Queer travel expert Jack Kenworthy turns 250+ city adventures into your guide for safe, vibrant, and inclusively fabulous global journeys.
Hungary is a country of richly blended Slavic and Central European cultures, and this fact is nowhere clear as in its capital city – the river-straddling, sparkling urban mass of Budapest. The culture is strong, the old-time Roman influence in the town is clear, and the modern edge is sharp and ever-strengthening.
Travelers have been coming to Budapest for centuries for tourism, and this trend is nowhere near stopping. After all, there is so much to see in this colorful city! The skyline is drop-dead stunning, the historical points of interest are detailed and in amazing condition, and – most of all – an amazing food scene that leaves even some of the other eatery capitals of Europe in shame.
That’s a lot of positive points for sure, but how does Budapest match up compared to the other travel-friendly cities of Europe when it comes to its attitude to queer travelers and gay inhabitants?
Well – the city has been known as one of the most progressive in the region for a long time, and although the country’s politics has been steering in a conservative direction as of late, Budapest remains a beacon for those with alternate lifestyles all around and is sure to remain so for all the foreseeable future.
However, there is one more thing worth saying about Budapest’s queer atmosphere. Unlike most other cities in these lists, Budapest lacks a defined gay neighborhood or district, but this should most absolutely not be taken as saying that it does not have a queer touch about its edges.
The opposite is true. The city is famous for being one of the most colorful queer centers of the region and certainly brings it home with its nightlife and lively street energy.
These two facts mean that our hotel selections can be a lot wider and take advantage of even more of what the city has to offer outside of queer locations, which is a massive benefit for those who like to experience everything a city has to offer while spending time there instead of just a certain district or neighborhood! Variety is always wonderful, and in Budapest, it is almost like the city’s unofficial motto!
Obviously, in most cases, there aren’t going to be hotels out there marketed directly towards gay people or queer people in general. We know that, and therefore we’d like to note that the hotels on this list follow the same logic. Most of them have been listed as accommodating, friendly, and unjudgmental to, for, and by queer people in general, as well as being highly rated in general.
So, suppose you’re ready to jet off to Europe’s gateway to the east. In that case, the strong pedestal of culture that it is – get ready to book your flights, your train tickets, and your car hires because we’re about to take you through the top eight of the very best gay hotels in Budapest has to offer, and what an unforgettable journey it is!
In this article we will cover...
Hilton Garden Inn Budapest City Centre
Although this location isn’t a fully-fledged Hilton – rather a Garden Inn – this fact doesn’t take away from the sheer level of luxury and quality that staying there has to offer potential guests. The lower prices shown by the Hilton Garden Inn Budapest City Center make it a perfect entry destination for this list, and travelers of all spending tiers can consider it a good middling option.
There’s also a proper Hilton at the end of this list that we promise won’t disappoint you in the slightest – much the opposite – so if you’re itching for the top-shelf quality that the core of the franchise is known to offer, you need only scroll a little further to get a good bite of it!
The Hilton Garden Inn is highly commended for its eating experience, bar, fitness center, and much more. Both Hilton locations on this list are the only two here that are pet-friendly, so if you’re traveling across Europe with a four-legged companion in tow, your choices are pretty limited to these two!
You needn’t fret, however, as the price range between the pair allows quite a bit of choice, and the different locations mean that you can pick the neighborhood that you like best without having to worry too much about picking a bad hotel or ending up in a district that doesn’t have the activities that you are going to be wanting to try out during your holiday.
This is even less of a problem thanks to the Hilton Garden Inn’s proximity to the city’s public transport system in the form of the nearby Opera metro station, which is all the help one needs to explore the entire city without having to so much as walk more than a few minutes.
Baroque Hostel
As we always say when we come across a hostel in one of these lists, we understand that some of our readers may not have the best mental image of this kind of accommodation, but we promise that when we include a hostel, we do so only in the best faith.
The Baroque Hostel is a classy location that maintains a feeling of homely accommodation that one cannot get from a larger hotel or a five-star establishment, and this fact is made all the sweeter by the fact that it is extremely inexpensive. One needn’t worry about having to stay in the same room as other people, as there are separate rooms and apartments on offer!
The Baroque’s spaces for socialization and private rooms are nothing short of amazing for a location of its caliber, and although its decoration is a bit aged, this factor adds to the charm, and the hostel still manages to pull off a refined air that is sure to make you surprisingly satisfied.
The Baroque Hostel is also quite loud and proud with its support of the queer community, and this fact comes from the large number of gay holidayers who make it their place of choice to stay. As such, one can expect to feel extremely comfortable while staying here, whether traveling alone or as a couple with your special someone.
