The drive to Budapest showed the diversity of members of the European community. From Vienna I drove to Bratislava, then through the Slovak countryside to cross the border into Hungary at Komárno. Immediately over the border the difference between these two countries, now both members of the European Union, was startlingly evident. On the Slovak side roads were quiet, streets were empty. In Hungary all was bustle, shops were busy as were the roads. In fact Hungarian drivers were to become more of a worry as we approached Budapest.

Having driven in Italy I subscribed to the popular belief that the Italians are a Catholic nation because they rely totally on prayer and the Lord to keep them safe whilst driving, as they have an apparent total disregard for using the brakes. Well, I don’t think Hungarians know how to take their foot off the accelerators, and they make Italian drivers look cautious…

Fortunately the Art’otel is easy to find, with a prime position in Buda, on the banks of the Danube with a superb view over Pest and the Hungarian Parliament building. Facing across the busy road and tram line to the river the hotel presents an image from the riverside of a modern steel and glass building, the rooms on this frontage enjoying spectacular views over the river. To the rear it is a different story with the dining room and suites housed in vernacular buildings neatly merged into the hotel around a small courtyard area, where guests can enjoy breakfast or a beer later in the day. The rear of the hotel has views of the Castle Hill.

As a tram flashes past the camera it conceals (rollover to see) a reminder of the recent past - an abandoned Trabant left on the reservation between the tram lines and the road - not all Trabants are in Reservations yet - some still roam free....

In the older part of the hotel doors are suitably ancient with locking mechanism a mixture of modern and antique. Doors open into a skylit lobby filled with art (rollover to open the door) which is shown again looking towards this door in the image at the top of the page

In the heat of August the air conditioning was welcome, although somewhat temperamental and occasionally noisy, an observation met with an almost Gallic shrug by the reception staff, but a swift change of room. The hotel has now been open for just about four years and is wearing well, with no real signs of distress in the finishes, which speaks well for the quality of the housekeeping. It is also very busy. Having won awards as Budapest’s leading four star hotel, it is very popular with both tourists and business people, being near fully booked most of the time. Many of the tourists seem to be from the US, and there was a steady queue to use the computers in the business suite, which were set up provide free web access for guests. Fortunately battling with a Hungarian keyboard, (which has for example three different ‘U’ figures on it) kept most use brief, but it was a clear illustration of how tourists as well as business men will use the web to keep in touch with news events and friends at home, and emphasises how important a good web service from an hotel room has become.

Web access from the bedrooms was less straightforward and not free, and for many guests without a laptop or other communication device this inspired offering in the business suite of the hotel was both useful and a delight.

Within the bedrooms the simple but stylish scheme set off the artwork which was striking in black and white. The desk was an ample size to accommodate a laptop and the sockets were concealed behind a timber panel making for a tidy presentation.