Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest - Budapest, Hungary     

Excellent hotel with a great room and comfortable bed. Not quite as good as the Kempinski in Moscow. Good and helpful service with knowledgeable concierge. Well located for access to the shops, river and basilica. Biggest shortcoming was the Spa and Pool. The pool was small and the facilities could not cope with the number of guests at prime time. Restaurant facilities and menu were limited but fantastic Sunday brunch made up for this. Excellent breakfast. Would happily stay here again.

So, if I was a business travel, visiting Budapest for a conference, this hotel would be fantastic. Think Holiday Inn but a little bit nicer. Corporate but cold is a good description. The rooms even come with a mini roll of scotch tape and a highlighter. For a romantic break, steer clear. I am sure when the hotel opened in the early 90s the grey tiled exterior was ultra modern and hip. Apparenly Madonna stayed here when filming Evita. 15 years on its tired and dated. It looks strangely out of place beside the much more sympathetic structure of the Le Meridien next door on an almost historic square. The neigbouring hotels, not least Le Meridien, but also the Four Seasons, Sotitel, or for a little further afield, New York or the Royal Palace all look fantastic and look like they would provide a service on a completely new level to what Kempinski can offer. We had a fantastic (even if a little confusing) rate. We were charged €96 per night on a 'stay 3 nights and get forth night free'. When we queried this however as we had paid for 7 nights with none free, we were told that the free night is within the discounted rate. The airport Zona taxi took us to the hotel for about £11 which was fantastic. The staff were courteous. The room (later discovered as upgraded) which was located on 4th floor was a good size and the bathroom came with both bath and shower. The toilet itself was within a shower like glass cubical which was strange. The oddest feature was the double bed. I know many hotels use two singles to make a double bed but I have never experienced a double room that has separate sheets and duvets for each side of the bed, it was very uncomfortable. They wouldn’t change our room without downgrading us so we were stuck with it. The most disappointing feature was the spa, our main reason for choosing the hotel. Their website gives the impression of a vast luxurious space. It is small. The pool (although well appointed with whirlpool, swimming jets and massage jets) is much too small (and cold) to swim in. There is a steam room, sauna and aroma therapy room. Pictures led me to believe there was an ice bath; it is literally a small sink that people can plunge their hands into. The hotel boasts a number of restaurants. We chose not to eat there. At €30 per head for breakfast, it was more expensive than most of the meals we had for dinner. They included 2 courses and wine, and we were eating in good venues! We did sample their afternoon tea, which was not a bad attempt but not great and certainly not up to the standards of their London contemporaries. On a plus there is free wifi in the reception area and free cabled internet access in the rooms. The so-called 'state of the art entertainment system' was little more than the standard TV system in most hotels but it did give access to internet via a remote control keyboard. Is this hotel 5 star standard? Probably yes. Would I class tis as a world hotel alongside the Ritz as 'one of the leading hotels in the world?', probably not. Quick word of advice, when we checked out we asked for a taxi, the hotel's chosen taxi company charged double that of the airport's Zona cabs. I have never known of this before, it’s normally the other way round. The hotel will book a Zona cab for you though.