Number of rooms: 84
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Date of Stay: July 2024
Website: www.kozmohotelbudapest.com
Don’t let the cool minimalism fool you. The Hungarian hospitality is warm and common areas are cozy and inviting
Why Book?
In front of me stand huge iron gates, imposing and monumental. I strain my neck to follow the metal lace work stretching towards the blue summer sky. Such an entrance signals the significance of the building and what I hope to find inside The gates open to reveal neatness and minimalism, a quality I associate with a boutique hotel luxury. And yet, the smile and warmth of the reception team dispel any concern of coldness. With base and drum music creating the zen ambiance I crave, I immediately relax.
The Kozmo Hotel & Suites & Spa is independently owned and has enough designer touch to eschew that boxy chain hotel feel. Kozmo is also a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
The first thing you see is the lobby, enveloped in a restful yet sophisticated grey and a splash of orange in the form of a velvet “fall-into” sofa in the middle of the room. A modern chandelier and high ceilings soar above.
An alfresco courtyard has tables that spill from the bistro, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with menus that feature modern interpretations of Hungarian cuisine.
The hotel’s spire-shaped tower makes the building the tallest in the area with 360° views of Budapest. The hotel is also ideally situated for exploring some of the city’s major sites.
The library is a place to chill, read, and warm up by the fire during winter
Who’s Staying?
I’m one of many individual leisure travellers looking for a different and stylish stay in the Hungarian capital.
My fellow Brits are regulars here along with Spanish (the owners are from Spain) and American tourists. Suits and briefcases identify corporate and business guests but each guest quickly absorbs the calmness which invades this place. The pace slows and stress fades to blend with the atmosphere.
When the hotel opened in 2021, just after COVID, its first major event was the MTV Awards. Since then it has attracted individual purveyors of fashion and music, including the likes of Ed Sheeran.
The hotel’s Junior Suites are spacious with cozy seating areas to make you feel at home in Budapest
Rooms & Suites
There are 84 rooms (63 doubles and 21 suites), each with its own character. Ample space and refinement are their best accessories. My suite had a dressing room and a huge modern bath, while tinted glass doors masked the separate walk-in shower and toilet room.
Small touches I appreciated were the hair straightener in the bathroom and the Penhaligon toiletries. The bed was comfortable and provided a much-needed good night’s sleep.
The room was also equipped with a mini-bar in a stylish wooden cabinet, voted the best private mini-bar of the year in 2023 by a Hungarian architect. Inside were vegan and gluten-free snacks along with organic red wine.
For over-the-top stays, check out the Presidential Suite with its spacious 190 square metres alongside posh amenities such as a private sauna and furnished terrace with views over the city.
Spill the Tea! How’s The….
Food & Drink?
The Kozmo Hotel Suites & Spa is legendary for its breakfast – from cooked-to-order dishes to freshly baked bread, local cheese, juice, and more, served in the courtyard or inside.
Dinner includes Hungarian flavours such as foie gras torchon, beef cheek goulash, and deconstructed rakpczi Turos, a Hungarian curd cheesecake made with apricot, cottage cheese, meringue and Linzer.
The main bistro has a gold bar as a centrepiece, where you can sip Hungarian wines, from Lake Balaton sauvignon to a sweet Tokaji.
The hotel’s dining leans into reinterpretations of Hungarian gastronomy
Common space?
The contemporary library is the place to chill in squishy chairs, especially in winter near the roaring fire.
On the first floor, there’s a room with a billiard table and tables around the famous staircase next to walls adorned with original red tile.
Spa?
A labyrinth of tunnels in the basement leads to the spa, passing mounted black-and-white pictures of the Gellert Bath on the Buda side of the city.
You’ll also notice a painted stained window (1910 -1917) from the original building and part of the glass brick wall.
The inviting swimming pool is 17 metres long. There’s also a Finnish sauna and jacuzzi to enjoy. Three rooms fare home for massages and treatments by specialists using products from the prestigious Swiss cellular cosmetics firm, Valmont.
Fitness fanatics rest assured—you can work out 24 hours a day in the training room where various equipment, including step machines, rowing machines, exercise bikes and treadmills will help you work up a sweat.
Relax, workout or indulge in a treatment at the hotel’s onsite spa
Neighbourhood?
The Kozmo Hotel Suites & Spa is in the heart of Budapest, on the Pest side of the river, close to Grand Boulevard and the Corvin shopping centre, and is a perfect pied-a-terre for exploration. The location is served by trams and buses, and many sites are within walking distance. Here’s what you’ll find in the vicinity:
The Dohany Street Synagogue or Tabakgasse Synagogue is the largest synagogue in Europe and the second largest in the world, seating 3,000 people. (20 mins walk)
St Stephen’s Basilica is a Roman Catholic church, which is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary, whose right hand is housed in the reliquary. (35mins walk)
Central Market Hall is also known as Great Market Hall. It is the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest. (20 mins walk)
Ruin Bars: The collection of bars in the abandoned buildings of the 7th district (aka the Jewish Quarter) are now trendy and not-at-all stuffy drinking dens that draw an international crowd. ( 10 mins walk)
The Parliament Building is one of Budapest’s most iconic sites (photo by Andrew Shiva. CC BY-SA 4.0)
Heroes’ Square is one of the major squares in Budapest, Hungary, noted for its iconic Millennium Monument with statues featuring the Seven chieftains of the Magyars and other important Hungarian national leaders. (45 mins walk)
House of Parliament is richly decorated both inside and out and was inspired by the Houses of Parliament in London, thus it was designed in New-Gothic style, although it bears Renaissance and Baroque stylistic flourishes. It is the third-largest parliament in the world and a world-heritage site. (40 mins walk)
Hungarian National Museum was founded in 1802 and houses the history, art, and archaeology of Hungary and the Carpathian Basin. (15 mins walk)
Margaret Island provides a peaceful hideaway from bustling Budapest with green areas, gardens, a musical fountain and tranquil paths for walking. (50 mins walk)
Does Kozmo Hotel Suites & Spa have a past?
You bet! The building that Kozmo Hotel Suites & Spa occupies today is a historical landmark. It was the largest telecommunications centre in Eastern and Central Europe at the beginning of the 20th century and from the outside looks a bit like an urban castle.
This protected bourgeois building has kept its original elements such as the reddish facade, its intricate ceiling detail, and the imposing staircase that presides over the lobby. FYI: It’s the second largest staircase in Budapest, next to the one inside Budapest’s Parliament Building.
The hotel’s main staircase is the 2nd largest in Budapest
It was a huge state project to restore it to its former style. Careful attention to detail is evident in the restoration to preserve its precious history: red tiles were brought from the Zsolnay porcelain factory (established back in 1853) and the ceiling was hand-painted. The tunnels leading to the spa were once the bunker.
How’s the green scene?
There are several green initiatives such as a limit on the towels in the room bathroom as well as two types of water pressure, (water saving mode for hand/toothwashing). It’s a plastic-free property – no plastic devices or bottles, opting instead for reusable glass.
The hotel has a preference for local ingredients and uses zero-waste kitchen technologies and energy-saving double insulation.
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Author bio: Jane Wilson, The Wellness Traveller
Photos courtesy of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, except where noted
Our writer stayed as a guest of the hotel
