New restaurants, with a better appreciation of European tastes for lighter food and even fresh fish, are adding a sophistication to Budapest more in line with its high levels of foreign investment and booming economy.
People are eager to help a foreigner, and services are improving rapidly.
One that is truly helpful is a radio taxi system that ensures that fares are much lower than those demanded from the taxis that loiter at hotels, train stations and tourist sites. Anti-Communists from the countryside, Orban and his followers in Fidesz still see Budapest as the corrupt capital, where an old elite collaborated with the Communists after 1956 and still wants to run the state. Deals are nearly always available, so negotiate. But the 340 rooms are large, with warm wood and soft chairs. It offers good food and attentive service.