Budapest Hilton by Graeme Harwood

My favourite and first port of call whenever I return to Budapest, this Hilton must rank in the Hilton’s top ten. Even 007 lost his cool here; that is, Roger Moore, who in a moment of implausible generosity, gushed over “this wonderful hotel – the prettiest in Europe.”

So what’s all the excitement about? Well, it’s not about the usual Hilton plethora of tagged and jolly functionaries, attracted to its 21 Function Rooms, nor is it about the predictably bland livery, however spacious and comforting, of wherever you’re going to sleep. It’s all about the hotel’s location, its intriguing architecture, and having the best panoramic views of Budapest, bar none, through your bedroom window.

Built in 1977, renovated in 2001, from this hotel you really do feel on top of the world, as you look down over the neo-Romanesque Fishermen’s Bastion onto the massively stately neo-Gothic Parliament Building (undisputed alpha male of the Budapest skyline), and of course the full urban sweep of the Danube. All six stories of the hotel itself have been painstakingly integrated into their Unesco World Heritage surroundings, to the extent of actually incorporating the remains of a 13th-century Dominican Monastery and a 17th-century Jesuit College, originally on the site.

It probably works better in situ than looking up at it from the Pest side, but such altruism is hardly going to concern you as you savour and relish having on your doorstep the 13th-century Matthias Church, the Royal Palace and the finest after-dinner walks in Budapest. Note too that some of Budapest’s finest restaurants lurk down those medieval alleyways. You can always taxi to Pest for a casino, nightclub or restaurant but you’ll never feel so cosily ensconced anywhere in Pest as you do on Castle Hill.

When you bear in mind that this is the only upmarket hotel to offer free airport transfers, lays out one of the best buffet breakfasts in town, and will most likely have some promotional offer on the £180/$340 a night Double Bed and Breakfast for a Danube-side room (obligatory or you lose 50% of being there), and you’ll appreciate why I’m recommending you try the Budapest Hilton first of all.