At Hotel Aranypart, a balcony room for two in peak season, breakfast included, is € 59 (14,750 HUF), making it a highly competitive hotel. Apartments are only €10 more, at € 69 (17,250 HUF). Their packages are extraordinary. In high season, between June and July, the price is Euro 198 (49,500 HUF) per person for a couple, covering seven days and six nights, half-board, with a buffet dinner, a welcome drink at the first dinner, unlimited use of sauna and fitness room, and, of course, the beach. The add-ons at this writing are at Hungarian rates, not tourist rates, making it one of the best bargain hotels in Central Europe.
The hotel has had to struggle out of Soviet mismanagement and is well on the road in a free market. The staff, once Russian, German, and Hungarian, has now been broadened to include English. The children’s programs (with English/Hungarian and German/Hungarian “animators,” who entertain the children) include instruction in such fun activities as archery, a children’s disco, and swims and excursions purposely designed to give parents long breaks.
While the carpeted ambience of a four star is not here, beauty parlor/salon, pedicures, massages and a gym and sauna, inroom SAT/TV, minibar, computer connections, and onpremises dry cleaning ease the difference. The hotel’s beach extends for hundreds of yards before you are waist-deep, leading to games and inflatable castles for lakeside fun. Add a superb kitchen that can compete with any of the finer restaurants, and their wine list includes fine imported wines as well as Hungarian classics. Give it to the Hungarians on this one.
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