B&B Hotel Essen-Nord in Essen

I was really disappointed. According to the information, the reception was supposed to be staffed until 10 p.m., but by 8:45 p.m., no one was there. Check-in via the terminal worked, but that was the first downside.

The room was even worse: crumbs all over the carpet, cobwebs on the radiator/air conditioner, the TV was broken, and there was dirt on the bathroom floor. Absolutely unacceptable for a hotel.

No one responded to my inquiries.

The next morning, I couldn't even check out – the terminal told me to go to reception… which, of course, was again unattended. Frankly, quite rude and completely unprofessional.

For the price, I expected much more. I definitely won't be coming back.

Absolutely avoid
No one at reception when we arrived at 3:45 p.m., even though it said "start at 3 p.m." The hotel was undergoing renovations. Nothing left on the ground floor, no flooring, dangling electrical wires, no breakfast room. Only a terminal for our reservation to get the room number, which we had to pay for a second time or no room. Unacceptable. The room was too small, and the shower gel dispenser was empty!

An absolute nightmare!” I've experienced a lot, but this hotel took the cake. The room was smaller than a broom closet, and it smelled like someone had left a wet rug there. The bed creaked with every breath, and the mattress was so worn that the next day I had back pain that even a chiropractor couldn't fix. The walls are so thin that I had to listen to my neighbor's snoring symphonies—including his 4 a.m. alarm clock, which he apparently didn't turn off on principle. The air conditioning sounded like a jet taking off, and the windows were so poorly insulated that I felt like I was sleeping right on the highway. The staff were either invisible or unfriendly. My complaint about the cold shower water was met with a shrug, and the "breakfast room" (more like a damp basement with plastic furniture) served only rock-hard rolls and coffee that had obviously been diluted with dishwater. Oh yes, and to top it all off, there was a construction site right in front of the hotel, happily swinging jackhammers from 6 a.m. onward. Why this "hotel" is still open is a mystery to me—I've experienced more luxurious and cleaner campsites. Bottom line: Avoid this dump at all costs. Even a night in your car is more pleasant and safer!

The staff was friendly, the breakfast was good and plentiful, and parking was free, but that was all the positives. Things started to get bad upon arrival: It took five attempts to get a proper bill. I don't know whether it was due to faulty technology or someone sitting in front of the computer who had the problem. After checking in, we were told that the elevator had been broken for a few days. Okay, the second floor was fine. The room door was wide open and the lock was so loose that you couldn't close it properly. Well, as a technician, you can fix that yourself. The heating was on, but it didn't get warm. Half an hour later, there was still no heating. So we were moved to the third floor. The heating worked, but it kept breaking down, making the room freezing cold during the day! Awful for a hotel and its guests. The room was worse, though! Spiders on the walls, the floor completely filthy and stained, the same thing happened on the bed, the shower bracket was ripped off - that takes on a whole new meaning to the term "shower hanger!" The shower hose was kinked so that hardly any water could get through. The walls were dirty and stained, disgusting. There were cut hairs on the bed - how can you rent this out? Room service came on Saturday - no, not to clean - the towels that had only been used once were changed, the empty bag in the wastepaper basket was swapped for another empty one - that was it! When there was a knock on Sunday morning and I said, "Not now please", that was the sign not to come at all. On Monday I laid the long-folded duvet across the bed, changed the wastepaper basket bags, swapped a half-full roll of toilet paper for a full one - that was it! A room like that is an outrage and should simply not be rented out. This was definitely my first and last stay in this hotel!