|
If you are like us, your ideal place to stay when you travel:
• Is at the center of a city's life, yet tranquil and calming.
• Evokes the flavor and history of the city .
• Is within easy walking access of the major sights and all public transit.
• Has all the comforts of your own home, plus some amenities you wish you could take back with you.
That's Apartment Max at Károlyi Kert.
Nestled in the very center of Pest (the 5th District or Belvaros), there lies a gated vest pocket park with meticulous landscaping and cascading fountains and playgrounds.
Originally the private garden of Count Antal Károlyi, this park sits behind the 18th Century mansion that is now the city's Petöfi Literature Museum. One block from the National Museum and two blocks from the two major Metro lines (the Red line at Astoria and the Blue Line at Kalvin ter), the park is also just two blocks from the Great Synagogue (the largest synagogue in the world), three blocks from the Danube, 2 blocks from the historic pedestrian street Vaci utca, and conveniently midway between our two favorite Budapest cafes...the Cafe Central and the Alibi (and three blocks from our favorite pastry shop, the Jeg Bufé).
Only 21 apartments have balconies overlooking Károlyi Kert and Apartment Max is one of that select group. Because the traffic bars driving around the park, cars are discouraged from the area and many Budapest natives have never even stumbled across this gem that is within walking distance of all of central Pest!
As a result, guests at Apartment Max wake up to the birds' singing and toast the setting sun over the Buda hills with a glass of wine from the apartment's balcony.
The apartment itself is no less extraordinary than its location. Approximately 80 square metres, it has 4.5 metre (15') ceilings in a building that is more than a century old. Restored to the kind of cozy luxury that we imagine the apartment afforded in the 19th Century, with period antiques and modern conveniences (including satellite TV and large LCD display).
This is a lavish 1 bedroom apartment, with the option of using the living room as a separate second bedroom. The living room has a daybed and a separate queen-size convertible bed, with a very comfortable mattress (it is a pop-up, not a folding mattress). The living room and master bedroom each have separate entries from the foyer, permitting privacy for those sleeping in each room. Each has convenient access to the bath/wc and kitchen through the foyer.
The master bedroom has a king-size bed and balcony overlooking the park. .
The bathroom is entirely new, with twin sinks, a custom shower and toilet.
The kitchen is also fully renovated and provides a dishwasher, washer, dryer, and all cooking appliances (including convection oven). There is a small Espresso counter in the kitchen with a Nespresso coffee system, as well as a water kettle and selection of teas, and two seats where you can sit and look out on the courtyard.
The study area in the foyer has a computer for email and Web access, as well as high speed Wi-Fi throughout the apartment. A VOIP phone provides unlimited free calling to landlines throughout most of the world and all phones in the USA and Canada, as well as a mobile phone for guests' use with a local Hungarian SIM card.
We have tried to equip the apartment with everything we would want in a new and unknown locale...from rain ponchos and umbrellas to guidebooks, maps and compilations of tips about the city...even toys, games, and dvds for rainy or lazy days at home.
We are not the typical apartment rental business. We are a pair of midlife American academics who love to travel. John's father was born in Hungary and left in the mid-1930s. John grew up hearing tales of Budapest, but we first visited it in 2001, decades after John's father' had died. We fell in love with the city and its vibrant yet relaxed lifestyle and culture, and we purchased and renovated this place just two years ago for family use as well as rental. It is furnished and equipped to provide everything we would want to find in an apartment when we travel ourselves, and more. We want you to be as enthusiastic about this city as we are, and will be available to answer any questions or to assist in any way we can. |
