Strand Hotel Nordsee, Hotel Schnaugst

A nice place to take the family for a holiday.

The location is excellent, with the top of the dike less than a five-minute walk away. We found the service staff really friendly, and the large dining room has plenty of space. Breakfast was generous and offered a lot of choice. The little petting zoo is looked after with care. The building is quite dated, and there are plenty of small repairs to do. We could see why guests might feel some room prices aren’t justified, though I also understand that upgrades on this scale may not be possible all at once. We didn’t notice the frying-oil smell mentioned in another review, just the usual smell of an older building. There’s also a stairlift for guests with disabilities. A lovely place to visit, and we’ll come back.

The one good thing is how close the hotel is to the beach. Otherwise, we won’t return. The building and grounds look neglected, and our room wasn’t clean: the toilet had not been properly cleaned and the shower had a lot of mold. The furnishings felt shabby or repeatedly painted over, and the wardrobe was very wobbly. The whole hotel was noisy. Staff barely spoke to us, and when we returned to our room in the evening, the place smelled strongly of frying oil. There’s a restaurant downstairs.

The location is fantastic, but the rest was so bad I wouldn’t give the hotel a star if I could. We booked five nights and left a day early. Nobody even asked why. Getting fresh towels meant begging, and the staff had trouble understanding us. The manager wasn’t there, and we had to get our keys from staff at the restaurant downstairs. Our two rooms were a complete mess. Both showers were moldy. In one, water kept dripping, and there was shower gel and razor blades on the floor when we arrived. In the other, the shower head couldn’t be hung up. The bathroom floor was so greasy you wouldn’t want to walk on it barefoot. Seeing the mop on the cleaning cart made it clear how. The toilet was dusty, dirty, and covered in urine, and both carpets were too dirty to use without shoes. The doors stuck in their frames and slammed loudly. We could hear other guests talking and whatever they were watching on TV. How can this place even operate? The service and cleanliness were a disaster. Never again!