Expert reviews
“Located in the Jewish Quarter, in its previous life the Zara was an elegant bathhouse. The 272-room hotel has art deco touches throughout, and offers great amenities for business travelers as well as for tourists.”
“With 272 large and beautifully furnished rooms and a huge atrium lobby retaining some of the original 19th-century building’s features, the major draw here is the wellness centre on the top floor and the panoramic garden with swimming pool.”
What guests liked
- Friendly staff
- Swimming pool
- Great breakfast
- Comfortable beds
- Excellent Wifi
- Top location
All you need to know
Removed from a protected Nouveau building in 2010, the superior 4-star Continental Hotel of Hungary offers guests a truly unique experience. This luxurious hotel was made for guests to leave stress behind and relax away from the noise of the city. When and if guests decide to venture out, there are lovely attractions such as the Hungarian National Museum, Hungarian State Opera House, St. Stephen’s Basilica and Szechenyi Chain Bridge nearby.
Guest can choose from standard, executive and deluxe suites, which all reflect an art deco style that combines fine elegance and serene harmony with modern conveniences. They were constructed and decorated to cater to business and leisure travelers. Each room category comes with free WiFi, soundproof windows and air conditioning along with an en suite bathroom with free toiletries. There is also a minibar, coffee and tea making appliances and a laptop-sized safe.
The hotel is home to the exceptional Araz Restaurant which offers a wide selection of dishes combined with fashionable international delicacies. Friday nights get even more spectacular as guests can enjoy the Hungarian night program with a Hungarian buffet selection, folk music and a music show. The Gallery Cafe with its corporate lounge is ideally located near the restored main entrance and feeds the needs of more business-oriented guests.
Hotel Details
— 272 rooms
— Open in 2010
— Art deco style
Hotel Features
— Free WiFi
— Restaurant
— Express check in and check out
— 24-hour front desk
— Rooftop terrace
— Coffee Areas
— Elevator/ lift
— Heated indoor pool
— Valet parking
— Daily housekeeping
— Air conditioning
— Buffet breakfast available
— Tours and tickets assistance available
Additional Info
— Check in begins at 2:00 PM
— Check out ends at 12:00 PM
— Minimum check in age is 16 years old
Address
Budapest, Dohány u. 42, 1074 Hungary.
Hotel deals & lowest price guarantee
We partner with Booking.com and Agoda. Both booking websites offer the lowest price guarantee so you can be certain you will always get the best deal for this hotel. If you have seen a better price elsewhere, all you need to do is contact the booking website and they will refund you the difference immediately. You can price match right up until the day before check-in.
Location
Recent guest reviews
30 March 2025
Exceptional
28 March 2025
Long weekend
Most pleasant sray. Everyone was polite and very Accommodating.
25 March 2025
Great place for a short stay in Budapest!
Great location, perfect for a long weekend in Budapest. Great breakfast and friendly staff, everything was spotless.
After breakfast, you smelt like the cooking. The air conditioning didn’t work in the room and the bed wasn’t the most comfortable.
22 March 2025
Excellent hotel, great location brilliant value for money
Excellent location, very friendly helpful staff! The room was very nice and spacious would recommend to any friends or family travelling and would stay again if we come back to Budapest
22 March 2025
A perfect place to stay in the centre of Budapest!!
Perfect hotel, great location!!
Nothing
20 March 2025
Very good
Lovely hotel, friendly staff where nothing was too much trouble, breakfast choice was excellent and location great.
Hotel was extremely warm and thought the compulsory service charge in the bar was a bit naff, could hardly serve myself!
20 March 2025
Overall happy with our stay at the continental.
The location of the property for us was perfect. All the staff we interacted with were very helpful. Wallpaper on the top floors damaged or pealing off.
The gym needs some attention (the machines needed lubricating). The equipment is a little dated.
19 March 2025
Fabulous
I liked the quiet and felling comfortable. The room was very good and clean.
