Germany - 24 hours in FRA - Mainz or Frankfurt?

Hi,

I have an upcoming mileage run in December for which I need to spend about 24 hours in FRA. Looking for advice on what would be a better place to spend the day - Mainz or Frankfurt. Its probably going to be cold but would love to be able to spend a few hours in the evening walking around, sightseeing and grabbing a nice dinner etc.

1) Mainz: If its Mainz, then I would do the Hyatt Regency Mainz. The property seems nice and getting to FRA in the morning should be pretty painless using the S Bahn. Am Hyatt Diamond so hoping for a good room/view.

2) Frankfurt: If its Frankfurt, I would do either the Marriott or the Intercontinental. Am Marriott Gold but am wary of the hotel location - dont think there is much around there to walk around and do. I was also considering the Intercontinental which seems to have a good location but I dont have any status there. Also from what I read, its not in the greatest neighborhood.

I am leaning towards Mainz but would love to hear other opinions.

Also - wanted to ask how much time is realistically needed for check-in at FRA on a Sunday morning. I have an 11:00 am departure on US Air. Am *Gold - if that makes a difference.

Thanks,
MGI

Mainz. Hands-down! It is a basically all-walkable city (at least for tourist things).

I've stayed at the HR there a few times, and although it isn't as convenient as staying at the Hilton Mainz City, it is a really nice hotel with a great river view. The Club puts out a nice breakfast in the morning. The Römisches Theater station (it used to be called Mainz Süd) is the closest S-Bahn station to the HR. Also remember, there are only two S8 trains per hour IIRC from there to FRA. Mainz Hbf will have the same S-bahn trains, but will also have Regional (same fare) and Long-Distance (higher fare) trains going to FRA; however, it also further away from the hotel.

As for Frankfurt... both the Marriott and IC are close to the Hauptbahnhof (the IC being closest), but not really close to what you would want to see. Yes, it is walkable, but using public transport is a better option. The Marriott is next to the huge trade fairgrounds and the IC is next to the river. If you chose Frankfurt, there is a huge pedestrian shopping venue called Zeil. For good food at decent prices, I would go across the river to Sachsenhausen (directly south from Konstablerwache station--about 1km-- and just before the Lokalbahnhof station).

Thanks Fanjet. I'm going to go ahead and book the HR Mainz then.

Frankfurt has more museums which might be interesting for you. The christmas market in Frankfurt in front of the Römer (city hall) is very nice. Mainz has a christmas market, too. The highlights in Mainz are the cathedral, the Chagall church windows at St. Stephan church, the Guttenberg book printing museum and the Roman-Germanic museum. There is also a small museum about Roman shipping on the Rhine. An old Roman river galley (Boat) is on display which they found on the bottom of the river and rebuild. The museum is right now closed for renovation but will re-open December 13th.

Mainz. It is a very pleasant small city that feels like a historic small town. It is also likely to be less expensive. Going into Frankfurt will be a hassle and you will be in the middle of a modern congested area without any real redeeming qualities.

There are also some rural castle hotels not far from FRA but they would be expensive and require either a rental car, expensive for a single day but being a weekend might make it cheaper, or long and expensive taxi rides.

The option that I like is to take the train to Wiesbaden which has good food, a gorgeous historic casino, and a pretty part behind the casino. It's an old spa town.

Mainz. It is a very pleasant small city that feels like a historic small town.

It is a small historic town. First settlements date back to Germanic tribes and with the arrival of the Romans Mainz became a small Roman military station which attracted merchants and craftsmen to settle around it.

In 24 hours Mainz offers enough to see but I agree that Wiesbaden which is across the river has some nice things to do, too (not only because I grew up there and think that Mainz is on the wrong side of the river).

Another vote for Mainz here. I actually like Frankfurt, but Mainz seems like a more desirable place to be a pedestrian for one day.

Thanks everyone for your responses...the HR Mainz it is...