Matild Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Budapest

This hotel is beautiful. The room was a very nice blend of classic charm and modern convenience. The bathroom is luxurious. The included breakfast buffet was delicious with many options to choose from. The in-house restaurant, Spago, was beyond excellent. We had Beef Wellington done perfectly and a nice selection of sushi. This hotel deserves 6 stars.

Beautiful hotel close to the Elizabeth Bridge in Budapest. Ideally located for all the major Budapest sights. Lots of excellent restaurants close by including Spago.

This was my first visit to Budapest, and for a trip anchored around fine dining—specifically reservations at Stand and Salt (a combined three Michelin stars)—I wanted the assurance of consistent luxury. As a Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, choosing a Luxury Collection property felt like the right introduction to the city. Add Christmas season, and everything felt touched with a little extra magic. --- 👁️ VIDĒ! — SEE Matild Palace is breathtaking, especially at night when the building glows against the city. The location is flawless—fully walkable in every direction, with postcard views of Erzsébet Bridge just outside. It’s the kind of setting that immediately makes you feel connected to Budapest. From Room 513, one of the rooftop Loft Rooms, the city unfolds beautifully after dark. Across the street sit two palaces: the luminous Párisi Udvar Hotel and the soon-to-open St. Regis, already teasing a future return. The loft itself carried a strong artistic soul, which felt intentional once I learned the history: "Princess Maria Klotild of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha allowed her creative friends to shape distinctive spaces at the roof level so they could be inspired by the city." That legacy still lingers. The books scattered throughout the room enchanted me so deeply that I purchased a few—there was no chance I could read them all. One thing to note, this particular room is not designed for you to work. There isn't a desk and the bed will prevent you from being productive. It is made for relaxing. --- 👅 GUSTĀ! — TASTE On the culinary side, room service became my loyal companion. I ordered the Hungarian breakfast every morning. Though breakfast was included, the bed made it nearly impossible to leave, so dining in felt like the obvious choice. My first night, arriving late and unwilling to venture out, I tried Spago by Wolfgang Puck. Perhaps it was the dish I selected, but it missed the mark for me. I’ll absolutely give it another try—what I do know is that Budapest is not a city where culinary disappointment lasts long. At The Duchess rooftop bar, Tuesdays bring an intimate tasting experience focused on Hungarian spirits. Cozy, educational, and dangerously charming. Unicum, in particular, is powerful enough to cure nearly anything. I even challenged the bartender to create a Hungarian Sazerac—and it delivered. Smooth, bold, and the perfect aperitif before my unforgettable dinner at Stand. --- 🤚🏾 TANGĒ! — TOUCH The room was very spacious, clearly designed for vacation rather than work. There is no desk, which made a few virtual meetings a bit of a challenge—I used the table and made it work. A minor inconvenience in a room meant for living, not labor. The bathroom, dressed in a calming spa-blue, felt indulgent. The soaking tub inside the shower, however, continues to confuse me. I spent more time than I care to admit trying to prevent the shower water from filling the tub! I visited the Ocean Spa Budapest for a reflexology treatment. They graciously fit me in on short notice, and I promptly fell asleep on the table. Turkish bath treatments tempted me, but the bed ultimately won. --- 🌙 DORMĪ! — SLEEP And then there was the bed. The bed and pillows were everything—the kind that completely envelops you. I slept deeply, effortlessly, and every morning felt like a negotiation with gravity. Getting out of that bed was truly a struggle. --- 🖤 Final Impression The service throughout the hotel was impeccable—kind, professional, warm, and proactive. The concierge securing my reservations at Stand and Salt during the holiday season set the tone for a seamless stay. Three nights passed far too quickly. I left well-rested, inspired, and already plotting my return.

Hello Ms. Pinter, Our family enjoyed an incredible stay at the Matild Palace. The palace is just spectacular, incorporating architectural details of what was a residential palace in the center of the city, but is also very modern and tech forward. It is simply stunning, down to the last detail. The rooms are equally as beautiful and well-designed. Even more memorable was the wonderful service at the Matild. Of particular note, Luka at guest services was so genuinely warm and helpful. The very lovely staff added to our experience. We enjoyed the fantastic Spago breakfast each morning This is an extraordinary hotel stay, not to be missed!

