Last weekend I had my water park premiere. I was firmly convinced that water slides, crowds of people and shared saunas were simply not for me. But Matias is at an age where keeping him entertained and tiring him out is the most important mission of the day. So, determined and packed, we set off to our Hungarian neighbours, straight to the capital, Budapest.
At the renowned and pompous Aquaworld Budapest we were welcomed with a welcome drink right at reception. Bam! An instant point in their favour, every parent of two small children understands the state in which we climbed out (sorry, fell out of the car) after a three-hour journey. Slightly cheered by the bubbles, we headed to our family apartment and I tell you, the accommodation was great. Two huge bedrooms with two bathrooms, a spacious living room with a kitchen and dining area, and a terrace with direct access to the pool. For me, 10 points out of ten. Straight away, in our bathrobes, we made our way to the wellness centre and within a minute I had totally switched off. Beautiful, clean spaces and above all services everywhere, drinks, food, smoothies, simply anything you need at the moment. The kids had a great time splashing about in the water with the grandparents and we relaxed. When they'd had enough of the water, just around the corner there is a colourful children's centre like the ones you know from shopping centres. I deliberately don't write children's corner, because it was definitely not a corner. More of a centre, or an arena.
What I will remember most from this stay, however, is the food. Hungarian cuisine is famous far and wide, but this was something unbelievable. Not once did we stop at one or two courses, simply heaven in your mouth. The whole resort is family and baby friendly and you could feel it in everything. A special children's buffet where you could even find baby food from Hippo, fresh porridges and various other goodies for the little ones.
But to be objective, point out everything real and give you a credible review, I must say that we spent our time mostly in the Oriental spa section, which is "calm", since it has no slides, water chutes and the noise that goes with them. Given the young age of our children we didn't need them yet, and the children bathed in almost empty huge thermal pools with 35°C water, which is where the photos for this article are from. If you have older children, Aquaworld Budapest is an even better choice for you, because you won't even know where the children are. That I guarantee. (You'll find great photos of the attractions on their website.) On every corner other attractions await them too, in the form of electronic games, PlayStations or Xboxes, but also billiards, darts or squash courts. The resort is vast and you need to be prepared to do a lot of walking. All services and entries work with electronic wristbands, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Especially if your wristband doesn't work, we took a walk to reception several times because of it. It is also important to plan your stay according to personal preferences. Waiting for empty pools on a Saturday afternoon or on a public holiday is a bit naive after all. We swam best on Monday morning when we had the spa to ourselves.
In conclusion I must tell you that I went to the water park with slight disdain and tiny expectations, but I left rested, well fed and above all relaxed. I recommend this resort for families with children and especially for larger groups with children.
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The article was created in collaboration with Aquaworld Budapest
