ibis budget Aachen Raeren Grenze

I only stayed one night, but check-in was an unpleasant experience from the start. My mother had made the booking, and I explained it was under her name because we have different surnames. The receptionist couldn’t find it and, in a rude and unprofessional way, said we hadn’t booked properly. After about ten minutes, she found it because she’d been searching under the wrong name. She didn’t admit the mistake and instead insisted I’d given her the wrong details, even though I’d been clear. Then she complained about my sister and me in French and told us to “arrête parler.” I felt disrespected and unwelcome. I’ve never felt less welcome at a hotel, and I’m shocked a company would employ staff who treat guests like that.

We keep staying here because it’s conveniently close to the motorway on our way to the Channel Tunnel. This time we were given a room facing the motorway, and it was very noisy. We had to shut the windows to hear each other talk. The other side is noisy too, but it’s probably better. Otherwise, all was good: clean, simple accommodation and a polite receptionist.

We ended up paying about twice the price because of an event in the region, though that was our choice. When we got to the hotel around 9:30 PM, reception couldn’t find our booking and was awfully angry when we asked her to show hotels.com that it wasn’t in her system. We had to get another guest to help get through to her. As we were leaving without proof, she “miraculously” found that someone else had already checked in under the “same” name and that a room was available. We did get a night’s stay in the end. It’s all about how you handle situations, and the whole hotel staff seemed on edge.

I don’t understand the positive reviews. The rooms were dirty, had bugs, and were extremely outdated. When we raised it with the service, she was incredibly rude and refused to refund the first night because we had been in the room and hadn’t complained right away. But we had contacted the booking website and spent over 30 minutes chatting with them. Before that, we’d already discussed whether the room was bearable for even one night, and clearly it wasn’t. Don’t come here if you want a clean room. There are much better, well-priced options in the inner city.