McDreams Hotel Wuppertal City

The room itself was bright, clean, and fine. The rest of the experience was really frustrating. There’s no reception and nobody nearby to help. WhatsApp and the phone line are run by AI, with a human occasionally replying, though you can't count on it. Once I realized that, my first impression went downhill. I tried encoding the room card, but it didn't open any doors. Two other guests had the same problem at the same time. There's a web app for access, but it cuts off at checkout and stops letting you into the corridor soon afterward. I saw people who'd left things behind having to wait for others to let them in. On checkout day, I wanted to leave my bags in the lockers. A sign says to ask staff at the front desk, but there isn't one. I messaged them on Whatsapp several times and got no reply for over an hour. Maybe the AI takes Sundays off in Germany too. I then called the number posted on the doors and found it was an AI chatbot. It couldn't understand my simple request to use the locker. Eventually it switched to English to say, “we're an all digital hotel,” then went back to German to wish me a good day and hang up. It suggested waiting until Monday. It was Sunday at 11 am, so I gave up. If you leave anything behind, there's nobody to help. The coffee machine downstairs was broken and dirty. Has management forgotten this place? A hotel without staff doesn't have to be bad, but it was a big disappointment that a place with about 80 rooms had no one around, and the AI was so unhelpful. It wasn't the McDream I was hoping for.

After a four-hour train ride, all I wanted was to get into my room. Instead, we spent a total of 1.5 hours trying. The machine didn't work, the online key failed, and after they updated the computer because it wasn't responding, the screen went black. Four other people were stuck in the same situation, and no one could get to their room. We waited in the corridors while they looked for a solution. At one point, they stopped answering the phone. When we finally asked them to book us into another hotel and pay for the taxi, the doors opened ten minutes later. Ridiculous. I've never had such a difficult check-in, and I'll never stay here again. There was hair in the bed, the toilet smelled as if someone had smoked in it, and the room was very cold. There's no heating control, so you can't adjust the temperature. I can't think of a single good thing about this place. A complete disaster and disappointment.

We used a phone as the room key since there was no reception, and that worked fine. Parking was free, and there were shops outside, though the hotel had no food service. We were traveling with dogs, which cost extra. There wasn't anywhere to walk them right outside, but the park and forest were a short walk away. The room was clean and I was happy with it overall. The shower was nice, and there was free Wi-Fi, but it was a little cold in the bathroom and on the floor. The TV was there, though Chromecast didn't work that weekend. Unfortunately, people used the place as an evening and nighttime gathering spot, which brought some noise.

The location worked well for us, with free parking and several stores nearby. The room was very clean, and I really enjoyed the food. Had a great time.