Zi Hotel & Lounge

There's a very large Edeka downstairs with inexpensive ready meals and bakery items, handy for a budget stay. The rooms are spacious, and for the price it's a real bargain. The hotel is centrally located, about a 10 minute walk from Karlsruhe's main market boulevard and an easy trip from Karlsruhe Hautbahnhof by public transport, or a 20 min walk.

The hotel was nicely decorated, but poorly managed, and the whole experience was disappointing. One guest had to switch rooms twice because of cleanliness problems. There was no coffee in the room, and reception didn't offer any when I asked. Parking cost extra, and we were told to move our cars because we'd used a private space that had no sign marking it.

We stayed on the 10th of July 2025 and left that same night. My girlfriend got red, itchy marks on her leg while on the bed, so we checked the sheets and mattresses. What we found was horrifying: poop stains from bedbugs. We left immediately. Reception was already closed, so we couldn't officially check out. Then the garage wouldn't open when we tried to leave. Imagine if something bad had happened and we were stuck in there. Luckily, a woman passed by and could open the gate from outside. We returned to reception the next morning and checked out. They promised a refund, but after several attempts to contact them, we got no response and no money. We also had the hassle of cleaning all the suitcases and clothes when we got home. This was the most horrendous hotel experience I've ever had. Hotel ZI in Karlsruhe should be removed from Booking.

I had a booking confirmed at 20:51, but when we arrived at 23:00, the front desk was abandoned and nobody answered the phones. There was a visible lockbox, but no access code had been sent, so we had to find somewhere else to stay late at night, in a normal hotel with someone behind the desk. The next morning, staff confirmed my paid reservation was in the system. The manager acknowledged the mistake, then blamed the booking platform. The platform was ready to process a refund once the hotel authorized it, but the manager stopped responding. Taking payment for a service that wasn't provided and then blocking the refund is indistinguishable from theft. Extremely unprofessional, borderline scammy. Avoid.