smartments Mannheim Hauptbahnhof

The location was great, and it felt clean, comfortable and secure. But there was no kettle in the room, and the check-out screen was only in German, so I couldn’t understand it. At the weekend, I couldn’t get help from anyone by phone or chat. I paid for parking, but someone took our space on the second night. It took over an hour to get a WhatsApp reply, and the answer was that nobody was there to help and we should park in the station car park. Rubbish.

Our one-night stay was disappointing. There was no staff member at reception when we arrived, which made check-in inconvenient. The room had been prepared for one guest, and when we contacted the hotel, they told us to go upstairs ourselves to get another pillow and bedsheets. We were on the ground floor facing the train tracks, where passing trains made it very hard to sleep. The air conditioner wasn’t working properly, so we had to leave the window open and the noise got even worse. The extra pillow was uncomfortable too.

The rooms are compact, but they felt airy and were clean, and the lounge is bright and a decent size. With the windows shut, I barely noticed the railway outside, though the bed was a little small for a restful night. The building is called Ludig Darmstaedter Haus, next to the Premier Inn and the tracks. Getting in takes a five-digit code; check-in is either at a kiosk or reception, which is often empty. Key cards also operate the elevator. I chose it for the low price and being close to HBF. Service was poor: toiletries, a kettle and tea bags were missing, and water bottles that had been promised were later denied. The first day, those items weren't provided because staff were unavailable. It was okay overall.

Check-in by yourself was easy, but the apartment needed a much better clean. There was hair all over and the sink was blocked. It also had a lingering smell of Indian food, though there wasn't any food there, and I could still smell it the next morning. After I posted this, the hotel sent a passive-aggressive email saying the sink wasn't clogged, that I'd used it incorrectly, and that they couldn't see any hair. I changed my service rating from 3 stars to 1.