Aura Hotel - Adults Only in Balatonfured

I stayed here for 3 nights with my mom. Here is my experience:

Property and Location: The property seems relatively new, well maintained and clean. Location is great, walkable and safe. There are options for food, shopping and activities. Also, there are two shores of a lake (Balaton) close by for swimming and other activities.

Food: We had half board (breakfast and dinner) included with our stay. For the most part, the food was tasty and well presented except of the catfish stew ("harcsa paprikas turos csuszaval"), which was completely tastless. and the noodles were dry. A Hungarian specialty like this should be always outstanding. Considering the hotel' rates, filtered tap water should be free of charge. Instead, we paid around 7 dollars for the plain water. We found this outrages. We loved the breakfast choices like egg options, chia pudding and fruits. Dinner started at 6:30pm which was a little late for us (usually it starts from 6 pm)

Room and Service: This needs improvement BIG TIME. This is the first hotel I ever stayed where staff does not make the beds. We had to ask to vacuum and empty the trash. Only one bathing towel and one pool towel per person was provided. There were no small towels for face and hands. There was no hand lotion, shampoo and conditioner. These are standards for even a 2/3 star hotel elsewhere. Some towels had holes in them. Cleaning staff seemed careless.

I hope management will read this and make some improvement.

Overall, the hotel made a good impression – it's well-maintained, with a very pleasant terrace and pool area. Breakfast and dinner were served partially as a buffet – in the morning there was bread, cheese, cold cuts, vegetables, and fruit, plus the option to order from a fixed menu (around 8–9 dishes). Dinners also had a partial buffet (soups, salads, starters, desserts), and a daily-changing menu with four main courses to choose from. The dishes were nicely presented, and you could see the effort and attention to detail. However, sometimes they felt overly elaborate – the flavors didn’t always work well together and didn’t always hold up. That said, I appreciated the creativity and variety. The pancakes were definitely a highlight – truly delicious. Unfortunately, the last two days left a negative impression – during breakfast, I noticed ants walking around and under the fruit tray, which completely ruined my appetite. It’s a shame because the hotel has a good location and offers peace and quiet. Due to the hygiene issue, I’m giving it a final rating of 3/5.