Apartment in Budapest
This item appears on page 53 of the June 2013 issue.
My wife and I rented an apartment from Budapest Vacation Rentals (phone, in the US, John Farago at 917/913-0815 or, in Budapest, +36 20 945 1679) for the week of Sept. 8-15, 2012. This agency had seven apartments of various sizes and in various locations in the city. We selected Apartment Andrei (Bakáts tér 8) and were very happy with it.
The booking process was very smooth. The owner responded promptly to questions about the apartment and the area, including café and bakery recommendations. No deposit was required, only credit card details to secure the booking, with payment in cash on arrival. We paid €110 (near $147) per night plus a cleaning fee of €25.
Apartment Andrei is a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment on the second floor of a secure building with an elevator.
The apartment has a full kitchen and cooking utensils plus an oven, cook-top, microwave, refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher. The dining room table seats six.
The bedroom has a queen-sized bed and adequate closet space. An adjacent alcove contains a sink and shower, while the toilet is in a room with a clothes washer (and detergent) and dryer.
The living room has a sofa bed plus a couple of chairs, a TV, a computer, electrical adapters and a VOIP phone (to make free calls to the US). There is WiFi.
A balcony, with a small table and chairs, overlooks a church and a park that was popular at all times of the day.
We found a welcome basket of food, wine and coffee, and the bathroom had a selection of products available for use.
The apartment is located two blocks from the start of Ráday Utca, a street dominated by restaurants and bars. Our favorite restaurant was Lizard Etterem (Ráday utca 16, Budapest 1092; phone +36 1 299 07 02). It had indoor and outdoor seating, with blankets and heat lamps available if the evening was chilly.
Among our favorite dishes there were pork medallions in a mascarpone cream sauce with pasta, and cheese-stuffed chicken breast with roasted vegetables and potatoes. We typically paid HUF5,000-HUF6,000 ($23-$27) for two entrées and two beers. The servers were friendly and all spoke good English.
Just around the corner from the apartment is Nandori Bakery (Ráday Utca 53, Budapest 1092; phone +36 1 215 87 76). After a long day of sightseeing, we would pick up a couple of pastries to enjoy on our balcony. Most cost HUF300-HUF400 ($1.35-$1.80) each.
NEIL JOHNSON
San Jose, CA