“Luxury hotel in posh neighborhood”

We have not stayed in other hotels in Chisinau, so cannot compare. Budapest Hotel is in a wealthy residential neighborhood near the US Embassy. It is across the street from a nice, very large park that once had a beautiful lake, which, alas, has been drained and not refilled, although manual labor continues on the restoration of the wall bordering the lakebed. The hotel has protected parking within a gated area next to the hotel. One must climb many steps to enter, so this is not a good choice for frail or handicapped travelers. The staff were friendly and competent. There is a nice, small restaurant, and you can take drinks or snacks beside the pool. The rooms were nice and clean, and the bed was comfortable. Some of the luxury touches were a bit much, such as the shower with radio. The control buttons were worn so we couldn't turn off the radio, only reduce the volume. The room was "smoke free," complete with warning of 100 Euro penalty for smokers, but it smelled of smoke anyway - a common problem in this part of the world. We reserved the apartment (101), thinking our young cotraveler could sleep in the anteroom, but there was no bed or offer of rollaway (not even a couch), so we ended up renting a second room. The apartment has 2 baths but only one large bed. The hotel is about 30 minutes by foot from the center, which was farther than we had anticipated. We would certainly consider staying here again but would also explore hotels closer to the center.