Your Favorite Bpest Short Term Rental (AirBnb, VRBO, etc.)

I may not be the best judge as I have only ever used Airbnb.
I have stayed in London (twice), Paris, Germany (Nuremburg), Edenborough, Cardiff, York and Quebec City.
I have never had a bad one, but some where better than the others.
I don't mind renting a room as sometimes the hosts can be very helpful.
The host in Germany was great, the host in London the first time was "leave me alone", but not that rude.
I caught the host in Quebec city in a couple of lies, but it didn't ruin my vacation.
I continue to use them.
I agree on street name and address would be even better, because when you rely on public transportation I have found no matter how far away the place from transportation the host will always tell you it's close. The ones you know it's close is when they give an actual distance.

As far as not knowing the exact address of an Airbnb, I send the host a message asking for it. If they were to decline to provide it I would look for another place. So far everyone has given it to me.

For a while we were getting quite a few posts from people looking for a short term rental. I think they are a good idea if you want to mix some local experiences with tourism.

I was getting long list of flats with "what do you think" and I am more than happy to look at them, but personally I prefer hotels when I travel and i have a home here so I dont rent at all in Budapest and so my hands on experience with any of them is limited; except in discussing neighborhoods and transportation options to reach the tourism..

Yes, you can write each one, but thats time waiting for responses that wouldnt be necessary of a few who stayed in a flat this year would offer up information and reviews.

We recently stayed in an Air BNB that was great. The street was Eotvos Utca. It was about 2 blocks from the Oktogon Metro, in an old courtyard building with just a touch of shabbiness that seemed characteristic of Budapest. It had a King bedroom and a loft (which we did not use), and I think the living room couch was a convertible bed also. The kitchen seemed well equipped (we didn't cook) and had a washer and separate dryer with good instructions. The apartment was quiet and spotless, the bed comfy, the owners were super responsive, and we loved everything about it.
Right around the corner is a cute neighborhood coffee shop (Cosy Cafe) with a delicious breakfast.
I'm hesitant to put the complete address here- I'm not sure why they keep address hidden but I wouldn't want to get the owners in any trouble. If anyone wants it I will be glad to send it in a private message.
The name on Air BNB is "Oktogon / Andrassy Grand Luxury apartment (80m2 +) Private courtyard."

Thank you CW. Thats what I was hoping for. Much appreciated. So if the Cosy Cafe is right around the corner, the flat is as close to Nyugati as it is the Oktogon?

Regarding writing to the airbnb host to ask for the address, I didn’t intend to imply that I had to ask multiple hosts. I find an airbnb that is of the most interest to me and only have to write once.

Andrea, sure. I confess, I tend to beat where I stay to death and I would be writing a lot. But thats just me. The flat above is a good example of what bothers me about AirBnb. The listing speaks to the Oktogon but based on CW's note that the Cosy Cafe is around the corner, this flat is best described based on another landmark and I wouldnt know who to write, if only one, until I knew that. But like I said, I am picky. Here in Budapest, being picky can improve the stay, but I say that because I know too much. I made a lot of questionable choices in places that I didnt know as much about. Or in a few instances discovered on the second trip that my first trip choice wasnt as good as it could have been. Yes, again I beat these things too hard. But I am trying to get better. In the end, its being there that counts and 3 or 6 minutes additional walking isnt going to ruin that. But it is the reason for the thread.

I’ve stayed at the same Airbnb for 3 different trips to Budapest. It’s on Dob u. close to Cirkusz Cafe. The party district, so many here would not like the location. However, it’s at the back of a courtyard so only once did I hear noise late at night. It’s on the ground floor which is a huge plus for me. Perfect spot if you prefer walking over public transportation. A 10 to 15 minute walk from Deak Ferenc ter as well so very convenient for the 100e bus.
The unit has a loft bedroom which in another 10 years I probably won’t like but overall its well designed. For me the only negative is no washer/dryer. There is a wash n fold place an easy walk away for laundry, so it works well for me. It’s called “You saw all the best on foot.”

One thing I always do when looking at an airbnb is to read the reviews in hopes of someone mentioning a nearby metro stop or other landmark. When I review a place I always try to include that information. Location is very important to me and I’m sure it’s the same for most of us.

We just returned from Budapest (actually, Budapest, Vienna and Prague) and found a very nice Airbnb apartment in a very convenient location. I always read the reviews and people seemed to really love this place. However, a couple did mention that you should not be put off by the outside/entry way. While this caused me some concern, the numerous very positive reviews convinced us to go with it. Very glad we did. It was very clean and very nice. Two large suites, one on each side of a large living room and nice kitchen. (would be great for two couples) But had we not read ahead of our staying there, about the entry way, I would probably not even gone in. We in fact ended up enjoying our time there. It was close to Andrassy and Terez krt. Public transportation and restaurants and shopping all around. We felt safe there. City noise can be heard at night but did not spoil our time there. There is an elevator. Was operated by NewWave Apts. and Ben was the contact through Airbnb.

