Vital Hotel Frankfurt

There’s no refrigerator or minibar, and a large supermarket is nearby. It’s a great spot for getting out of the city and relaxing in the quiet countryside. I’ve stayed at this hotel for two nights and three days every year when I travel, and came back because I have such fond memories. But at 9 a.m. this time, the sweeper suddenly entered the room while my kids were asleep. They were so startled that they called for help. Later, we saw the housekeeper in the hallway, and he greeted us with “ni hao.” The breakfast server greeted us in Japanese. We’re Korean. I’ve never had anything like this happen anywhere in Europe, and it really caught me off guard. I can understand that the sweeper and server may be ignorant, but it felt rude coming from staff at a prestigious hotel.

After paying an extra 40 euros to use the sauna in the morning, we found the area quite crowded. There weren’t enough chairs for everyone, and nearly all the seats had been reserved despite signs clearly asking guests not to do that. The “Quiet Room” was affected too, and wasn’t very quiet. We’d hoped to spend a full day in the sauna, but were told access was restricted to the usual check-in and check-out times unless we paid another 50 euros for a 12:00 early check-in. My wife also needed several attempts to reach someone by phone. After the sauna, I waited about 20 minutes in the check-in line, and most of the people there headed straight to the sauna too, making it even busier. The room itself was clean and comfortable, but splitting our sauna time between the afternoon and the next morning didn’t work well for us. We’ll probably choose a hotel in Frankfurt next time and enjoy a full sauna day without these limits.

The Therme next door is free to access, though it gets very full during the day. From 08:00 to 09:00, it’s reserved for hotel guests. The hotel is fairly expensive, but worth it. A very nice place.

The hotel is conveniently close to Frankfurt airport for a quick stopover, with clean, spacious rooms and quite good food. But the service was very unfriendly, and I wouldn’t recommend it. I booked for the “wellness” services, only to be rather rudely told “NO MASSAGE,” with no explanation, even though the website is full of massage and wellness offers. They need to update it. Don’t come expecting a serene spa experience, it’s more like a kids waterpark. I didn’t want to use the children’s waterpark, so I went to the co-ed sauna, where apparently you have to be naked. An elderly German man told me, “be naked or leave”.