Hotel Antoni

For a few nights, the clean rooms are perfectly adequate, as long as you’re not expecting a four or five-star hotel. This is a lovely little place in a beautiful old half-timbered house. Its location is ideal: the train station, old town, zoo, planetarium, and musical theater are all within walking distance, within about one kilometer as the crow flies. What more could you want?

We were quite satisfied in the end, and the hotel welcomed us warmly even though we arrived at 10 am. Reception is only staffed from 2 pm, but they let us in and took time to explain the layout. The rooms were basic but very clean. For me, the place felt more like a hostel than what I expect from a hotel. It’s in a residential area, a bit of a walk from the bus stop and about 20-25 minutes from the city center. We’d expected more after seeing the photos and booking.com reviews, and the roughly €210 for two people and two nights didn’t seem like great value. The hotel’s reply explained that prices were higher that weekend because of the gaming convention in Essen, which affected many hotels in the region. Three stars, given our different expectations, though I’d still recommend it.

We felt very welcome from the warm greeting. The hotel is lovely and quaint, with a clean, tidy room that was nicely decorated. It’s quiet and surrounded by greenery, even though it’s in the big city.

Our two double rooms each had a shower, toilet, and sink in the room, and we slept peacefully. The rooms were comfortably and practically furnished. The hotel is very quiet, yet only a five-minute walk from the planetarium and about 10 minutes from Starlight Express. The German Mining Museum is 20 minutes away through the lovely city park. Breakfast is simple but good. Our children said the eggs were the best in the world. Service was friendly and courteous. It’s a historic building, and the rooms are reached by a charming wooden staircase. We highly recommend Hotel Antoni.