The best boutique hotels in Budapest, including music-themed suites and rooftop bars with Danube views

From its classical façade – replicating the original 19th-century design even though it was actually entirely rebuilt in the 21st century – to the sleek glass lifts, this is a hotel with confidence and class. The hotel has a whirlpool, sauna and an elegant salon with wood floors and a mock fireplace that makes a relaxing spot to read the newspaper. Rooms are suitably graceful, decorated in cream and gold colours and furniture that was apparently purpose-made. Food is provided through a joint venture with Costes, Hungary’s first Michelin-starred restaurant, who have rented the dining room and established Costes Downtown.

Aria’s location is unbeatable – there are killer views of the domes of St. Stephen’s Basilica, and the hotel is within walking distance of the city’s Opera House. As the name suggests, music is the motif here. A long, black-and-white keyboard carpet unfurls through the entrance to reveal a grand ‘garden courtyard’ and lobby. The centrepiece is a space-age piano designed by the Hungarian musician Gergely Bogányi. Décor in the rooms is contemporary and elegant, with plenty of marble and a few striking statement pieces such as chandeliers. Its rooftop bar is one of the coolest places in Budapest for a cocktail.

Sitting at the lower end of the boutique-lined Andrássy út, the hotel is well positioned, with St Stephen’s Basilica and the Opera House both a short walk away. The building dates to 1880, and real pride has been taken in its renovation – look up, for instance, to the frescoes in the glass-topped atrium lobby, which are faithful to the style of the period, and took several months to paint. Rooms – all set around the atrium – are contemporary classic in style. Bistro Fine, paying tribute to the history of Andrássy út, serves Hungarian and international dishes that are creative, beautifully presented and very reasonably priced.

This adults-only boutique hotel is unashamedly targeted at the style-conscious. It claims a prime spot next to the Chain Bridge, offering magnificent river views from its rooftop bar and many of its rooms. Rooms are decorated with bright colours and animal motifs; the seventh-floor Deluxe rooms are slightly larger, and have an open-plan layout with a freestanding tub in the main room, so that you can enjoy the views while having a soak. Get a room on the front corner of the façade for the best bridge views. Facilities include a sauna, relaxation room and small gym; there’s also a steak-focused restaurant on site.

Parlament is small but very pleasingly formed – indeed, it’s one of the best boutique hotels in the city, with good facilities and imaginative design. And, as the name suggests, it’s well located near the Parliament building. The décor is airy and colourful: the bar, for instance, has an eclectic collection of brightly upholstered armchairs and cow-hide stools, while the breakfast room has the feel of a rustic food market. Rooms are impressive, with a distinctly Art Deco feel. There’s also a lovely little wellness area, including a whirlpool tub set in a relaxing, green-tiled room, and a sauna.

Baltazár is ideally placed for those who want to base themselves in the city’s historic quarter on the Buda side of the river. This hotel is probably best characterised as boho-chic – funky, even quirky in places, but elegant, too. The reception area sets the tone, with a red banquette running the length of one wall, travel trunks serving as coffee tables and a writing desk the place for check-in. The hotel aims to be relaxed and intimate, and it’s an aim achieved. Each room is unique in design but share a creative, classy flavour. Its restaurant is top drawer: grilled dishes are the speciality, as well as variations of Hungarian classics.

Artsy boutique hotels are all the rage in Budapest, but a great many of them are bland. Not Casati Budapest Hotel. The owner has blended contemporary design with some of the more interesting features of the 200-year-old building. The stripped brick of the late-18th-century pokes through – most notably the preserved well, which is the showpiece of the courtyard atrium. Rooms are divided between four design approaches, all slick of design but comfortable, too. The Tuk Tuk Bar is a great deal of fun, and the hotel is well-situated both for the main tourist centre near the river and the café-bars of Liszt Ferenc tér.

The Palazzo occupies an elegant palace built in 1899 by Count Nándor Zichy, a nobleman who was once imprisoned for writing a political article critical of Habsburg rule. Its façade has high windows embellished with carvings of seashells and garlands and other Rococo details much loved by early-20th-century aristocrats. Inside, the overall thrust of the design is slick and modern, but the marriage of the two eras has been managed very sympathetically. Rooms are nicely laid out, clean-lined and contemporary, with silver fleur-de-lis motifs. It’s around a 15-minute walk from tourist favourites such as Váci utca and the Parliament building.

Pest-Buda – a boutique hotel of just 10 rooms – is jammed full of personality, with industrial-style copper lamps, oak floors and quirky contemporary artworks. It’s not only characterful, but warm and welcoming. Rooms come in four classes (Courtyard, Deluxe, Suite and Atelier Suite), and have real star quality. There’s Hungarian oak on the floors and limestone in the bathrooms, and an eclectic scattering of modern and historical pictures on the walls. The restaurant is top-quality, offering a menu of both international and Hungarian classics. There’s a French café feel to it, with accordion music in the evening.

This boutique hotel occupies a six-floor terraced townhouse and is very nicely located just off a pedestrianised square. While it has features that are characteristic of the original apartment building it occupies, including a spiral stone staircase, the rooms are unashamedly bold and modern in design. There are both industrial touches (metal framework; exposed pipes) and rustic ones such as stools and side tables made from tree trunks. The colourful Urban Tiger restaurant serves imaginative takes on Southeast-Asian cuisine, such as shrimp tempura with pumpkin salad and sesame-crusted tuna.

Lánchíd 19’s position on the Buda river bank makes it convenient for both the Castle District and the Belváros. It has always billed itself as a design hotel – but there is substance behind the style. The décor is clean lined and contemporary, and each room is given an individual stamp with artwork provided by a different arts student from a Budapest university. One room, for example, has a Banksy-esque stencil above on the wall above the bed. Panorama Suites on the top floor are very slick, with large whirlpool bathtubs from which you can look over the city. The small restaurant is another romantic spot, with big windows onto the river.

The décor is nicely done, with an Asian flavour that reflects the tastes of the hotel’s Turkish owner. Rich colours of gold and purple are very much at the fore, and a vine motif makes a regular appearance on chairs, mirror frames and pendant lights. Rooms are compact but comfortable. Buffet breakfast – including hot dishes such as scrambled eggs, sausages and ratatouille – is served in the airy atrium, with its stripped-brick walls and glass roof, and an adjoining, plusher room with gold fretwork and hanging lanterns. The hotel sits on a residential road just inside the Great Boulevard, 650 feet from Nyugati Station.