Parkhotel Essen

The pub downstairs was the best part for me: good food, beer and live music. Breakfast was good and there was enough of it, and the staff were really kind. The hotel itself is nice and intimate, in a very convenient spot in Essen, though some rooms are too small. Getting around is the downside. There are stairs inside and out, and the outdoor ones are especially bad when wet. I fell twice. This is definitely not a hotel for people with limited mobility. Still, it’s a good choice for MEDICA.

A cozy, nice place, close to both Messe Essen conference center and Gruga park.

The rooms are very noisy.

The pub downstairs has a decent live band on Saturday nights, and the hotel and pub are both non-smoking. There’s also an Irish pub just a short walk away, about 300 meters or five minutes, at Girardetstraße 2. That was why we chose this hotel. The pub connects to it through an indoor passage, and if you’re after loud après-ski music, this could be the place for you. We could hear the music in the hotel at night, though, so it’s not ideal if you don’t like it. To each their own. Our arrival wasn’t very welcoming: the staff member we met spoke neither German nor English. There are only five parking spaces for a hotel with more than ten rooms, so arrive early in peak season. Parking in the city center is difficult, and you may want to plan ahead or use public transport. The hotel is on a main road, so emergency vehicles sometimes pass with sirens in the evenings and at night. The hotel can’t control that, but keep it in mind if you want peace and quiet, as much as that’s possible in the city center. The rooms were really small, suitable for a stopover and not much more. They also felt overpriced for what you get. Breakfast is a continental buffet, but when we left on Sunday, the staff member who was supposed to be there wasn’t, so we missed it. Fortunately, a nearby McDonald’s had a better breakfast for less. Will we return? No. There aren’t many alternatives nearby, but we’d rather stay in another town or city.