.
My main criticism of the hotel is that the decor did feel a bit tired, and it was a little out-of-town, in a region that needs considerable work to bring it up to speed.