What a seriously good city hotel. This fine conversion of an old Pest apartment block conceals a hotel of considerable charm and style. Merging understated chic with sleek design and impeccable hospitality, Rum is a top-drawer addition to Budapest's stock of accommodation. Moreover, its super-central location means you're within easy walking distance of all the city’s key attractions.
Spread over 6 narrow floors, off an elegant central spiral staircase, are 40 modern rooms. They come in 5 sizes - Single Rums (for the solo traveller), Light Rums (Small), Spiced Rums (Medium), Gold Rums (Large) and Black Rums (Large Plus) - though furnishings and facilities are more or less the same throughout. The buzzy rooftop breakfast room serves the most important meal of the day alongside killer views, as well as long, lazy brunches on the weekends. When evening rolls around, head to the ground floor to find a Hungarian fine dining restaurant with a chef's table and a Michelin Star. Anyone looking for a relaxing city break will find Rum an enticingly spicy proposition.
Highs
- Great value: luxurious décor, unrivalled location and breakfast from the chefs at the Michelin-starred restaurant
- Staff are fantastically attentive and courteous
- Just round the corner from the central market and the famous Gellert Baths, and yet it’s still incredibly quiet
- Rooms are refreshingly uncluttered and stylish, with designer lighting
- Buzzy breakfast bar on the top floor with skyline views, popular with locals, and a ground-floor Michelin Star fine dining concept
Lows
- Rooms on the first floor have rather dull street views, and the moody, predominantly dark colour scheme might be too oppressive for some
- Glass-walled bathroom doors, though they are frosted for privacy
- You'll need to book well in advance (we're talking weeks, if not months, ahead) if you want a table at Salt, their top-end restaurant, especially at weekends
- It's a shame the rooftop restaurant is only open for breakfast - the views are something special
Best time to go
Budapest is beautiful all year round, but at its best in spring, early summer and early autumn. In spring, the natives emerge from their post-winter slumbers and the city’s premier annual event, the Budapest Spring Festival, swings into action. In September, the searing summer heat has dissipated, yet the days remain long and pleasantly balmy. Crowds are thinner too, and you’ll have the city’s attractions almost all to yourself.
Our top tips
Hop aboard the number 2 tram for a scenic trundle along the Pest embankment - the views across the water to Buda are terrific. The tram winds up at Mupa (Palace of the Arts), home to the illuminating Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art; fans of Picasso and Warhol will particularly enjoy this.
- Boutique Hotel
- 40 rooms
- Breakfast + restaurant (open Wed-Sat)
- All ages welcome
- Open all year
- Pool
- Spa Treatments
- Beach Nearby
- Pet Friendly
- Disabled Access
- Car not necessary
- Parking
- Restaurants Nearby
- WiFi
- Air Conditioning
- Guest Lounge
- Terrace
- Garden
- Gym
Rooms
The most striking aspect of Hotel Rum is its heavy-tone decor. Various shades of black and grey are used throughout, though this is alleviated by the occasional burst of brighter colour. Otherwise, there’s nothing overtly flashy here: just good-sized beds with high-quality cotton linen (and the obligatory half a dozen cushions), tree-trunk bedside stools, small armchairs and designer lighting. In a nice touch, all furnishings were manufactured specifically for the hotel, in Hungary.
Bathrooms - typically separated from the bedroom by a sliding frosted-glass partition - are well designed, with black and white metro tiles, rainfall showers and big mirrors.
There are 5 cleverly titled categories of room, differentiated by size: Single Rums, Light Rums (Small), Spiced Rums (Medium), Gold Rums (Large) and Black Rums (Large Plus Triple). Facility-wise, there’s little to distinguish between them (other than Larges having Nespresso machines), so your decision will come down to how much space you want. We slept in a Medium on our last visit and found it a perfect size for short stay. Rooms on the lower floors have higher ceilings, making them feel more spacious, but we really liked those on upper floors with sloping ceilings - they felt inviting and cosy.