Our final three nights in Europe at the Matild Palace Budapest were largely wonderful — with an upgrade to a fantastic One Bedroom Suite with balcony, great air con eventually, great F&B, great concierge service. But we also had some woefully uneven service, missed turndown, and very surprising service fails during our final dinner at the hotel’s Spago restaurant. #budapest #luxurycollection #matildpalace #suiteupgrade #prearrivalupgrade #airconfail #airconsuccess #unevenservice #spago The hotel pre-upgraded me to the One Bedroom Suite, the hotel’s third biggest suite category, several weeks before our stay. Very impressive. That’s about a US$4000 upgrade value. #AmbassadorStatusMatters The hotel concierge pre-arrival commmunication was fantastic. They had planned an amazing day trip excursion by helicopter to Tokaj, including visits and tastings to the top 3 Tokaj wineries. Sadly, this was canceled the moment we arrived early morning at the heliport on our final day in Budapest due to risky weather conditions en route, and we couldn’t reschedule since we were flying home the next day. The One Bedroom Suite was fantastic. A spacious living room with small balcony, a lovely bedroom, and a very spacious bathroom. The biggest weaknesses were the closets/storage being in the entry foyer and not the bedroom and, for my husband at least, the living room furniture mostly looking into the room and not the windows/views. Otherwise, shower pressure was great. WiFi was a solid 50 Mbps up and down, and the automated toilet was great. The suite was very quiet and had great noise insulation other than from the rare passing sirens, pretty impressive for a hotel right on a major city thoroughfare. We loved the generous welcome amenity of just about every suggestion I’d mentioned on my pre-arrival checklist: a charcuterie tray, a fruit plate, chocolate covered strawberries, and chocolates. Very impressive. There also was plenty of bottled water and a fan (that ended up not working) with extension cord. The air con was the biggest issue on arrival, something they didn’t seem to take too seriously. The bedroom was 69 F while the living room was 66 F. I asked them to fix the bedroom air con while we were at dinner that first night, but they didn’t. I asked them again to fix it while we were out exploring the city the next day, but they didn’t again. I also had asked them to replace the fan, which wasn’t working. They never did. I finally told them to fix the bedroom air con or I’d have to change rooms or change hotels — and suddenly they got right on it and fixed it within an hour. While I was grateful they fixed it, it was a major service fail to me. I asked for a credit for the fail on the first night, but they didn’t offer anything. Regardless, we were grateful for the very nice upgrade. This was the story of the hotel service overall: mostly reactive and not particularly proactive. It’s the one area where the hotel needs better polish and better management IMO. The next big service miss was the hotel trying to be proactive by replenishing our welcome amenities. Very generous — but the attendant ignored our DND light to do it. Twice. I was rather stunned, to be honest. That’s a no-no for any hotel, but especially for a luxury brand. I called down to make sure they didn’t do it again and was met with the sincerest apologies. They offered a room service meal of our choice by way of service recovery, but we never had the chance to use that. Breakfast at Spago was excellent — after I complained our first morning that we’d been ignored after being seated. It took almost 10 minutes before anyone approached us for water. After that episode, the service was much improved. The buffet was outstanding, and the menu options were great. The manager even found me cranberry juice from the bar, and they brought it to me every morning thereafter. That’s the kind of proactive service I’d expect from a proper luxury hotel. Otherwise, we had a great stay. Until the last night, anyway. We had a very disappointing dinner service experience at their Spago restaurant, followed by a return to our room to find they’d missed turndown. Again, a luxury hotel no-no. They apologized and offered turndown, but we were waking up too early to bother waiting. A disappointing end, to be sure. The food at Spago was great. Service was the issue. The server suggested a wine by the glass that turned out to be US$80. Talked about getting bilked. Server completely disappeared after the meal was served. Water refills became non existent. It took almost a half hour to even get the bill after asking twice. They wouldn’t accept cash as part of the payment. It wasn’t good service by any measure. My husband also had a very nice massage in their spa. So it was a mixed story of the highest highs and some pretty low lows with regard to service for us. We certainly would return. But we also might consider other options. We wouldn’t return to Spago, however.