Radisson Blu Budapest: The weirdest best deal

Back in January we visited the Radisson Blu Beke Budapest twice in the span of a week (with the IC Budapest in between for NYE). And even though there was only a day or two gap between the two stays, and despite having a lengthy conversation about the taxi scam, the guy at checkin acted as though he’d never seen me before.

Contrast that to the InterContinental we stayed at in between, where when I went down to check out the lady who checked me in said, “422?” to confirm our room number. She remembered my room number two days later at a giant hotel with hundreds of people. But at the Radisson he asks if I want a map- the same map he gave me 4 days ago.

Maybe it’s a cultural thing, or maybe it’s just that hotel… but my guess is that the staff has decided that being extremely cold is more luxurious. Just a guess. But I think the hotel tows the line into rude- i’ve been there four times, and every single time, every single employee is equally cold.

And upon checking in, no one even told me I was upgraded to a suite. So the first time I was surprised to get a suite. The second time I was surprised to get an even bigger room suite.

Whoa. It was seriously big and… and…

What generation is this?

I would like to say “antique” refers to things of high value. The proper word for the decor here is “old”, not to be confused with antique. Ritz Carlton pulls off “antique”. The InterContinental Paris Le Grand is “antique” looking in decor. This is old. Which is polite.

I’m pretty sure the last remodeling was 1970.

But who cares right? We visited the same hotel in August of 2013 and loved the hotel location and better yet the price. It used to be 9,000 points and now it’s 15,000 (for two nights because of the credit card).

But when I say the last remodeling was 1970, I mean it. In any other hotel, the hallway lights turn off at midnight but have a motion sensor. At the Radisson Blu Beke I walked to my room in the dark. Weird.

But what’s odd is that I assumed they would have had better heaters in 1970. I called down and told them that the heater wasn’t working, and they came to the room and “fixed it” and it remained equally cold. After friends got there, they confirmed their room was also freezing. And upon our return the room was still freezing.

Our friends had a strategy of closing all the doors to the suite and not leaving that room. Smart tip, so we did that the second time.

The first time we just left our coats on, or I brought my blanket with me to the couch for working on the computer.

But perhaps the most surprising thing from the 1970s is how short people used to be. The blanket was long enough to entirely cover my feet only if I was willing to expose the top half of my torso. And if you’ve seen the his and her style duvets that Europe sometimes offers, this is the same but half the size in each direction.

Some hotels offer pillow menus, or options. Here the pillows come in one option, “giant neckbending”. I’ve been far too spoiled with soft pillows.

Conclusion

What’s curious to me is how in the world the hotel remains a part of the “Radisson Blu” brand. Have Club Carlson folks never seen this hotel? I don’t care either way, but I’d hate Lucky to book the hotel assuming it’s “Radisson Blu” quality only to find out that “Park Inn” would be a high compliment.

But truthfully, it’s not bad at all, except in winter. The heater can be turned up, but no heat comes out.

I’ve stayed here many times and each time I return I take note of how dead pan the staff is. I saw a bellboy smile.

Would I recommend it? No. But will I stay there again? Heck yes. The best deal in town. Seriously, 15,000 points for two nights is a steal, and I kind of hope they don’t refurbish so I can keep the price. However, they really should change the name to a Park Inn.