Villa

The room was modern, nice, and clean, and even smelled nice. The bedding was mega comfortable, and the TV and everything else were modern and easy to use. All the staff were so friendly. I travel a lot, and so far this has been my best place to stay.

The staff are very kind, the rooms are clean and nice, and breakfast is good. I’d definitely recommend this place, and we’ll come back. A couple of little things: tissues in the rooms would be nice, and please repair or replace the broken bin in the toilet.

The location is pretty good, within walking distance of downtown and very close to the railroad station. Our room in the new wing was quiet and the bed was comfortable. The hotel is trying to be more than average, and the infrastructure is good, but the processes around the guest experience need improvement. I’d have given it 4 stars with a few changes, but gave it 2 after a weekend stay. The hotel staff were fantastic, friendly, and did everything they could to make guests happy. We arrived around 19:45, within the stated reception hours, but found the front door locked. A note said reception wasn’t staffed and late arrivals or emergencies should call a number. Someone answered immediately, and after a few more minutes came to let us in and check us in. It was a poor first impression, since I don’t recall being locked out of a hotel lobby before. I’d booked online and filled in the fast check-in form, but had to enter all the same details again at check-in. We were offered prepayment to speed things up, which we did. We also paid €10 per night for parking, a fair price for a hotel. On our second evening, around 19:30, all the spaces were taken. The paid hotel parking is apparently shared with the restaurant, and with so few spaces it filled quickly. We parked on the grass, where the tire marks suggested others had done the same. On our last day, we got an email offering expedited checkout for a fee, even though we’d already paid at check-in, which left us wondering whether the payment had gone through. We had reservations at the onsite restaurant and were seated at a nice table by friendly staff. After that, things were average at best: we got the wrong wine, one pizza arrived without the tomato slices it was supposed to have, and the pizza, pasta, and dessert weren’t bad but weren’t great or memorable. We could pay with American Express at the hotel, but not in the restaurant, and contactless payment wasn’t working. We had to go back to our room for the physical card. At least a friendly staff member came with us and brought the payment terminal, so we didn’t have to walk back alone. The terminal crashed two or three times before we could finally pay. The room looked nice but had odd design choices. The mirror extends to the very edge of the sink, so using the sink splashed water over it. There was nowhere to put the soap, so we left it beside the sink and made a mess on the counter.

The room was unbearably hot, around 28-30 degrees, and the only cooling was a loud fan I couldn't sleep with. Ours was in the historic building, and it was a mess: dirty rooms, oddly colored sheets, and a dead moth under an oversized pillowcase. We had two rooms, one for our daughter. The plastic-and-glass bathroom sat in the middle of the room beside an outdated whirlpool tub, and getting a decent shower was a real challenge. For half a day there was no hot water because of an employee's mistake. They tried to sort out the plumbing over a video call with one of the nice breakfast staff, live from under the sink. There was no specialist there to help. The receptionist was rude when we checked in on August 10, and my Master Card, which had worked throughout Germany and Austria on our holiday, was declined. We paid a rate that would have been for at least a five-star superior stay because of the Gaubudenvolkfest, an excellent festival, but this was our worst and most expensive accommodation in years for the 'services' we got. I'd struggle to give this room two stars. I could go on. If someone insists on booking Villa Boutique, at least avoid the rooms in the historic building. I still wonder what German standards give a four-star rating to a building or hotel that's two stars at best. I hope this helps others avoid the same bad experience.