I would have liked if at the breakfast there would be a little more variety.
18 March 2025
Very good
Staff were so friendly, helpful, and accommodating.
The hotel was austere and bleak. It needs some contrast such as large potted plants to make it more pleasant with better ambience.
17 March 2025
Fantastic hotel in a great location
Beautiful hotel with wonderful staff, superb breakfast.
I couldn't fault it
17 March 2025
Nice hotel for a city trip
The room was very clean and tidy. We really liked the bed and the pillows. The location is very nice.
The breakfast is okay, but not great. The coffee machine was sub-par. There are too many people for too few coffee machines. So, we waited and waited... The parking spaces are extremely narrow.
16 March 2025
Exceptional
Great location Lovely staff Rooms spacious The Gallery is a lovely area to end the night Breakfast was fine apart from the horrible looking scrambled eggs which maybe tasted better than they looked I just wasn't that brave
The Scrambled eggs
15 March 2025
Magnificent Hotel !!!
An amazing hotel in the lively center of Budapest!! Magnificent rooms and excellent food served in the morning. The staff is professional, kind and super helpful...definitely recommended and sure that we will come to Budapest again and we will return to the hotel!!!
14 March 2025
Worth checking out. Helpful staff, amazing location and nice food
The location is excellent, with metro stations, bus stops, and tram stops nearby. Plenty of great cafes and restaurants are within a 10-minute walk. The breakfast was outstanding, surpassing all expectations.
The hair dryer was not functioning (we got a replacement, but still), and the drain in the bathroom sink was sort of clogged (slow).
13 March 2025
Exceptional
A wonderful hotel with friendly staff, breakfast with large variety and located near all the attractions.
Everything was amazing!
10 March 2025
Exceptional
The location was excellent, and the facilities were clean and modern. The Breakfast was amazing, with 5 islands of food types. I highly recommend it!
10 March 2025
Solid choice in a great location
Third time here, came back for the location being well connected to public transport and its a classy, modern place with a bar and wellness centre so a solid choice for facilities. Staff are great and its very clean. The breakfast has a fairly good selection, not absolutely everything you might want at all times but sufficient to be useful if you want to save time looking for places - although there are some breakfast cafes nearby anyway. It is also very close to Szimpla and Gozsdu areas which offer great nightlife all within walking distance.
The rooms are quite small, I upgraded this time but the executive double had a strange shape bathroom, really poorly laid out so the shower door didn't open fully because it collided with the toilet and the toilet itself was right up to a dividing wall between it and the sink, really quite cramped considering it was an upgraded room and probably better if they'd done away with the bath, not sure how many people benefit from the bath but decide to put up with the other end of the room being squashed together. The upgraded us again when I said I wasn't happy with it and although the suite was even bigger it too is a funny shape, the bathroom is very large but the living space is more of a corridor than a room. I also found the sofa uncomfortable and because the room is narrow its not positioned well. I can't be too harsh as its a very old building and they're working with what they have but for the price it is a bit compromised. I also must mention that the jacuzzi has been removed - as a returning visitor it was disappointing to see it gone as I was looking forward to using it. Worth noting that all of the gripes of based on a high expectation of the place having been a previous and returning visitor, they have rightly earnt the good reputation which is why I was slightly disappointed this time around, none of what I've said should put you off giving it a try.
4 March 2025
Excellent hotel and great location to walk to everything
Upgraded room and the unassuming lobby and bar
Nothing
28 February 2025
Fabulous
Food super Hotel staff excellent Would stay again
27 February 2025
Great stay at the Continental Hotel Budapest
The Continental was a clean, beautifully designed hotel located right where we needed it. The rooms were clean, staff were friendly and very helpful. We would definitely recommend it to friends.
24 February 2025
Very good
Proximity to the attractions Clean and comfortable.
Cold porridge at breakfast but rest of food absolutely fine.
