Holiday Inn - the niu, Charly Frankfurt City by IHG

The location felt a little confronting, as we expected, but we had no trouble from the drug users on the street. That shouldn’t put you off. Our room was lovely and comfortable, the staff delightful, and breakfast good.

The room itself was nice, and the hotel’s central location made it convenient to get around Frankfurt. Still, the negatives outweighed those positives for us, and we wouldn’t recommend staying here if safety, cleanliness, and professional service matter to you. The area was stressful and disturbing. People were openly injecting drugs nearby, and entering or leaving the hotel felt uncomfortable and unsafe. During our stay, our room wasn’t cleaned even though we had asked. Communication with some staff was difficult because their English was quite limited, making even simple requests hard. Customer service was lacking. Nobody checked in to see how we were doing, not even at the start. On our first day, staff were having a very loud discussion among themselves during check-in, which felt unprofessional and made us feel unwelcome. My husband and I would choose a safer and cleaner area next time, and use Uber, public transport, or walk a bit farther to reach central places.

The staff were amazing, welcoming, and very helpful with my requests. They also made a small gesture that I really appreciated. The hotel is close to the central station, which is useful, though the street feels kind of dangerous, especially after sunset, so take care. The rooms are clean and modern, but a few basics weren’t clear. I thought there was no kettle and that coffee was only available at breakfast, since there’s no bar. Edit: they do have kettles, but you have to ask reception. I didn’t know that beforehand. It seems like a great overnight stay, though I can’t say the same for a longer visit.

The hotel is nice enough and handy for the central train station, but I can’t recommend it unless you really need to be that close and can sleep through anything. I’m writing this at 4 a.m. because the club and people in the street are keeping me awake. There’s serious noise pollution in the rooms. This is the worst area of Frankfurt, with open drug use, strip joints, and a night club nearby. The city leaders should be embarrassed by an area where this behavior goes unchecked and citizens’ well-being seems to matter so little.