Novotel Karlsruhe City

Clean, pleasant and quiet, with transport just two minutes from the hotel and a great location. The staff were polite and helpful too. If the price works for you, this is a great choice. I'd definitely come back.

For the past five years, this hotel has felt like my home away from home during my work trips to Karlsruhe, which I make two or three times a year. The service is consistently excellent. The friendly cleaning crew and attentive hotel manager always make me feel welcome, and the staff are warm and professional.

I had separate reservations for each day in case I needed to cancel one, and I did cancel one at the end of my stay. Each day I asked reception to credit my points and nights, which matter for my Platinum status, since 60 nights a year are required. They promised each time, but at checkout they assured me it was all sorted when it wasn't. I was credited for just 2 nights instead of 4. After multiple emails and calls back and forth, they kept saying the points had been credited, and I couldn't get them to understand that it was the nights that were missing. Eventually, one phone call revealed that an employee had made a mistake and they said they couldn't do anything. The hotel should have resolved this, but didn't. I contacted Accor myself and, after more emails back and forth, finally got my 4 nights credited. What a disaster! They also didn't tell me before my stay during the Grenke Open chess tournament that the restaurant would be closed due to a lack of personnel. Karlsruhe is a student town, and I'm sure plenty of students would be interested in part-time work. The hotel was fully booked for the tournament, and outside guests would definitely have eaten there too, as in previous years. They could have thought outside the box and trained some students.

This is my second stay at this Novotel, and it has been good again. The rooms are clean and tastefully done, the breakfast is good, and the reception staff are kind and helpful. I also like the seating, which feels unique, comfortable and functional. The only thing I'd change is the wifi speed. It's far too slow for work.