Strandhaus Ahrenshoop Boutiquehotel

The location was great, and the room photos looked lovely 🙈. Breakfast was amazing, served from 8:00-12:00, which is rare at a hotel. The breakfast staff were really friendly too. I booked through Booking.com and paid everything there, but then saw an extra €10 parking fee on my card. This hadn’t been mentioned at check-in or on Booking.com. I also got a different room from the one I’d booked. The last photo shows the room I was supposed to get after a room upgrade, but they gave me a very small room facing the parking lot instead. When I raised it, the receptionist said there’d apparently been a misunderstanding she couldn’t fix, which I could understand. I then contacted Booking.com and got a very rude call from a hotel woman whose name I don’t remember. She ignored what I was saying, kept trying to say I was lying about the upgrade, wouldn’t let me speak and was very loud. It was really strange. Then she said I could have that room if I paid €40 more. Totally crazy! I politely turned it down and carried on enjoying my vacation. The room I ended up with really wasn’t worth what I paid. It’s a shame, because the hotel itself is very pretty and the experience could have been amazing.

The staff were very nice, and breakfast was great. We may have had one of the cheapest rooms, though I could be wrong. It cost €185 a night, breakfast included. The room wasn’t as clean as I’d expect for that price. The bathroom fan was super loud, came on with the light, and shut off by itself after about 10 minutes, so at night you’re better off not switching the light on. There was an ant invasion on the first day, but the staff dealt with it quickly, which was a plus. The room was right beside the building entrance, so we heard people coming and going, as well as the people above us.

The Strandhaus was just what we like for a holiday: comfortable, cozy and not too crowded. We had a great stay for one night. The hotel’s outside terraces have lovely loungers where you can stretch out, read, relax with the view of the dunes and Baltic Sea, or just close your eyes. The beach is a five-minute walk away, and some rooms have a sea view. Our room was lovely, decorated nicely and full of daylight. Everything was in great shape. The bathroom was perfect, with a nice shower and just enough storage for our things. We’re allergic to feathers, so we asked to have the bedding changed, and the staff were kind and helpful. Breakfast on the patio was a treat, though we could have sat inside in the stylish breakfast room too. We could make fresh coffee drinks and tea ourselves, and make pancakes. A chef also cooked omelets, scrambled eggs or sunny-side-up eggs to order.

It’s a decent hotel, but much too expensive for what you get. The rooms are tiny, with marks on the walls and windows that look like they haven’t been cleaned in ages. Being right beside the main road also makes it noisy. The breakfast buffet is good, but the staff didn’t seem very motivated. Guests had to go into the kitchen to order, and some ended up clearing their own dishes. That shouldn’t happen at a place charging this much.