Four Seasons Gresham Palace Budapest

Stayed here for a long wet winter weekend. Weather was foul, but hotel was a gorgeous refuge from the cold - we warmed up after sightseeing in the spa jacuzzi every day.

Had fallen in love with the picture of the chandelier and the mosaic tiled atrium on the web and in reality the entrance hall was even more beautiful. The attention to detail of the restoration is breathtaking, especially the mosaics and the stained glass.

Rooms are small-ish but very comfortable, with underfloor heating making the marble bathrooms cosy. Staff are young, bright and attentive. Great room service menu.

One warning - cheaper rooms look directly onto the central light well. This is beautifully decorated but book a more expensive room if your claustrophobia means you need to see the outside world. But take care which one as there is construction going on next door.

A phenomenal renovation of a landmark building, and the lobby is one of a kind in its architecture, scale and originality.

Front desk staff do not remember guests' names, and do not offer as high a level of service as at other FS properties.

Incredibly helpful and charming health club staff, supervising a beautiful if smallish pool, and reasonably equipped gym.

Rooms are on the small side for Four Seasons, but exude quality.

Worth the extra money for a special stay. Great rooms, facilities and service. What all 5 star hotels should be. A perfect mix of old style with new facilities.

After reading several top reviews about this hotel on Trip Advisor, my wife and I spent 4 nights at this fabulous hotel from December 30 through January 4th.

I can not begin to describe how good this hotel is in every way - from its location, to the decor, to the details, to the food, to unbelievable staff and customer service..........everything about this hotel was perfect.

First of all, the building used to be a palace, and it still feels like one. Old and beautiful, yet elegant and quite sofisticated. We had the "Bed and Breakfast" package, and the food was excellent.....and they gave us an allowance that equaled the most expensive breakfast items on the menu, so we had it exactly how we wanted every day.

Everybody spoke perfect english, the staff was very helpful, the concierge helped us every day making reservations, setting up tours, giving us advice, etc. etc. The rooms were beautifully decorated, comfy beds, big bathrooms -- typical Four Seasons.

My wife and I travel all over the world, and we've stayed at most of the Four Seasons, and we both feel that the Grisham Palace is the best Four Seasons in the world -- period.

Book it!!!!

Colin & Nikol Weeks

Newport Beach, CA

We stayed here in early December 2004 and we couldn't fault the hotel. As always with Four Seasons, the service was impeccable throughout our stay.

Our room was spotless and the huge double bed with Egyptian cotton sheets ensured we had the best nights sleep for ages. So much so, that we bought some new bedding when we returned home.

Definately recommend this hotel if your budget can stretch this far.

We cannot adequately find the words to describe this most wonderfully situated and beautifully restored hotel on the banks of the River Danube. The ambience of the hotel mirrored the friendliness and warmth with which the staff catered for our every need. Our room was very spacious and had a fantastic view of the Danube, the Royal Palace, and the Chain Bridge. On the top floor there is also a small gym and a swimming pool, which is very useful if you decide to eat at the hotel restaurant, as the food was superb too! We cannot praise this hotel high enough! Go and find out for yourself!!

Travelled with friends to Budapest this past summer.From the moment we arrived everything about this hotel was absoulutely fantastic! The staff incredibly friendly, the rooms lovely. Our room was facing the river and we had a spectacular view of the Castle and Chain Bridge. I would go back in a heartbeat!!!

What a wonderful place to stay. As was explained to me, the hotel used to be a private residency for the aristocrats in Budapest (aka Gresham Palace) before being converted into a FS.

The decor, service, hotel restaurants, and rooms were impeccable. The location is ideal as it is across from the Chain Bridge (which you will want to cross to visit the Royal Palace and other sites on the Buda side of Budapest). It is also a two minute walk to the Danube where you can enjoy all the restaurants and cafe's along the river front.

The only drawback, which is not the FS fault, is that they are building/renovating/tearing down a huge new buildingon the north side of the building. Naturally, this is where my room was so I had a lousy view (despite advertized as a room with a view of the Danube) and jackhammers for my daily wake up call. It looks like this building is going to take some time to complete so I wouldn't be surprised if they are still working on it into '05.

If this bothers you, I suggest contacting them and trying to secure a room on a different side of the hotel.

Otherwise, this was the nicest (and not the most expensive) of any hotel I've stayed in Europe.

We just returned from Budapest and our stay was wonderful. We stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace from August 11-16th and could not have imagine staying anywhere else. When you enter the lobby your breath will be taken away.

The rooms are not as big as some of the other FS properties we have stayed in, but you come to expect smaller rooms in Europe. However, the rooms are beautifully decorated and the bathrooms are very opulent and spacious.

The pool/spa area is not to be missed. You have to see it to believe the exceptional decor even if you don't go to exercise.

We ate all of our breakfast and dinner meals at the hotel as they were included in our Formula One Grand Prix package (we went to Budapest to see the Hungarian Grand Prix). The food is exceptional. We loved the Caesar salads and had most of the desserts before we left. We had our choice of anything off the menu and the service is unparalleled.

One thing to mention...there is major construction going on to the right of the hotel. Our first room overlooked the construction. Though we had a balcony, we asked to be moved. The room we moved to was smaller and did not have a balcony, but we enjoyed our stay nevertheless. Just make sure you ask if there is construction as we were never told of this.

We stayed at the Four Seasons July 5-9 as part of our honeymoon and fell in love with the place. I cannot praise this gorgeous gem highly enough but will try. You know you are staying in a great place when tours come by to take pictures of it. Anyway, we stayed in their baseline room which is quite roomy and comfortable, with attractive darkwood furnishings and one of the best bathrooms I have ever seen. Nothing but high end finishes and great attention to detail; it is as if they got 10 world class interior designers together and held a contest or something.

On the top floor they have about the coolest swimming pool and spa area I have seen. Artistic is the best way to describe it, with an elevated swimming pool where the water cascades (appears to be overflowing), a nice view of the city, and some nice pale-green finishes to match the pool.

The hotel itself is beautiful inside and out. It is second in beauty only to the Grand Waillea resort in Maui from my experience.

Service was absolutely flawless. Marta at the conceirge desk was wonderful, giving many nice suggestions and particularly helpful in arranging a last-minute round of golf at a great links course called Pannonia. They also surprised us with a bottle of MOET and some delicious chocolate covered strawberries on our first night.

They have a nice lounge area where we ended a couple of our nights, sharing a delicious cheese plate with a bottle of good Cabernet. The food in the main restaraunt is particularly good-I highly recommend the lamb chops.

In short, an extraordinary traveling experience!!!