Turkeys flying off
Stepping inside the lobby, I immediately felt like I had arrived somewhere special. A red banquette with elephant-print cushions runs the length of an entire wall, retro travel trunks serve as coffee tables, and assorted mirrors hang from the exposed brick walls.
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
On Baltazar’s doorstep is the city’s hilltop castle district, with fabulous views of the Hungarian Parliament on the other side of the Danube. The cobblestoned castle quarter is a Unesco World Heritage site, including the royal palace and Matthias church. Don’t miss the Hospital in the Rock museum – underground caves where the wounded were treated during the 50-day siege of Budapest in the Second World War.
Our elegant suite would rival a one-bed flat for size. Each of the hotel’s 11 rooms are decorated in a vintage-meets-contemporary style. Ours took on an arty theme, with a giant print of Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring above the bed. We had an in-room coffee machine and the limestone bathroom had twin sinks and L’occitane toiletries.
THE FOOD
A Frenchy Breakfast Bundle is included in the room rate, served in the funky restaurant downstairs. Guests are given two delicious, fresh croissants, served with a choice of homemade jams, freshly squeezed orange juice and a hot drink. Other breakfast options are available at an extra cost.
THE SERVICE
Laid-back, unobtrusive staff give the Baltazar a lovely, relaxed atmosphere.
LOVED
Despite being a stone’s throw from some of Budapest’s most popular attractions, the location is peaceful. Plus anyone married to a duvet-snatching husband like mine will love the fact the giant beds are made up with one duvet each.
HATED
If I nitpicked, I’d say the wi-fi could be better.
BOTTOM LINE
Rooms from £123 plus a four per cent tourist tax. Breakfast is included if booked online.
CHECK IT OUT
THE ROOM
baltazarbudapest.com. BRITISH Airways is gearing up to serve 66,000 Christmas dinners in the sky this festive season.
The great Christmas getaway will see 330,000 Brussels sprouts prepped, alongside 270,000 roast potatoes and 8,250kg of turkey. And 100,000 mince pies will also be served.
BA is laying on festive entertainment,with 40 festive films, including Elf and The Holiday. WE have gazed into our crystal globe and these are the key trends you can expect for the year ahead when it comes to planning a holiday.
Multiple-cations
Staycations will do well in 2019. A combination of Brexit anxiety, the weakness of the pound and memories of the recent long hot summer will encourage more of us to stay in this country than usual.
Holiday cottages in particular will have a bumper year and those that have something extra such as hot tubs – the staycation version of villas with pools – will get booked up fast. So will all the traditionally popular destinations, such as Cornwall, Pembrokeshire and the Yorkshire coast, so it might be time to explore another part of the UK.
With more staycations will come more buzzwords. We have already got mancations – breaks with just guys – all-girl mumcations and painmoons – break-up holidays. Expect dogcations, gaycations and traincations, too.
Plus daycations – we will compensate for not going overseas by having a lot more days away.
The B word
Despite the above, travel companies are saying they are not alarmed by Brexit. Sure, there will be a big booking hole around the end of March, as lots of people hold back.
However that could also mean a big opportunity as airlines and tour operators drop their prices to attract customers.
So if you want to go somewhere but have not been able to afford it till now, the end of March could be your moment.
But the general consensus in the tourism business is that Brexit is not a big deal and in any case, the end of March is not a crucial holiday time. The ski season is pretty much done by then, you will have had your winter sun, and everyone will be hanging on for spring.
Shelter skelter
The interest in glamping shows no sign of slowing. The fashion for shepherds’ huts continues to grow, as does the passion for treehouses, log cabins, yurts, teepees, converted railway carriages and double-decker buses.
And it is not just individual glamping sites that are coming up with new ideas. Big camping operators such as Eurocamp and Canvas feel obliged to offer something a bit different every year too.
Meanwhile, in the hotel sector in Europe, there is a tribe of trendy new chains offering what they call “lean luxury” for millennials – luxury quality at affordable prices. These include the likes of Mama Shelter, Ruby hotels and Motel One, mostly in bigger cities, with rates from around £70.
At the budget end, with doubles from around £35, B&B hotels are huge right across western Europe, with more than 400 properties, leading a fightback against Airbnb.
Up and away
New flights continue to attract big publicity. This winter, the eye-catching ones are low-cost flights into the Middle East, with easyjet flying to the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba, giving easy access to the spellbinding lost city of Petra.
Meanwhile Wizz Air has started a service to Eilat, on Israel’s slice of Red Sea coast. Also just starting, rather further away, is British Airways’ new service to Durban, the first direct flights to South Africa’s Indian Ocean shore.
And later in the year, low-cost long-haul operator Norwegian will be continuing its Following Fo the massive increase in ocean cruising, cr river cruising is coming up fast. Sure, it is more expensive than its big sister, but you do get ge a lot more variety in terms of stops and sidetrips si on a river, making it a lot more active.
It is also spreading worldwide so once you ha have done the great European rivers such as the R Rhine, Danube and Rhone, then venture further af afield to the likes of the Mekong in Indochina an and the Irrawaddy in Myanmar.
WWA Welcome back
After a few years in the doldrums, mostly for se security reasons, Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt are al all making a comeback. Tunisia is a good place