This report is long overdue but here is a short (ha!) trip report about my 5-night solo travels in Budapest from October 6 through October 11.
Getting There:
I had just spent three weeks in Romania and so I flew from Bucharest to Budapest on TAROM Airlines which is the Romanian national airline. It was a very pleasant experience. I've flown TAROM twice now; this flight and they also operated the second leg of my flight to Bucharest from Schiphol Airport. The flight went well and left on time. Just about every bag larger than a small personal bag was gate-checked as it was a small plane with only 18 seats.
Arrival in Budapest:
As soon as I got off the plane, everything went quickly. It was an easy walk through the airport. I headed for the “Nothing into Declare" exit, then walked outside towards the 100E bus, which is an airport bus that heads into the city. There were signs indicating where it was, although I did have to make a quick pit stop along the way.
Soon I was standing in line for the bus outside. I didn't get a ticket since anyone over 65 can ride for free. That was good as I avoided the very long line of travelers inside waiting to buy tickets at the counter. I don't think they realized you can tap and pay when you board. When the bus pulled up and the line started getting on, I was asked for a ticket, but I told him I was a senior and over 65. He smiled and nodded me on board.
The bus was crowded but I managed to get a seat, and we were soon on our way. The ride took about 45 minutes overall. My stop was at the Deák Ferenc tér M station. From there it’s a 15 minute walk to the hotel I booked. I could have switched to the Metro at Deák Ferenc, which would have gotten me close to my hotel but decided against it. It was beautiful outside and I felt like walking, I was glad I decided to do that. I literally gaped as I walked along and was amazed at how beautiful the city was. The buildings were gorgeous with interesting touches of color and decor, and the architecture was just exquisite. There were loads of people out, and I saw lots of shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Eventually I turned onto Andrássy, which is one of the main streets of the downtown area, and loaded with trees, beautiful buildings and really fancy shops like Gucci and Jimmy Choo. The Hungarian State Opera was along the street as well, and only a block or so from my hotel.
Hotel Medos (aka Hotel Medosz):
TexasTravelMom had mentioned this place to me and it looked nice so I booked it (she has not stayed there but booked it for a later trip). The clerks were very friendly and I was soon ensconced in my fourth-floor room. I love that the windows open! The room and bathroom were both quite large. The room had open shelves, a double bed, a small sofa, and a large desk, and the bathroom (with a shower) was quite large, too.
That said, I wound up being in two different rooms because of a wifi issue. My first room could not access the wifi router for some reason. I tried everything, and it worked when I went down to breakfast or sat in the lobby, so I knew it wasn’t my phone. The hotel was very accommodating, however, and moved me to a different room on the seventh floor where the wifi worked fine. It had the same spaciousness; albeit a little bit different configuration but I liked it and it was closer to the elevator.
Overall, I would not hesitate to stay here again. It was in a wonderful location—only a few blocks from the opera, the Oktagon metro station, and there were loads of restaurants, wine bars, and cafes nearby. It was very quiet and the price was quite reasonable—only €93.60 per night, which included a HUGE breakfast. Seriously, their breakfast was amazing. They had two coffee machines, lots of fruit and vegetables, pastries, wonderful breads, hot food, cheeses, eggs served several ways and lots of sausage and dried meat options.