Features include:
- Air conditioning
- Central heating
- Coffee / tea making
- Hairdryer
- Minibar
- Safe box
- Toiletries
- TV
- WiFi
Eating
Hotel Rum has an unforgettable Michelin-starred dining experience downstairs and a cosmopolitan brunch spot on the roof. Though different in style and substance, both SALT and SOLID share the same ethos of celebrating Hungarian cuisine.
Up on the top floor, SOLID is a rooftop breakfast and brunch restaurant with fantastic views of the Budapest skyline, plus an open roof in fine weather and a fireplace on cooler days. It serves an upscale a la carte breakfast or, if you prefer, an indulgent brunch with bubbles (served until 2pm on weekends). Whipped up by the SALT chefs, we were blown away by the quality of each dish. Our eggs benedict with smoked trout was impeccable (the best bearnaise sauce I've tasted), and the sourdough with green tea and apricot jam was a smash. In fact, everything that left the kitchen caught our eye - we wish we had stayed longer to try the full menu!
On the ground floor, SALT serves gourmet dinners with a difference - and a central chef's table - on Wednesday through Saturday evenings. Chef Szilárd Tóth’s menu showcases Hungarian herbs and wild plants, many of which are foraged by himself, freshly pickled and fermented. Poultry comes from Szilard’s own family in Szatmár. This commitment to locality has earned them, in addition to one Michelin Star, a Michelin Green Star for sustainability. Be prepared for a tasting menu of at least 10 dishes, with wine (or homemade juice) pairings to match. Understandably, it gets busy, so book well in advance if you want to guarantee a table.
If you would prefer to eat out, there are heaps of other restaurants a short walk away; ask reception for their tips.
Features include:
- Bar
- Restaurant
- Restaurants nearby
- Room service
Activities
- Budapest is bisected by the Danube; one side is Buda, the other Pest. Stroll both to admire stunning architecture and take a night cruise along the the river: both embankments are heritage sights
- Head for the Buda hills on the delightful cogwheel and children’s railways, the latter built by Communist youth brigades in the 1940s
- There are over 1,000 thermal hot springs in Hungary, 118 of them in Budapest. We like the hidden Veli Bej baths, an old Turkish complex, with a central octagonal pool and an ice shower
- The late-19th-century Great Market Hall is a terrific place to buy souvenirs (Tokaj and paprika feature heavily) and try local produce
- Budapest Zoo is one of the world’s oldest, and has stunning Art Nouveau pavilions
- Explore the Jewish quarter, with its magnificent Dohany utcai Synagogue and the uber-cool ruin bars
Activities on site or nearby include:
- Boat trips
- Historical sites
- Museums / galleries
- Nightlife
- Shopping / markets
- Well being
Kids
Not especially geared up for families, but they are welcome nonetheless.
Best for:
All ages
Family friendly accommodation:
Large Plus Rooms have a pull-out sofabed in a little annexe room, which can sleep 2 children aged 2-12, or 1 child/adult aged 13+.
For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection
Location
Hotel Rum is ideally located on a very quiet street in the central 5th district, on the Pest side of the Danube.
By Air:
Fly into Ferenc Liszt airport (aka Ferihegy), which is 20km away. Click on the links below for a list of airlines.
From the Airport:
It's a 20-minute drive to the hotel; best to jump in a taxi as you won't need a car in Budapest, though see our car rental recommendations if you do want one.
You can also get a bus from the airport into the city or to the nearest metro station. The hotel is a 2-minute walk from the Kálvin tér metro stop.
Airports:
- Budapest Ferenc Liszt International (aka Ferihegy) 20.0 km BUD
Other:
- Beach 500.0 km
- Shops 0.2 km
- Restaurant 0.2 km
Our guests' ratings...
Based on 4 independent reviews from i-escape guests
Feedback is only from guests who have booked and stayed through i-escape