19 February 2025
Very good
Clean and comfortable. Very helpful staff.
Breakfast was plentiful but some cooked items had dried up as left sitting for too long.
18 February 2025
Stylish, friendly and central, with good amenities.
The staff, particularly the gentleman who helped us with our luggage and gave us lots of information when we arrived, always said hello and had a nice chat with us before we left. Reception and all staff also very friendly. Lovely breakfast and plenty of facilities. Good location and striking architecturally. Comfortable beds and rooms.
Nothing.
18 February 2025
Exceptional
Staff'Kindness
17 February 2025
Exceptional
Everything.
16 February 2025
Pleasant stay in beautiful surroundings
The Front of house staff and in the gallery bar were always very helpful and professional. Liked the touch of having a concierge meet us from taxi and guide us to our room.
The heating in bathroom was not working so was quite cold. The fan heating in the room was very noisy when switched on. The pillows were not comfortable.
16 February 2025
Really enjoyable and comfortable stay.
Location is very central. Staff were very friendly and helpful. The breakfast was really nice. Overall our stay was very good value for money and we would definitely stay here again.
Food in the hotel restaurant was a little overpriced for the quality served compared to other restaurants in the area.
16 February 2025
Exceptional
I visit this beautiful old Hotel over a decade. . It's located in Budapest's heart so you can enjoy delicate cuisine in the surrounding streets. I would also recommend the restaurant on its own. A high class cuisine. The own Pool and small Sauna on the upper floor is a welcome treat after long walks during the winter season. As Espresso is my business I will tell you a secret. Probably the best Espresso in Budapest. We tried for sure. The perfect start in your morning with that breakfast. Well done to all the individuals who are doing there job there. I'm always blessed to be your guest ladies and gentlemen. See you in spring again. Thank you for everything :)
There is nothing what you can complain about.
14 February 2025
Stylish hotel, nice personnel. It is great for spending a weekend in the heart of Budapest
Beautiful room, great stuff
The mattress is too soft
11 February 2025
Great hotel as a central base to explore beautiful Budapest
Great location, impressive style interior
Room slightly on the small side but ok
3 February 2025
Excellent
Very good Thanks for a wonderful stay Beyond our expectations
The breakfast can be little more better
24 January 2025
Okay
Beauty
Staff laughing in the corridor in the morning.
22 January 2025
Great hotel
Everything was even better than expected. It took us only 15 minutes on foot to reach the hotel from the main rail station. We were greeted very well. Breakfast was great. We would recommend to book lunch in the restaurant in hotel in advance. The pool was not big but more than enough.
14 January 2025
I highly recommend.
The staff were very accommodating and the breakfast selection.
13 January 2025
Exceptional
Pool and sauna are amazing with nice rooftop pools, bar area is cool and whole building is nice
9 January 2025
Exceptional
Everything was great
9 January 2025
Great spot, lovely staff
Lovely helpful and kind staff all round, excellent breakfast , great location
Very small pool spa it was nice but you had to pick the moment to come Really thin small towels in the room
9 January 2025
Great staff food and drinks good location clean and just perfect.
Perfect breakfast with lots of choice amazing fresh cooked omelettes . Staff were lovely reception extremely helpful. Cocktails in the atrium were fabulous and snacks too. Great pool to relax in after hard days sightseeing. Thank you for our lovely family birthday trip made memorable xx
Loved everything
8 January 2025
A great choice for a trip to Budapest
Beautiful hotel with very friendly staff. Although a couple of reviews said the rooms were small, we did not find this to be the case (at least it wasn’t small by our standards). A lot of reviews also mention the location not being the nicest, but we loved it due it it’s close proximity to good restaurants and bars (we found the ones around here to be less touristy than the centre), and we never once felt unsafe. Spa facilitates are nice and the breakfast was great with a big variety of options.
