“Nice hotel in need of a makeover”

Just visited this hotel for the third time, looking for a Spa for a weekend in January. The first time we came here, we had been biking for days along the Lahn and this was a very welcome experience - grandiose with big rooms, a spa and secure bike storage. There is a cool bar with great tables to … more

Just visited this hotel for the third time, looking for a Spa for a weekend in January. The first time we came here, we had been biking for days along the Lahn and this was a very welcome experience - grandiose with big rooms, a spa and secure bike storage. There is a cool bar with great tables to sit and play cards in the evening and watch a game. The spa area itself is very nice. Pool is super warm and the saunas and relaxation areas are very comfortable. Bathrobes and slippers are provided. However, on this third visit, this fancy decor is actually starting to seem a bit kitschy. Flashback to the days of the Tsars. The cool bar area has now become a place where people are smoking indoors. This is a Wellness hotel but the hallways smell of smoke in places. This is not okay, and especially not in a hotel where people come to drink the water for health and to be pampered. Smoking outdoors is one thing - indoors is not so great. We did not eat dinner here this time (found a great restaurant about a three minute walk away - Vonundzu) but the previous two times we ate here, dinner was perfectly nice. Breakfast is fine with very nice staff. On arrival, it took three tries to get the room category which we had booked - river view with a balcony. First time had no river view or balcony (receptionist seemed shocked when I came back to tell her), second one had a limited river view with no balcony and third one was fine. On check-out, we were initially billed at a rate 85 euros higher than I had booked. This was immediately remedied with no issues - just a mix-up. Rooms, by the way, are very large and very clean. We had a nice, quiet corner room with a HUGE bathroom. Wifi could be better. In summary, this lovely grand old hotel could use a bit of a facelift. The building really is beautiful but the stuffy furniture in the public spaces now just seems a bit weird and the room furnishings could stand to be updated as well. Overall our stay was nice and definitely relaxing but the smoking was a huge turn-off.

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“Mixed feelings”

To start with the positives: the best thing was the breakfast buffet, good quality, many different items in a nice restaurant with old-time grandeur. Also, the mattress was good (not too soft), quiet sleep was possible thanks to the curtains blocking any light, and the windows any noise. Marble wa… more

To start with the positives: the best thing was the breakfast buffet, good quality, many different items in a nice restaurant with old-time grandeur. Also, the mattress was good (not too soft), quiet sleep was possible thanks to the curtains blocking any light, and the windows any noise. Marble wall in bathroom seemed to be no fake. My room (401) had a view on the Lahn river valley. Location is great: just a few minutes walk from the railway station, bus stop very close (but few buses running). There is an original, semi-nostalgic hotel bar (but closed on some evenings), and, in the same building, Bad Ems' most agreeable cafe/bar "Rita's Arkade" (but closing early, and sometimes with slow service). On with the negatives: Musty, humid smell in the shower room. Maybe more thorough cleaning and CONTINUOUS venting would help. Half of the openings of the shower head were clogged, so showering was not very efficient. Since the shower area was half open, water easily gets outside this area. Moreover, there is a door stopper in the floor of the wardrobe, and you easily bang your toes against the door stopper when approaching the hooks with your coat. Ouch! My room had pretty small windows, so it was relatively dark inside even in daytime (without electrical light). Furniture in the room: the first thing you realize is that all that “natural wood” is fake. If the “wood”-like surface patterns on two cupboard doors look exactly the same (within submillimeter precision), then you know this is not natural wood, but plastic fake. The rule seems to be: make it look classy and luxurious without spending the money needed for real wood. So the overall effect is “new kitsch trying hard to look like serious old-time luxury”, but not succeeding. It’s like some not-so-rich “nouveaux riches” people desperately pretending to be really rich. You would have to be half-blind, self-delusional or without any sense of style to not notice this trickery. Even in the breakfast room, there is some fake: although coffee sups and plates were made of porcelain, the white muesli bowls were plain plastic. Arrrgh! Room service was storming into the room an hour before check-out time, but when actually checking out, I had wait for quite some time before a clerk appeared at the front desk. All in all: for the money spent I really expected more. But I may come back some day for a breakfast-only stay in the restaurant!!

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