Hotel choice

Neither hotel is in a great location for a first visit to Budapest. If you are the type that eats, then goes home and sleeps neither is horrible. If you want to enjoy the evening in town, both come up short.

The Nemzeti is undergoing exterior renovation. I would be sure that's done first. Visions is on the river, but not the sweetest address on the river. But everyone is different. I presume you read the hotel post on the forum and they didn't light your fire. So Visions if you are only staying 3 nights and Nemzeti if you are staying longer.... just my vote, only on location.

We loved staying at the Queen's Court Hotel in the Jewish Quarter last September. We had a lovely room with a small balcony. The location is excellent! And the included breakfast buffet (with custom ordered eggs) is one of the most stellar breakfasts we have had anywhere.
https://queenscourthotelbudapest.com/

Thank you both for your input. The difficulty is finding a hotel which meets my criteria and my sisters (which is budget), and have read previous posts regarding hotel choice, so any suggestions as to location greatly appreciated. The Queens Court Hotel, whilst lovely, does not fall into the budget criteria. But, the Radisson Basilica does.Mr E’s posts have been fantastic and really appreciate his local knowledge. Is the Nemzeti in a safe area, I have read conflicting opinions?

The Nemzeti is in a safe area, not a real pretty or convenient area though. But you could do worse. There isn't an unsafe area in Budapest that a tourist is likely to wander into. There is one street not far from the hotel you might want to avoid after dark, not because its not safe, but after dark you might feel uncomfortable.

I looked at the prices next March at the Nemzeti and you should be able to match them along Andrassy ut. Some hotels like the UpHotel arent selling for March yet. Some like the Oktogon might be cheaper.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/budapest-updated-hotel-list

The average March temps are 35F to 57F. This past March was a bit cooler than the average. During the hours you are likely to br in the room, I suspect you may not want to open the windows.

Another budget hotel is the Medosz. See what tgey charge for the top floor rooms with the terrace.

The Radisson Basilica is in an area thick with tourists but of the 3 you listed, the best located. I am surprised its in the same price catagory as the others.

thank you Mr E. I appreciate your local knowledge. Have managed to convince my travel companions, the extra money for the Radisson will be worth it. As for sleeping with windows open, even temps around what you mentioned is not a deterrent. I really have no idea about Budapest, so this website and people’s input is invaluable

One of the pleasures of Budapest is you can often get more for less. That Radison would cost you close to twice the price in much of Western Europe.

https://www.radissonhotels.com/hu-hu/szallodak/radisson-collection-basilica-budapest?facilitatorId=RHGSEM&cid=a%3Aps+b%3Aggl+c%3Aemea+i%3Ageneric+e%3Arad+d%3Acesee+r%3Abrt+f%3Ahi-HU+g%3Aho+h%3AHUBUDBSL+v%3Acf&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23689429433&gclid=Cj0KCQjw77bPBhC_ARIsAGAjjV-T-9tcNJL6I4IrpuBQ9A-JiOi1nSdy9vowBnD3A23vKFjwgrmFDZcaAj_7EALw_wcB&gallery=open&galleryId=HotelGalleryList%7CHeroRegion&mediaId=gallery-overview-0

We are just returned from four nights at the RS-recommended K+K Opera Hotel. It is very nice. Decent price. Good buffet breakfast. Very convenient to all the sites and public transportation. Good restaurants within 5-10 minutes. Great dessert cafe a block away: Művész Coffee House (Artist Cafe). No balcony though.
Also, I highly recommend a private Intro to Budapest tour by Gabor, through Withlocals. His English is great, and he really knows city, its history, and the country's history. He's lived in the US and Europe, and used that experience to provide extra context about some sites and history. He offers other tours as well. I've had great luck with Withlocals tours in Verona, Madrid (2) and Ljubljana.

It is impossible to find a better located hotel than the K+K. Its the first place i stayed in Budapest in 2001 and I stayed in it a few times over the years after that.

Being a RS recommended anything never did much to influence me ... except once when I stayed in the hotel in Buda (first mistake) that he featured in his video on Budapest. It was horrible. So much so that it is now gone.

Having stayed in so few hotels in Budapest I can't recommend anything but location so read the reviews of the others in the same area and I suspect you will make a good decision.