Kurhotel "19hundert"

We were charged before the night’s stay, and the so-called “hotel manager” had no idea about our booking. He gave us a room without a key and said a previous guest must have taken it. Breakfast was canceled because a party downstairs in the restaurant went on until 8:00 a.m. There was no service at all, and maybe the place was clean when it was first built. I’ve never stayed somewhere so disgusting. I may need to put it bluntly: this has nothing to do with a hotel.

Two nights without sleep, with loud noise from events in the building going on until 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. over the weekend. Guests weren’t warned beforehand. The rooms are carelessly furnished, and cleanliness and service are nowhere to be seen. On multi-night stays the room and bathroom weren’t cleaned, even when requested, and toilet paper was only provided if you asked. It’s an expensive place to sleep for people who don’t expect service or comfort. The house is charming, but the management is wrong for it.

I slept well and was very satisfied. The staff were friendly, the rooms decent, neat and homely, with a modern look. Breakfast was perfectly good too. The hotel is beautifully situated at the edge of the “Schwartzwald”, a lovely wooded area in southern Germany near Stuttgart.

The whole booking was charged to my credit card eight months ahead, and now our hiking group has changed its destination. I’d booked seven single rooms through booking.com in September 2014 for a hike around Pforzheim. I missed that only three rooms could be canceled free of charge, though all were supposed to cost the same. I admitted my mistake and tried to cancel the other rooms too, but the hotelier wouldn’t negotiate, despite having eight months to market them again. Now I’m expected to pay the full amount for four rooms we won’t use. I’ve never encountered such hostility toward guests. Future guests can make up their own minds about that kind of treatment.