Ökotel Hamburg

The room was very clean, with clean linens and towels, and the hotel itself is nice. But for a family of four, the family room didn’t feel worth 200 euros a night. The mattresses were the hardest and most uncomfortable we’ve ever had. The underground garage takes patience, and I’d park elsewhere if you have a mid-size car or larger. It’s right behind a farm and next to a burnt-out house.

The bathroom had a heated floor, and I liked knowing the toilets use recycled rainwater. The staff were friendly while helping us prepare for arrival, and the rooms were mostly acceptably clean. We had the suite, but its basic wooden furnishings didn’t feel especially cared for. There’s a shared balcony with two chairs but no table, so having morning coffee outside wasn’t an option. There was no coffee machine in the room either. I noticed black chemical streaks in the toilet, though they weren't a major concern. The mattresses were too firm for us, which is personal preference, but we didn’t sleep very well. The parking charge left a bad aftertaste. We weren’t sure whether we’d need the garage for an extra night and had said so, but the receptionist entered it as a definite yes. We ended up being billed 7,50€ for a space we didn’t use. When I asked to have it removed, she refused because it had already been reserved. We parked for free in the neighbourhood instead. With a bill of 315€ for three nights and one breakfast, waiving that small charge would have been a kind gesture. That moment was enough to make us unlikely to return.

I stayed four nights. They gave me a free upgrade to a larger room because of the length of my stay, and the staff were mostly friendly. Those are the reasons I’m giving two stars. The beds were very hard, and construction right next to my room meant I couldn’t sleep past 7am. That wasn’t mentioned anywhere. The heaters didn’t work properly at first, so I had to call staff to fix one; after maintenance it worked. The TV was very old, with half the channels in SD, which is due to be phased out and could mean losing half the programs soon. Breakfast cost far too much for what it offered, maybe two buffet tables, with half cereal and the rest salmon, bacon, and butter. The butter was two weeks past its date when I ate it, and I only noticed later. The orange juice tasted sour and was expired too. When I reported it, staff said that couldn’t be right because it had only recently been opened. Either they were lying or didn’t care. The Wi-Fi dropped out at random, and I had to wait five minutes for it to return. The underground garage also malfunctioned throughout my stay, so I kept having to ask staff to open it because my card wouldn’t work. They blamed the cold since I was there in January, but I doubt it would work much better in summer. The garage is extremely tight as well, so avoid it if you have a larger car. My stay was more negative than positive, and I’d look elsewhere.

Overall, it was a very poor stay. The woman working in the morning was nice, but the man at reception was incredibly rude. He told me to 'schuch' because he was busy and spoke only German, then switched to English once he saw my company booking. There was hair on my towel, a few spiderwebs in every room, and the place didn’t look like the photos. Breakfast was very poor for the price.