Hôtel des Alpes

The stay itself was mostly fine: the room was clean and basic, with coffee pods and a machine, and the shower had hot water. Check-in and checkout were quick. The hotel felt like a three-star place, as advertised, and it was a great location, around five to ten minutes in a straight walk from the train station. It was about ten minutes across the river into town and an easy ten-minute walk to the Christmas Markets. We paid $200 on Expedia for a standard queen double without breakfast during a midweek stop on a train trip to see the markets, plus $10 local tax at the hotel. The bed had only two thin pillows. Our room, like many others, opened onto a shared alley. One guest left a window open until about 11 PM and spent the night yelling and fighting. It came through the thin windows loud and clear, presumably for everyone nearby. I suppose the hotel can't control guests misbehaving. The main problem came after checkout. Because the pillows were so small, I rolled up my fleece sweatshirt, the only insulating layer I had brought for this three-week Christmas market train trip, to use under my pillow. I forgot it there when we checked out at 9 AM. When I realized and called and emailed, the hotel said they'd asked the cleaning staff and nothing had been found. Somehow, between us locking the door and housekeeping entering, it had “vanished.” This had happened at the hotel before: see my review from two years ago, when money and documents went missing from a similarly forgotten bag. I know it was my fault to leave it behind, but for a $200-a-night three-star hotel I expected a call, especially since they took my number at check-in, so I could arrange and pay to have it shipped. Instead there was no call, and the sweatshirt simply disappeared from a locked room. Future guests should be careful not to leave anything valuable behind, as you may not get it back.

We had a great time at this beautiful place and decided to extend our stay by a night and add another room. But then we were short-changed: breakfast on the second day wasn't included, even though it had been included for the first day and we were extending on the same arrangement.

It was okay for an overnight stay, conveniently located between the coach and bus stations. Staff were polite and very helpful. Room 405 was at the back, facing a shanty town with pigeons everywhere. The window sill was filthy, and we couldn't leave the window open.

We needed a one-night stay near the train station, and the hotel worked for that. The staff were nice and pointed us to a good lunch spot nearby. But there was mold in the shower and strange stains on the floor. I'd give it 2.5 stars and wouldn't stay longer than one night.