I choose the hotel as I wanted to be close to the Jewish quarter of Budapest. The MGallery brand usually is synomyns of boutique and good hotel so expectations were high. 

The hotel is in an historic building, which was a hotel since the beginning of the 20th century. Inside it is really nice and the style well preserved. 

Check In

Check-in was quick and efficient, an upgrade from regular to Superior room given. I was given with a welcome voucher for one drink and also asked if I needed a map of the city and help with anything.

Room

The room was a mixed bag. The bed is the Sofitel MyBed so very comfortable and a guarantee of a good night sleep. There was a closet, safe and a small desk (although I would have expected something better there).

On the other hand, the bathroom was really small, barely the size of a corridor. It was cramped, borderline uncomfortable as one needs to squeeze in there. On the picture the shower cubicle in on the right as you enter. The bathroom door opens outside and is in front of the closet. Meaning if you have the closet open you need to close it first to enter the bathroom. The whole thing was a bit of a farce. 

One more negative point is that the Wifi was really bad: speed just good enough for email, not possible to surf website (Flyertalk was too slow to be usable). So if you add that point to the desk, the hotel would not be good for business travellers. 

My room was facing the street: a busy intersection with metro and bus stops. The noise isolation was good enough this did not disturb me. 

Service

Service at the breakfast was efficient and good. The buffet spread was good enough, with several local products. I nevertheless felt a bit disapointed by the choices, somehow I felt it was not enough. For example there was no egg stations and the cold cut were pork only, no poultries. Also there was not too much choice of fruits.  

There was a turn down service one evening. 

Dining

I had a meal at the restaurant and it was excellent, with a mix of comfort food and more local fares. Prices are of course in line with what could be expected of a four star hotels. 

Location

The building is located on the verge of the Jewish quarter and one metro station away from Deak Ferenc ter, so close to most sightseeing points. From the airport the best way is to take bus 100 up to Astoria and then the subway or walk.

Overall

This is a good hotel and live nearly up to expectation. The bathroom was annoying and if ones need Internet, then it should be avoided.

Otherwise this is a pleasant place to stay for a couple of days in Budapest.

Hotel Nemzeti Budapest - MGallery by Sofitel

This was to be our final hotel stay, and we had a street taxi  from the Sofitel Chain Bridge at about 1800 HUF.

This area of Budapest seems popular with hotels, as there is a Marriott almost directly opposite, and a Novotel and Ibis just around the corner. The taxi driver had to "go around the block" as he could not drop us off on the other side of the very busy street.

The doorman opened the main door for us and assisted with the luggage. Once again we were expected and very warmly greeted by the GM on arrival. We had booked a standard room, and received a very generous upgrade to what he described as the "best room in the hotel". It probably was. Were given two welcome drink vouchers.

As normal with MGallery's they are in lovely restored  old buildings, and this hotel was not to disappoint in the communal areas. There is a lot of history associated with the hotel. However some of  the guest rooms had been shoehorned in and had some quirky layouts. Our room had a strange alcove area cut out of an adjoining room ( used for a desk by a courtyard window ) and was large and comfortable. The bath room and separate toilet were spacious ( the bath must have been the largest bath I have seen in a hotel Junior suite. Wifi was fast and very usable.

Breakfast was served in a very large room with lovely original decor and a beautiful stained glass ceiling. There was plenty of choice (as well as an ordering service for eggs there was Far East styled  offerings that is a nice touch.) 

We had free access to the non alcoholic mini bar (refilled daily along with water given on the turn down service), and the welcome gift was a small bottle of good quality Champaign and hotel branded chocolates. The Nespresso pods were also refilled.

We only had a snack meal in the dining area on one occasion as there are a multitude of choices surrounding the hotel ( including a kebab shop next door where the doorman was normally to be seen). The food was freshly cooked and very tasty. However the  area seemed "dead" and had no other people eating when we passed it later on many occasions. The hotel does not have a lounge.

We ordered a hotel car to the airport, and it was slightly cheaper (but took a longer time / distance than the original Mercure car at about 27€).

The GM gave us a small notebook on departure with a few hotel themed postcards. This was very nice and welcome, as he also wished us a pleasant trip back and thanked us for staying.

Overall it was a pleasant stay.

There are some points to note, especially if you are a smoker.

Our Platinum recognition was excellent. We were not disappointed. However we did travel "out of season" and it may be highly probably that the double upgrade we received may not be available.

The other rooms seemed small, and crammed in. This was a conversion from a hotel to a hotel, and looking at the floor plans you could see where extra rooms had been made. Chose your room carefully on booking. If we had received what we had booked, we probably would not have been as happy with the hotel. They only have two Junior Suites so upgrade will be a gamble.

The area is "interesting". There seems to be a lot of challenges in this "just out of the tourist" area as one taxi driver told us. There was a lot of signs of hard spirit drinking ( lots of very small bottles on sale in local shops and smashed bottles outside), and as the hotel was totally non smoking you had to cross a busy main road to smoke, where you would be approached for a cigarette or offered ( for cash ) a chance to socialise with a local!

There was a small smoking area just outside the hotel next to a telephone kiosk, but it just did not feel safe. The doorman who helped us in with our luggage was often not to be seen.

For comparison the Sofitel felt safe and secure outside, as the door men were always around and the area was better even though it was about 2km away.

The hotel  did say that the square opposite was due to be refurbished and upgraded so hopefully the problems that we encountered outside the hotel will disappear.

There are excellent metro links from the hotel as the metro station is just outside as well as trams and busses.

We would not hesitate to stay in the hotel again,  and will be excellent if you are not a female smoker!

I am sorry that the pictures are in no particular order.