H2 Hotel Saarbrücken

We ended up going to the hotel next door, where guests are treated with professional courtesy. Our booking was for the weekend, and we arrived 24 minutes before check-in. No one was at reception at first, just a sign saying they’d be back in 10 minutes. When a man finally appeared, he was dismissive, wouldn’t check whether a room was free, and wouldn’t let us speak to anyone else. He said he was the only one on duty, though we could hear laughing and noise in the room behind reception. When we asked how to make our dissatisfaction known, Ali told us to write a review. So, Ali, here it is. The staff came across as unprofessional, as if they were there for their own amusement. Customers seemed to be treated as an annoying inconvenience, and service felt like a very low priority. There’s another hotel right next door in about the same location, and that’s where we went. Don’t give your money or business to people who don’t respect you. From the discussions below, it seems our experience may not be uncommon.

My colleague from China stayed here on a business trip. After accidentally booking just two days, she immediately made a second booking for several more. At check-in, she told the staff she had both bookings and would be staying for a total of a week. They confirmed everything was fine. But two days into the second booking, shortly after midnight, a male employee entered her room, woke her, said she wasn’t checked in and had no right to stay there, then asked her to go downstairs with him to sort it out. Communication was difficult, so she went back to her room, only to discover her key card no longer worked and she was locked out. After calling the booking site’s service, she was allowed back in. The next day I went with her to ask the hotel what had happened. They said the room had been double booked and that another guest had entered, then returned to reception as soon as he realized it was occupied. The employee said he went up to apologize. I asked whether it was normal procedure to send a male employee into the room of a woman travelling alone in the middle of the night using a hotel card. To apologize, he should have knocked and waited to be invited in. Instead he let himself in and shouted at a guest who was asleep. They also said that because she made two bookings without mentioning them upfront at check-in, she had been checked out automatically and her key card cancelled. I pointed out that she had definitely told them she was staying longer than two days, and that she kept using the card after the first booking ended. It only stopped working after the employee forced her out of the room in the middle of the night, two days into the second booking. When I asked why, they said they didn’t know and it must have been a technical issue, since she shouldn’t have been able to use the key after the first two days. They also claimed she’d been checked out automatically, so they could give the room to another guest. That raises more questions. Apparently housekeeping had not cleaned the room before they let another guest check in. And if my colleague had supposedly checked out, why did housekeeping leave her luggage in the room for two days? It also seems you can check out without going to reception, handing in your card, paying your bill or asking for it. The rooms themselves are fine and recently renovated, but I’m not sure anyone working here knows what they’re doing. Either the hotel has no idea how to manage things, or housekeeping is so bad the health authorities should inspect and close it down.

The room was spacious, clean and new, with good sound insulation and temperature control. The breakfast was good, and the price felt fair for the service. Staff were a bit rigid but okay, and I’d book again. Some things could be better: cleaning only happened every three days, which felt too infrequent, and there were just three clothes hangers. The beds were too soft, as were the huge pillows. The heavy entrance door took two hands or a full body push, making it awkward to get into the room with luggage. Also, the mirror faces straight into the shower cabin, so you can see yourself naked in there. A bit weird.

The location was super, and breakfast was a good buffet. The hotel was very clean, the beds were really comfortable, and reception staff were friendly and welcoming. Very good value, and I’d definitely stay again.