Spa facility and breakfast could get crowded, but it wasn’t a huge problem for us and we never had to queue for breakfast, even though we saw that others did on some of the days.
6 January 2025
Lovely
Lovely hotel, the hotel was in a great location and everything was clean and beautifully decorated. Staff were all helpful, only complaint was that the room was really hot and the window only opened a crack. We didn’t have any food in the hotel so can’t comment what this was like.
6 January 2025
Fabulous
Friendly staff excellent location nice cleanrooms
5 January 2025
Fabulous
Exceeded our expectations, the hotel is beautiful. Staff were very welcoming and accommodating, everything was super clean and bed was comfy! We'd definitely love to stay here again.
4 January 2025
Very good
Location, interior of the hotel, staff were wonderfull and helpfull.
Joined rooms (seperated by doors), slow water drainage in the sink bathroom, be earlier in time for breakfast or you will wait in line for a seat.
4 January 2025
Fab
Breakfast was great, even on our last morning we left before breakfast and there was coffee and croissants. Room was fab... location perfect
One tiny, tiny thing was my bed sheets. Maybe it was my mistake, not sure if they had matrices cover or if I mistaked it for a sheet. I normally expect matrices cover, then sheet then duvet sheet, then duvet. But totally not a big deal at all,
4 January 2025
Exceptional
Good location, lovely staff, clean rooms!
3 January 2025
Overall, a decent stay with good breakfast, but room for improvement in the spa and facilities.
Breakfast was very good, with plenty of choices. The location is slightly on the outskirts of the city center but still within walking distance. The room was decent.
The spa area could be improved. It only has two small sauna rooms, which feel inadequate compared to the spacious changing rooms. There's no jacuzzi or ice pool, which was disappointing.
2 January 2025
Only for one night on a stopover but everything we needed. Helpful staff and great surroundings. Thank you
Elegant and welcoming
1 January 2025
Lovely modern hotel with friendly and helpful staff in a perfect location. Definitely would recommend.
It was very modern and clean. The WiFi was strong throughout the hotel and reliable. The staff were very welcoming even letting us check in earlier than planned. The hotel was also decorated beautifully as we went over the Christmas period. They were also very responsive in the lead up to our arrival when we encountered some problems. The hotel is only a 10-15 minute walk from the Danube River and other main attractions in Budapest. It also has a lot of choice for food within the hotel and the surrounding area. Will definitely stay again for future stays in Budapest.
Nothing.
1 January 2025
Perfect for a couple get-away in Budapest
Fully booked hotel for New Year, we got upgraded to a larger room at no cost. Even though Budapest is so busy at this time of year, hotel breakfast, gallery bar, roof-top wellness area were all clean and well managed. Good location, easy access to metro and trams. Discovered lovely little vintage shops and book cafes nearby. Super comfortable bed, too - perfect couple get-away.
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Coffee house on site
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Safety deposit box
- - Soundproof rooms
- - Car hire
- - Heating
- - Allergy-free room
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Designated smoking area
- - Shuttle service (additional charge)
- - Airport shuttle (additional charge)
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Business centre
- - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Express check-in/check-out (additional charge)
- - Tour desk
- - Luggage storage
- - Concierge service
- - Private check-in/check-out
Activities
- - Sauna
- - Fitness centre
- - Spa and wellness centre
- - Massage (additional charge)
- - Indoor pool
- - Indoor pool (all year)
Outdoors
- - Garden
- - Terrace
- - Outdoor pool
- - Sun terrace
- - Outdoor pool (seasonal)
Entertainment and family services
- - Babysitting/child services (additional charge)
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Ironing service (additional charge)
- - Trouser press
Parking
- - Electric vehicle charging station
Pool and wellness
- - Swimming pool
- - Swimming Pool
Miscellaneous
- - Key card access
- - Breakfast takeaway containers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Access to health care professionals
- - Thermometers for guests provided by property
- - Face masks for guests available
2 April 2025
Very good