Hotel am Untreusee

The lake view from our bed was lovely, and we decided the kitchen sounds and smells were a fair trade for it. We were just passing through on the way between bigger destinations, and the spot worked well for that. We wouldn’t plan a trip around it, though. It had been 38C (100F) the day before we arrived; it cooled down just as we got there, but was still hot, and I don’t remember the exact temperature. We’ve stayed at 25 hotels around Germany, in cities, villages, and getaway spots, so that’s what I’m comparing this with. The room was small and only okay, more like B&B standard than the price suggested. The bathroom had mold on the grout, a dirty toilet brush, and cobwebs on the ceiling. It felt more run-down dirty than “we need bleach” dirty, but still wasn’t very clean. The curtains were really thin, so we needed eye masks to sleep. Storm shutters would have kept out the outside air. There was no fan in the room during record high temperatures, which may be unusual for Germany, but these temperatures weren’t normal. No kettle either. A light breakfast was included, with cold cuts and boiled eggs, but nothing cooked to order. The coffee was good, and the manager, who also served breakfast, was attentive and kind. Breakfast could still have been more filling and varied. The person who checked us in, the only male waiter, was unfriendly, almost rude. I first thought he was busy, but when we came down for an early dinner and he took our order, he was plainly rude. He stayed surly whenever we saw him. The women on staff were all great, though we didn’t get to talk with them as much. The manager, perhaps the owner, was consistently kind and attentive, even when handling a takeaway food order. The maids knocked several times well before checkout. The hotel gets very busy in summer, especially on weekends, so we gave them the benefit of the doubt much of the time. Still, for the higher price, it felt like budget B&B quality, a bit unclean and a bit unfriendly.