Mr. E, the AirBNB where I stayed was very close to Nyugati-, just a few blocks. We walked from there easily with luggage, after dark, when our train arrived in the city.

We stayed in an Airbnb for 4N recently in Budapest and we really liked it. The address was Liszt Ferenc tér 6. This was a 2BD apartment, the small second bedroom had a small foldout futon that we just used to put our suitcases on. It had 2 bathrooms, which is really nice when there are two people. It had a full kitchen, a nice living room area with a large couch, a small balcony with a nice view of the neighborhood, and a washing machine. It was a nice amount of space. I can't say it was very quiet as it was right above a street with lots of restaurants and one night there was a live band playing, but they stopped pretty early, so it was fine. For location, it wasn't very near main attractions like the Parliament, but it was very near a tram station. I'd say it was about a 25 minute walk to Parliament and also the Chain Bridge. I would recommend staying here especially if you don't mine being a little ways away from the main attractions. I think the location is probably also why the price was so low.

Linked to listing:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21329761?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=19abba28-a460-4f69-b43c-9e29f4187bb3

MorganMurphy, for location you cant do much better. Its less than 5 minutes to the M1 which will have you at the river in another 5 minutes. And its less than 5 minutes to the 4/6 tram that circles Pest. I think its great.

Mr. E. I kept telling Nick we needed to learn the tram system!

LOL ......,

Hello Mr. E. In April I posted this about the Airbnb we rented. Highly recommend.

Two weeks ago, we stayed in an Airbnb which was fabulous. Short walk to the Central Market, metro and many other sites. An excellent host. The view from the balcony was the best where we spent every evening. On Airbnb site it is titled Deluxe Riverside Panorama Apt.

The Airbnb is on Belgrad street. A two-minute walk to the Central Market. You look down onto the Viking River Cruise dock. Yes, Tram 2 run in front of the apartment.

charylm, I remeber. I am glad it worked out so well. Often when AirBnb rental choices come up they turn into long selection processes, I thought experiences from people like you would be helpful. We have no problem doing hotel listings on the forum, thought it was about time for flats too.

I think I mentioned this once before on another thread.

Most of the draconian anti Short-Term Rental legislation has been pulled back to a useful and constructive level. But the rules still vary by District.

All of the short-term rentals require a license. And here is where they got smart, they now all require a government inspection and will get graded as 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 star. There is a standard display that goes on the outside door showing the stars. Dont count on many 4 or 5 star as that requires daily maid service. They check for smoke detectors, CO2 detectors, fire extinguishers, clean linens and towels, general condition and the owners name and a contact number has to be posted. The inspection list is a page long.

The registration number should be in the listing. If its not there, its probably not a legal rental. I think they will be required to put the number of stars in the listing too. Not all of the inspections are complete, so not all of the flats will have the stars yet, but they should be complete by December.

For those of you uneasy about short term rental leasing because of societal concerns. Over 90% of the people in Hungary live in a home owned by one of the occupants of the home. Third highest ratio in the EU. So housing shortages aren’t a big thing here. I believe that is why the anti-AirBnb legislation was modified. It did wreck property values and those properties whose values got wrecked were the homes of Hungarian citizens.

Yes, you will be asked for your passport information. Probalby a photo. The law requires that the information be input into the government website before you occupy the flat. So dont panic if when booking they ask for it in advance.

Good Day All -
In October, '23 our group of six (two couples and two singles [all adults]; but all related by family/marriage) stayed in a four bedroom flat we found on VRBO. The unique aspect of the apartment was that each bedroom had its own bathroom. It was on the top floor in the back corner away from the street below. The building was about four or five buildings away from the Great Synagogue on Dohany Ut. (almost on the corner of Sip Ut), which is a very lively, busy street, but the location of the apartment in the building kept the apartment very quiet. The unit also had a full kitchen and a large sitting/living room. Each room was spacious, so if you were sharing the space with people you weren't necessarily always hanging out with you weren't on top of each other. We found it comfortable and the fact that the cost was split between four bedrooms made it very affordable. And, I believe we received multiple apartment keys. When looking on VRBO it is listed as "First Class Apartment, 160 sq M, 4 bedrooms & 4 bathrooms, in centre". I forget the name of the contact but he was very gracious and helpful. The location made catching a bus or tram easy and we walked to many different areas.

I've just come back from another European trip in Italy/So France and Barcelona where we stayed exclusively in AirBnb/VRBO without issue but this Budapest spot is still the best apartment I've had the pleasure to stay in.

I was recently in Budapest and had an Airbnb near the Oktogon, the M1 and the 4/6 tram. Right near Zing burger. It was great. Clean, had everything I could ever need.
Mr E suggested I move from the one I was going to rent to this one and I am so glad I did.
Getting to the train station first thing in the morning was a breeze.
Hosted by Alexa&Janos. Highly recommended.