Garner Hotel Oberhausen by IHG

The quiet surroundings made for a very restful stay, and the hotel also had 24-hour guest support and a bar open around the clock, which were really useful. My room was especially spacious, well kept, and very clean. The staff were professional and helpful, and breakfast had a wide selection to start the day. I was thoroughly impressed with the accommodation and would wholeheartedly recommend it.

The hotel isn't central, but there are free parking spaces. Rooms are a good size, basic, new, very clean, and modern in design. You can open the windows, and there's a walk-in shower, though no mini fridge. The restaurant serves breakfast only.

We needed secure, lockable storage for our race team bicycles for insurance purposes. The receptionist said the only choice was to leave them outside behind the hotel, exposed to the road and easy to reach from the street. Nobody tried to find another option. It was only when we said we wanted to cancel the booking that a manager suddenly became reachable and a secure, lockable room appeared, after we'd first been told no manager could be contacted. The receptionist was astonishingly rude and unhelpful from the start. The whole exchange felt passive-aggressive and indifferent, with action only coming when we pushed. Staff at most hotels try to solve problems instead of making excuses. If basic professionalism or even a little hospitality matters to you, stay somewhere else. This was without a doubt one of our worst hotel experiences.

Two weeks after I paid for a booking, I’m sitting 120 km from the hotel on the date I accidentally booked. Apparently the hotel thinks I’m there. I can only guess what the service at the hotel itself is like, since I never stayed, but based on the customer service I’m giving it 1 star, as I can’t give 0. I wouldn’t go to a hotel that seems to prefer empty rooms over serving customers. I booked two weeks ahead, but a page reload changed the date to the default and I ended up with the wrong one. I noticed within a minute, then asked to cancel and get a refund within two minutes so I could change the booking. Within 20 minutes I’d also emailed to explain what happened and ask again for a refund. Nobody replied for three days, so I called. The first woman I spoke with was nice and tried to process the refund herself. When she couldn’t, she offered to give me the direct number for Garner Hotel Oberhausen, since the support number on the website goes to a middleman. Just as she was about to give me the number, the call disconnected. I’m not sure whether she hung up or I did by accident, but she didn’t call me back, even though she had my number. I called again and got a different woman. She claimed I’d reached Garner Hotel Oberhausen directly, but when I asked for a refund, she said the hotel itself had to process it. I asked for the hotel’s direct number, and she said she couldn’t give it to me. She also wouldn’t give me her manager’s number, and told me there was nothing I could do. Great. I expected someone to answer my email over the next two weeks, but nothing happened.