studentsineurope

Review: Capital Hostel, Budapest

Capital Hostel, Budapest

When trying to travel cheap, the first thing a student looks for in a city is a good hostel. But, how to weed through the dozens of listings at sites like Hostelworld and Hostelbookers? That’s why we’ve started the hostel reviews here at Students in Europe – to give you the benefit of our cheap, student travel experience.

Today’s hostel, Capital Hostel, is situated in a gorgeous old building in the heart of the Pest side of Budapest. The city is split in two by the Danube River, with the west side known as Buda and the east side known as Pest, which is where Budapest derives its name from. Though Buda, the older side, houses most of the city’s historic sites and monuments, Pest is its thriving central area and home to a buzzing nightlife district. Many of Budapest’s hostels are located on the Pest side, with easy access to museums, restaurants and bars. And the convenient Budapest metro system, as well as several historic bridges, make it easy to get across the river for sightseeing on the Buda side.

Capital Hostel is one of the more stately hostels I’ve ever stayed in. Situated in a large, old building on a busy Pest street corner, you have to be buzzed in and climb a set of massive wooden stairs to reach it on the second floor. I can only imagine that the building was formerly an apartment building based on the look and feel inside the hostel. The huge bay windows and high ceilings give the whole place a palatial feel. Sweeping curtains hang from floor to ceiling and the wooden floors creak under your feet as you walk from room to room.

I stayed at Capital Hostel in Budapest during November of 2007, on my autumn break from school. According to their website, the hostel has been renovated and reopened just last month (November 2009). I can only imagine the improvements they’ve added to the hostel to make it even more beautiful than it was two years ago.

Capital Hostel isn’t huge, which is great for solo travelers or student travelers looking to make friends. You can easily connect with your roommates if you stay in one of their two 8-bed dorm rooms. Likewise, if you’re a couple or friends traveling on a budget, you can book one of the absolutely gorgeous double or triple rooms and feel like you’re sleeping in a palace for the night.

The stunning Oriel Room has space for three with one double bed and one single, and a glass chandelier shines above you, while the long white curtains mask amazing views of Budapest just outside. Capital Hostel’s coolest room, in my opinion, is the Gallery Room, a quad room with two single beds and one double, which is hidden away from the rest of the room in a sweet wooden loft. All of Capital Hostel’s rooms are extremely spacious, even the mixed dorms, so you won’t ever feel like you are in a gross, cramped hovel.

Capital Hostel is located on the corner of Bajcsy Zsilinszky and Andrassy streets, just a short walk from the Deak Ferenc ter Metro station on Blue Line 3. A closer stop is located at the Bajcsy Zsilinszky Út Metro station on Yellow Line 1. The address is Andrassy ut 1. – just look for the big red door and ring doorbell number 18.