Budapest downtown’s magnificent hotel selected as Hungary’s leading boutique hotel – PHOTOS

The 5th district’s iconic Aria Hotel Budapest was chosen again as Hungary’s leading boutique hotel in an online voting of the World Travel Awards. The Wall Street Journal regularly mentions the award as the ‘Touristic Oscars’. In 2024, the winner received it in Berlin, and it recognises the work of the best players in the sector.

The secret of success is their honest openness and attention to their guests. Those two qualities were the focus of the owner, Henry Kallan, an American businessman with Hungarian roots. He was among the first ones to recognise the opportunities in opening thematic hotels.

According to a statement they released, Aria Hotel Budapest is part of the New York-based Library Hotel Collection group. They won the prestigious prize of Hungary’s leading boutique hotel for the second time consecutively on the online voting of the World Travel Awards. The award was founded in 1993 and promotes the best touristic service providers every year. On their votings, professionals, journalists, and guests can express their opinions.

Máté Tolnai, the director of the Hotel Aria Budapest, said they can give everybody a unique room and personalised service thanks to being a boutique hotel. They aim to make all their guests feel they are the most important to the hotel’s staff. “The award is a positive confirmation for us in that work”, Mr Tolnai added.

Liszt Studio:

Hotel concerts with famous musicians

The musical theme of the Aria Hotel Budapest is part of the unique service. The four wings of the building were dedicated to four different genres: jazz, opera, classical music and pop music. The hotel’s 49 rooms follow the heritage of one music legend. The honorary curator of the classical music wing is Iván Fischer, while of the opera, the curator is Andrea Rost. Magdolna Rúzsa is the honorary curator of the pop music wing.

The hotel has its musical director, Kornél Magyar. He nurtures good relationships with Hungarian and international musicians and musical institutions. Thanks to that, the signatures of the world’s most famous musicians decorate the surfaces of Café Liszt’s mirror room placed on the hotel’s ground floor. You may find Plácido Domingo’s, Gregory Porter’s, and Lenny Kravitz’s, etc. signatures there.

Charming garden with a view:

The hotel regularly organises live musical events and concerts, adding an intensive cultural experience to the guests’ stay in Hungary. Among others, Patricia Barber, Károly Nyári, the Bogányi Family, Andrea Rost, and the Hot Jazz Band performed there on stage. As a seasonal program, you may follow the opera and ballet performances of the Royal Opera House in London while eating breakfast.

Aria Hotel Budapest opened its gates to the public in 2015. The place is close to the Chain Bridge, Saint Stephen’s Basilica and Budapest’s historic centre. In 2017, it received the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award as the world’s best hotel. ReviewPro, one of the key analysts of the sector, chose Aria Hotel as the world’s sixth-best luxury boutique hotel.

Condé Nast evaluated its rooftop High Note SkyBar in 2018 and chose it as one of the world’s 10 best. You may find Harmony Spa, Europe’s best in 2015, also in the hotel.

The hotel interior designer was Zoltán Varró (VarroDesign), whose work was awarded the Gold Key Award, the most prestigious award in the sector.

Read also:

• Two Budapest hotels among region’s best – Read more HERE
• Posh 5-star Pullman Budapest Hotel to open in the heart of the capital – Details in THIS article
• Astonishing hotel to open in wondrous environment in Budapest’s Buda Hills

Hotel interior: