If you read our blog, you probably know that when we travel abroad we like to stay in hostels because they are more affordable, offer more opportunities for socializing and all sorts of activities and are much cooler than an ordinary hotel. For our vacation in Budapest we chose Maverick Lodges Hostel, which became one of our favorites hostels and we’ll tell you in this article why.
Location
First, we were very excited about the location because Maverick Hostel is situated in the heart of the city. When we read on the site that is located near the Ferenciek Tere subway station we thought that they are exaggerating, as all the ads do. But guess what? From the subway station we almost enter in the hostel and from our bedroom window we could see perfectly the underground entrance.
The building where is the hostel hosted seems a museum, is enormous and very old and you really think you stepped into a cultural institution, but as soon as you pass the hostel threshold, things changes, everything is much more hipster style 🙂
Near the hostel you can find a commercial street with lots of restaurants, pubs and stores and most of the city’s tourist attractions are within 15 minutes on foot but we will tell you more about them in our next post.
However, the fact that we stayed in a central location had some disadvantages, too. In the morning was quite impossible not to wake up because some buildings in the area were restored and the workers were very noisy. The room doesn’t have double glazed windows (don’t know if they have a law that doesn’t allow them to mount such windows- in Rome and London, for example, we know that they were not allowed to do so) and it was a little cold, too, the window was not so well insulated, but we turned on the heat and it was ok.
Room
Speaking of windows, we must tell you that our favorite corner of the room was the window sill, so bright and beautiful, a perfect place for reading. We would love to have such corner at home !
We stayed in a standard double room with private bathroom, but we had a common lounge area and a fully equipped kitchen with everything you needed to cook, including dishwasher.
Kitchen’ walls were covered with post it notes, photos, bank notes and messages from visitors from all over the world. An original and cool idea, we loved it and every time we drank our tea we read the messages.
Facilities
The lounge area attracted us the most because it offers many activities for those staying in Maverick Lodges Hostel. On the first day of our stay there was a „wine night”- a free wine tasting for all and in the weekend they have „movie night” and other themed activities.
Also, there were several computers with free Wi-fi and they had Netflix subscription and movies on DVD, but the best part was the projection screen where we watched a movie one evening because in the rest of the nights we were very tired when we got at the hostel and we had to rest for the next day. Anyway, it was very nice to watch a big screen movie and all just for us..
Also in the lounge area were a lot of books and magazines, but clearly you don’t have much time for them when you go to visit a city. Instead, we took a map and some flyers with offers and tourist attractions to learn more about Budapest.
From Maverick you can also rent bikes if you want to visit the city on two wheels (14 euros for all day, but you can rent half day, too). Also, you can have breakfast at the hostel, but it is not included in the price, it costs 5 euros.
A minus of our experience at Maverick Lodges Hostel was the room cleaning service. Although, on their website is wrote „daily cleaning”, in our room this thing never happened, but we didn’t ask for explanations at reception, we weren’t bothered so much because we didn’t spend so much time in our room anyway 🙂
Speaking of reception staff, they were very friendly and helped us without hesitation every time we need something.
Prices
The prices at Maverick Lodges Hostel are different depending the period you chose to visit Budapest, the room (they have rooms up to 10 beds) and the number of nights you spend here, so better check their website to get an idea about prices.
If you have to check out very late, it’s helpful to know that Maverick Lodges Hostel has a contract with some private taxi drivers and they offer airport transfer for surcharge, so you don’t have to risk by taking a taxi from the street and be cheated, as we read on Trip Advisor. We paid around 7500 forints ( 25 euros) for the ride to airport.
We really liked Maverick Hostel and if we ever return to Budapest, we will stay here again.
Have you visited Budapest? Where have you stayed?
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Daca ne urmariti blogul de mai multa vreme, stiti ca atunci cand calatorim in afara tarii ne place sa ne cazam la hosteluri pentru ca sunt mult mai accesibile ca pret, ofera mai multe posibilitati de socializare si tot felul de activitati si sunt mult mai cool decat un banal hotel.
Nici in vacanta din Budapesta nu am facut exceptie si ne-am cazat la Maverick Lodges Hostel, care a devenit preferatul nostru dintre cele in care am stat pana acum si o sa va spunem si de ce.
Locatie
In primul rand, am fost incantate de locatie pentru ca e pozitionat central si cand am citit pe site ca e la cativa zeci de metri de statia de metrou Ferenciek Tere credeam ca exagereaza, asa cum fac anunturile de inchiriere/vanzare apartamente la noi. Dar ce sa vezi? Din statia de metrou aproape ca intri direct in hostel, iar de pe geamul camerei noastre vedeam perfect gura de metrou.
Cladirea in care e hostelul parea una istorica- intrarea si holul par de muzeu, sunt enorme si chiar crezi ca ai ajuns intr-o institutie culturala, insa de indata ce treci pragul hostelului, lucrurile se schimba, totul e mult mai hipsteresc 🙂
In apropiere de hostel se afla si o strada cu restaurante si baruri, un fel de Centrul Vechi al lor si in plus eram foarte aproape de multe obiective turistice, am mers pe jos la toate, dar despre asta o sa va povestim in postarea urmatoare.
Totusi faptul ca am stat central a avut si unele dezavantaje cum ar fi zgomotul. La ei nu era trafic prea mare noaptea sau galagie pe strada, insa dimineata era cam imposibil sa nu te trezesti deoarece se restaurau mai multe cladiri din zona si muncitorii tranteau materialele si lucrau foarte zgomotos.
La camere nu erau geamuri termopan (nu stim daca si ei au o lege care nu le permite sa isi monteze astfel de geamuri, in Roma si Londra, de exemplu stim ca nu aveau voie sa faca asta) si de asta auzeam destul de bine zarva de pe strada si intra si putin frig, nefiind izolat atat de bine, dar cu caldura data la maximum, a fost ok.
Camera
Daca tot vorbim de geamuri, trebuie sa va vorbim si de coltul nostru preferat din camera, pervazul/divanul de la geam, unde era asa luminos si frumos, o atmosfera ce te imbia parca la citit. Ne-ar placea mult sa avem si acasa un asemenea coltisor!
Noi am stat intr-o camera dubla standard cu baie proprie, insa, ca la mai toate hostelurile aveam si o zona de lounge comuna si o bucatarie echipata cu tot ce era nevoie pentru a gati, inclusiv masina de spalat vase. Peretii bucatariei erau acoperiti cu post it-uri, fotografii, bancnote si mesaje din toata lumea, de la vizitatorii care au trecut pragul Maverick Lodge Hostel. O idee originala si foarte cool, ne-a placut la nebunie si de fiecare data cand mergeam sa ne bem ceaiul (era din partea casei si aveau o multime de sortimente, la fel si cafea) mai aruncam o privire pe mesaje.
Facilitati
Zona de lounge ne-a atras cel mai mult din tot hostelul pentru ca oferea mai multe activitati pentru cei cazati in hostel. In prima seara cand ne-am dus a fost „wine night”, o degustare de vinuri gratuita pentru toti, in alta seara era „movie night” si alte activitati tematice.
De asemenea, in lounge erau si mai multe calculatoare unde puteai naviga in voie pe Internet sau te puteai uita la filme- aveau abonament Netflix, dar si multe DVD-uri, insa cel mai tare a fost proiectorul de care am profitat doar o seara apentru ca eram foarte obosite cand ajungeam si trebuia sa ne odihnim ca a doua zi sa o luam de la capat cu exploratul. Oricum, a fost foarte dragut si relaxant sa stam pe „pufuri” si sa avem o proiectie speciala doar pentru noi.
Tot in zona de lounge erau o multime de carti si reviste, insa clar nu prea ai timp de ele cand mergi sa vizitezi un oras. In schimb am profitat de hartile si revistele cu oferte si obiective turistice oferite de cei de la hostel pentru a ne informa mai bine despre ce sa vizitam.
De la Maverick va puteti inchiria si biciclete, daca vreti sa vizitati orasul pe doua roti (tariful pe intreaga zi era de 14 euro, insa o puteti inchiria si pe jumatate de zi).
De asemenea, daca doriti puteti lua micul dejun la hostel, insa acesta nu este inclus in pretul cazarii, costa 5 euro.
Un minus al experientei noastre la Maverick Lodge Hostel ar fi curatenia camerelor. Desi pe site scria ca fac zilnic curatenie, la noi in camera nu s-a intamplat lucrul asta, insa nici nu am mers la receptie sa cerem explicatii, nu ne-a deranjat atat de tare pentru ca oricum nu prea stateam in camera 🙂
Apropo de receptie, personalul e super amabil si toti (au fost vreo 5-6 cat am stat noi) ne-au ajutat fara ezitare de fiecare data.
Preturi
Preturile la Maverick Lodge Hostel difera de perioada in care va cazati, de camera aleasa (au camere de pana la 10 paturi), dar si de numarul de nopti pe care alegeti sa le petreceti la ei, asa ca e bine sa verificati site-ul lor si sa introduceti datele exacte pentru a va face o idee despre tarife.
Daca faceti check-out-ul noaptea, e util de stiut ca Maverick Lodge Hostel are contract cu niste taximetristi privati si au un tarif fix pana la aeroport, astfel nu riscati sa luati un taxi de pe strada si sa fiti inselati, asa cum am inteles ca se practica (erau foarte multe experiente neplacute si tot felul de patanii povestite pe Trip Advisor, ca si inRomania, de altfel). Trebuie sa stiti ca la ei e mult mai mare tariful practicat, peste 250 forinti/km, noi am dat la taxi-ul privat 7500 de forinti, aproximativ 25 de euro si tot cam atat ar fi ajuns si o cura „cinstita” cu un taxi normal.
Noua ne-a placut la Maverick si daca am reveni in Budapesta, clar ne-am mai caza din nou aici.
Voi ati vizitat Budapesta? Daca da, unde ati stat?
