Hotel-Hofbräu am Stadtring in Nordhorn

The service and management of this hotel is pretty bad.

There is a alley with little parking spots. You have to be lucky to get one, even though the hotel advertise with free parking.

I asked for a table for dinner during reservation of the room, but they forgot to reserve a table for us. Eventually they asked us to wait an hour, but they offered a free beer while we waited.

The dinner itself was okay. The breakfast was outstanding with lots of options from cold to warm food.

During check out, there was no one available. I asked a waiter who shouted back at me that I should wait a bit. When the attendant came back, he told me I should pay for the stay. Even though I already paid when I booked the room. He apologized immediately, but I don't understand how these big errors can be made in the first place.

We stayed at Hotel Am Stadtring for two nights, and overall, I wouldn’t recommend it – especially not if you’re expecting 4-star quality.

Let’s start with the positives:

• Breakfast was genuinely good, with a wide selection and the option to make your own omelette. However, even this was let down by poor service – the woman managing the breakfast area looked very stressed and unhappy. When my daughter accidentally spilled some juice, she rushed over in a panic to clean it with a big face like we had ruined her day. Ot was a few drops… come on

• The sauna area, including a steam bath, looked cosy and well maintained (though we didn’t use it).

• The hotel provides bathrobes and slippers, and the cleaning staff were friendly and responsive – they even brought my daughter some sweets.

• There’s a lovely park nearby, perfect for a morning walk.

Unfortunately, that’s where the positives end.

We had booked a room with an inner courtyard view, but were instead given a roadside room – noisy, with traffic passing all night. We couldn’t leave the window open because of it. The room smelled musty when we arrived, like no one had used it in ages. We had to keep the windows open for hours just to air it out.

The room was small and awkwardly laid out – my husband kept banging his leg on the corner of the bed trying to move around. I paid an extra €22.50 for a small bed for my daughter, but I ended up sleeping in it myself on the second night because the main bed was so uncomfortable. The mattress felt like it was decades old. The pillows were lumpy and oversized, and only one was provided.

When I asked reception for a different pillow, the first response was “we don’t have any.” Then a colleague stepped in and suggested maybe they had smaller ones – it was all very defensive and unhelpful. When I asked about switching rooms, I was told they do have newer rooms – but I had booked an “old” one, so I had to stay in it. Not exactly customer-friendly. This lady has no empathy, so should not be customer facing! Suggestion to management … keep her in the back. The house keeping ladies had more skills and common sense.

The air conditioning didn’t work, nor could we adjust the temperature. Even with the radiator off, the room was too hot. The fridge was broken, and depending on who you asked, either there was an “electrical issue” being fixed, or “none of the fridges work” at all. No consistency. No apology.

The bathroom was tiny – barely space to move – and although the shower pressure was strong, the shower head didn’t match it.

When checking out, I raised the issues with the receptionist, hoping for a small gesture of compensation. Instead, she just said she had told the manager and he’d email me. I explained we were leaving and that this was too little, too late – but she wouldn’t budge, blaming Booking.com for being unable to offer anything. Wish is nonsense!

In summary, this hotel markets itself as 4-star, but apart from the spa facilities and breakfast, it doesn’t live up to that standard at all. Tired rooms, inconsistent communication, uncomfortable beds, and unhelpful front desk staff made for a frustrating stay.

Avoid if you care about a good night’s sleep. Visit the restaurant while your in Nordhorn - dont stay here thinking it will be the same standard. Its not!