I spent a few days at the Pullman Budapest for work. With the Sofitel not reopened, this is currently the only Accor property in the city which is listed as 5*.
There is a lot to like about the hotel. First, its location is great - stone throw away from the Opera and Andrassy street, about 10-15 minutes walk to Deak Ferenc ter for the airport bus, Parliament, and Vaci street (the city's main pedestrian street, not hugely interesting in itself but which connects the main market and famous Gerbeaud cafe and just behind the Danube.
The hotel, which effectively comprises two buildings joined together by internal bridges (so you can't really notice it is two buildings unless you pay attention) is the former Hard Rock hotel and you can see it in its slightly groovy decor. Rooms are in excellent state of repair and feels fresh and modern.
I have status with Accor and was kindly given an upgrade to a junior suite which was much appreciated and I also found reception staff very nice.
The junior suite itself was large and comfortable with excellent bedding and coffee machine, a dining table and sits at the corner of the second building.
There are a number of things I liked a little less. For instance, whilst the room was very large, I did not think that space was used particularly well. The full dining table is impressive, but to be honest I would have preferred a sofa (there wasn't any). The shower room was very large but empty. There would have been plenty of place to put a bathtub which would be very nice on cooler evenings but there was only a (nice) shower).
Another thing I wasn't a fan on was that the building - at least on my floor - is encased in a metal structure. So whilst you have a lot of windows, you can';t see much of a view as it feels like there is that grid all around which is a little claustrophobic. I get why they do that - it probably prevents the sun from making the room too hot in the summer but being there in April it felt like a shame. The issue was compounded by the fact that you cannot open any of the windows to any of the extent. I asked at reception (as they just seem locked) but was told it is hotel policy and no room has windows that open (which struck me as odd as I thought some rooms had balconies?) This felt a little claustrophobic and not very pleasant.
Whilst reception staff was super nice, I thought housekeeping was a little hit and miss. Every time housekeeping saw me they asked "do you NEED your room cleaned today?" and looked disappointed when I say yes. The hotel gives you a choice to skip cleaning through a card in a room if you want, I didn't, and I found the questions a bit insistent and odd for a hotel which bills itself as 5*. Additionally, there hotel offers turndown in the evening but I only got it on half of the nights I was there for no obvious reason. Not a huge deal obviously, but given the competition for high end hotels in Budapest it is a bit of a shame to miss consistency.
Hotel food and drink was also a little underwhelming. The breakfast buffet is reasonably generous, but very repetitive and to my mind misses more Hungarian options (there is szalami and Debrecen sausages, cottage cheese, bee pollen and one Hungarian omelette which is not on the menu but which you can ask). The rest is fairly standard, with the quality of bread and fruit as well as juices mediocre, though coffee is decent (Nespresso). I would have really liked more Hungarian cured meats or cheese, Hungarian palacsinta rather than US style pancakes etc.
For other meals, the restaurant is "Italian American". I'm sure that this can be an attractive offer to locals, but if I am honest, as a foreign visitor to one of the countries with the greatest gastronomies in Europe, this is about the last thing I am interested in finding! I realise that pretty much every other high end hotel I have stayed at in Budapest offered at least some classic or contemporary Hungarian options and the hotel may have felt this was a good way to differentiate itself, but I'll admit that for my personal taste this was not a good idea and I would have preferred them to offer at least some more local options (again, not necessarily in "classic" versions but at least local ingredients or inspirations).
The hotel doesn't have a pool, sauna or hammam (again, a bit of a shame in this particular city) though it offers a gym. It was supposed to have a rooftop bar I was looking forward to visiting but unfortunately it is apparently permanently closed.
In short, in many ways, this is a very good hotel in an excellent location and for instance, if I wanted to stay in the area and/or stay in an Accor property I would choose it again as I think it is the best Accor has to offer in the city. However, if I was looking for the "luxury" end of Budapest hotels, I may well choose a different option (some were priced very similarly on my dates) as this one doesn't fully seems to fit in that category as things stand.
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