If you’re concerned about location, you’ll be glad to know that the Baroque Hostel is located in the heart of Budapest and that its collections to public transport are just as strong if not stronger than the Hilton Garden Inn Budapest City Center that came before it. The city is in the palm of your hand, as is a sizable amount of money that guests save by staying here!
The Three Corners Lifestyle Hotel
The Three Corners Lifestyle has the perfect blend of class, comfort, convenience, and a wide range of on-paper benefits. The management of this location has invested a lot of time and effort into optimizing it for both practical and aesthetic purposes, and that dedication shows in just about everything that one notices about this hotel’s walls and marketing.
This hotel and its neighborhood are core of what is in and trendy in the center of Budapest, so if you’re looking for a fresh, modern area to wow you and blow your socks off, this is it. There is one downside, however, depending on how you look at things or what unit you’re traveling in.
Not many hotels in Budapest are explicitly marked as gay-friendly, and there is sadly no exception here when it comes to the Three Corners, but it must still be said that this hotel has had more than its fair share of positive reviews from queer travelers in the past and that this is about as reassuring as things are going to get.
But not everything is debatable about the Three Corners Lifestyle. There are some amazing benefits from staying here yet to be explored because if it weren’t so, this hotel wouldn’t be on a list of gay hotels at all!
Some powerful positives for this hotel include the free parking, breakfast, and wi-fi, all three of which are certain to make your accommodation experience just that little bit more convenient and light on the wallet. On top of the highly rated in-house restaurant, there’s also an airport shuttle service available, so if you need a quick trip between your hotel and the airport for a flight and vice versa, then the Three Corners has you covered to a tee.
Novotel Budapest Danube
Proudly holding four well-earned stars and a sterling service record across quite a significant history of service through the years – although with different management from time to time – the Novotel Budapest Danube is firmly settled as one of the best top-shelf locations on this list thanks to its location and the sheer care and attention put into its maintenance.
As the hotel’s name may imply, the Novotel Budapest Danube shares the same position along the Danube river that the Park Plaza Budapest later in this list does, and this is a massive plus for the hotel right off of the bat thanks to the wonderful views and central access that this location affords.
The rooms of the Novotel Budapest Danube are nothing short of wonderful – sporting modern furniture, excellent amenities, and – more often than not – views directly over the Danube to the stately government and historic buildings on the other side. As we mentioned earlier, however, one of the strongest points of this particular hotel is its services, which truly allows the Novotel Budapest Danube to rise above its competition.
Not only does the hotel have an amazing free breakfast bar available every morning for its hungry guests, but it also has full room service, full laundry catering, and full cleaning, as well as the ability to cater to those who need wheelchair-accessible rooms or spaces with other special requirements, which is a definite rarity in big, modern cities like Budapest.
The hotel is also kid-friendly, adding a big plus if you’re traveling with a little one. The hotel has its very own restaurant and bar ensemble within its walls – highly rated all on their own – and also offers access to a fitness center for those who value keeping their daily exercise regime in order.
InterContinental Budapest, an IHG Hotel
Sitting comfortably as the first truly five-star location on this list of gay hotels in Budapest, the InterContinental Budapest is a true beacon of luxury in every possible way, living up to that notable IHG fame to a tee.
Guests to this wonderful location can expect nothing short of the best service, as is typical for hotels with this much prestige attached to their name, and that doesn’t just stop with staff attention. The hotel’s amenities are also top-notch and are sure to fill your every need and whim, no matter what you look for in a hotel and what you’re looking to do with your time away in beautiful Budapest.
The Lipótváros district is one of the most important historical areas in the entire city, and the fact that the InterContinental is in it is just another addition to the long list of positives it offers. Here, guests can enjoy unrivaled proximity to the famous St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Hungarian Parliamentary complex, two of the top popular tourist destinations in the entire city, and the subjects of those ideal pictures featured in travel magazines and the like.
Suppose you’re looking for an iconic, luxurious, and stately travel experience in Budapest, both within and without the hotel. In that case, this is the place to live your dream holiday, and at not too high of a price.
Some of the lower-rated and four-star hotels on this list and in the city, in general, are more expensive than the InterContinental, and if that isn’t a massive positive, then we don’t know what is! What more can someone ask for than more money in the bank and getting an excellent deal on the perfect holiday location?
Park Plaza Budapest
Although it doesn’t have any official stars on paper and thus cannot be rated using that conventional system, if the Park Plaza Budapest had any, it would have the full five. This location is an all-needs catered luxury establishment and is kitted out with an amazing array of services and courtesies from the staff.
