Hotel Café Nothnagel

I was fine here for one night, and the staff were really friendly. The room and bed were comfortable, though quite small for the price. It’s a family-run place with a boutique feel, right by the tram stop for Darmstadt. My main gripe is breakfast: they bring each guest a basket of rolls and sliced ham and so on. Why not put it out buffet-style so people can serve themselves? I wondered whether the uneaten bread, ham, and cheese gets thrown away or served to someone else, which would be wasteful in one case and unhygienic in the other.

The cakes are good, and it’s a nice, cozy cafe. I just can’t understand why they close on Sundays. That seems like the perfect time to sit down for a morning or afternoon treat, or pick up cake to take away. Instead, they leave that business to low-quality competitors like Schaefer. Strange times.

The bathroom was a particular joy: it’s bright, with a magnifying makeup mirror. In most hotels I find the lighting so poor I’ve even carried a small flashlight to shave or pluck my eyebrows. During our two weeks here, I never needed it once. We also had lots of outlets in the rooms, and the Wi-Fi was the best we’ve ever had in Europe. The staff were incredibly kind and helpful. Breakfast was generous, with eggs, bacon if you want it, five kinds of juice, fresh fruit and vegetables, five cereals, yogurt, smoked salmon on several occasions, and pastries. They bring fresh rolls and bread to the table with cold cuts and cheese, plus fresh coffee and tea. The rooms were impeccably clean. I have family in Griesheim and we’ve stayed with them before, but choosing this hotel this time was such a good decision. We’ll stay here again when we go back in 2020.

I’ve stayed here several times for work and have always found it lovely and clean, with great service and a really nice breakfast. The staff are lovely. They also supply lunch from their bakery for our business meeting, and that’s very good too.