The appearance of both the external side of the building and its common spaces is amazing and is sure to leave guests feeling as though they have walked into one of the most exclusive hotels in the city. And they would be right, too, as the Park Plaza Budapest is one of the highest-rated hotels in the entirety of Budapest, and that consensus doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon.
On top of this all, the Park Plaza Budapest isn’t that expensive for what it is, so you can expect to get a good deal for your time staying here!
The Park Plaza Budapest is built right up against the bank of the Danube and shares the same views of the water and the opposite side of the river that the hotels to its side do. This includes – most especially of all – the Hungarian Parliament, also known as the Országház, which is one of the most famous, if not the most famous, buildings in the entire city from an international perspective.
Reviews for the location are almost perfect and include compliments for many of the main points of the hotel, including the staff behavior, the free parking, the dining experience, and the wide range of amenities that are present on the premises, such as the hotel’s very own bar and fitness center. There’s also a healthy number of cafes, fancy restaurants, and eateries in the region around the hotel to choose from!
ibis Budapest Castle Hill Hotel
Ibis hotels aren’t exactly known for the strength of luxury in their accommodation, nor for the massive number of services that they provide to guests, but that isn’t a problem at all if you’re a traveler who is simply looking to find a place to stay in Budapest while you enjoy the city’s wide and wonderful range of cultural offerings.
The ibis Budapest Castle Hill may not be a five-star location, and it may not have a valet and fancy rooms, but it is cheap and reliable, and that is all that matters in the long run, especially if you aren’t comfortable staying in a hostel such as the Baroque Hostel & Coworking that we featured earlier on this list.
Now, however, let’s take a step back from focusing on the monetary advantage that the ibis Budapest offers and pay a little more attention to its other benefits. Although it is a budget hotel, the ibis Budapest still has a wonderful location right up against the Vérmező city park, which means that all of your itches for peaceful nature walks and enjoying some time in the green will be incredibly easy to scratch.
If you’re more interested in food and other culinary pleasures, you’ll be pleased to know that the food court area around the Horváth-kert park is just a few minutes walk away, meaning that you can sample the local fare to your heart’s content as well.
The Ibis Budapest itself isn’t exactly a barren wasteland of a hotel either, combining an excellent in-house dining experience with a free breakfast offer and a surprisingly good level of decorating to make an accommodation hotspot that truly ticks all of the most important boxes that a queer traveler could have while exploring Budapest’s historic city center.
Hilton Budapest
Now this is a truly amazing entry. Hilton Hotels are known worldwide for their high standard of luxury and high-chin exuberance, and this particular location settled right in the heart of Budapest’s ‘Castle Hill’ district – truly one of the most exquisite areas of the entire city.
This hotel is truly an amazing sight, stretching for a considerable distance across the cityscape until it bumps right up against the famous Matthias Church, and all of this is before one even finds a room and begins to stay at the Hilton Budapest.
Even with all of its glamor and top-shelf quality, the Hilton Budapest isn’t too snobby to acknowledge its queer guests and takes yet another step into the highest echelons of this list with the fact that it is officially marked as LGBTQ+-friendly on Google. All travelers are welcome here and entitled to enjoy their time at the Hilton Budapest to the same elevated extent.
That’s just the start of the amazing benefits that staying at this truly splendid hotel brings, however. Once you’re inside the Hilton Budapest’s shiny, well-maintained walls, there are enough amenities and activities to keep you occupied and entertained for a long time.
A few examples are the hotel’s wonderful fitness center and gym facilities, the in-house bar and restaurant, which are praised for having amazing dining both in and out of main hours, and – of course – the fact that the individual rooms have separate living areas, kitchens, and amazing views out over the city.
Long story short, this hotel is one of the best that we’ve ever had the pleasure of including on one of these lists and truly deserves the very best of attention and admiration for its services and attention to detail.
Gay Hotel Map Of Budapest
Feeling a bit lost while planning your journey to Budapest? No worries, darling! Our detailed LGBTQ+ tailored map is here to guide you. We’ve pinpointed all the vibrant gay-friendly bars, exhilarating clubs, extravagant parties, cozy hotels, relaxing saunas, and soothing massage parlors to ensure you find the perfect spot.
And these aren’t just any spots; we’re talking about the creme de la creme of locations in the heart of the city’s vibrant gay scene. Think panoramic views, easy access to nightlife, and all the amenities to make your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
But hold on to your feather boas! These hot spots are so fabulous they vanish quicker than a drag queen’s five o’clock shadow. Don’t delay; book now to secure the best deals and locations. Remember, the early bird catches the best deals in Budapest! So, pack your rainbow flag, and get ready to experience the ultimate gay-friendly holiday in Budapest.
