normanvdmeijden

Hey Guys,

I have a question, I'm fairly new to FT, been following the various threads/forums for a while though.

Every year my GF and I celebrate new years eve together, in a different country (not being our home country), I always arrange everything (hotel/flight etc.). However this year as new years is during the weekend and we both have a tight work schedule, I need to pick something closer to home.
I was looking at the following option at Cologne (Arriving on the 30th of december, departing 1st of january):

- Hyatt Club King with New Years Eve program (with view on the Dom & firework at Rhine)
- Hilton with New Year Dinner Dance (what room to pick?)
- Le Meridien Dom Hotel, view on the Dom and partly Rhine, no info yet received on NYE-program.

Does any of you can give me some suggestion on what to pick? Any experience on the hotels above on NYE?

With kind regards,
Norman

Kagehitokiri

rooms at LM >
104 204 304 = dom side corner "suite"
404 = dom suite

btw http://www.hotel-im-wasserturm.de/en/lavision.htm

there are five other 1 star and one 2 star in cologne
http://servicesv2.webmichelin.com/fr...mentCode=58344

bahamaman

I agree with Kagehitokiri on the LM Dom Hotel. I have stayed there many times and the staff/location are hard to beat. With regard to the Hyatt, it is (imo) on the wrong side of the river in terms of shopping, dining and sightseeing. Having said that, it is precisely that "wrong" location that gives it the best views of the Dom.

Though I haven't stayed here, I have heard extraordinary things about this Hotel outside the city:

http://www.schlossbensberg.com/en/

christianj

Of the three chain hotels you mentioned I would also recommend the Dom Hotel. Hilton is nice for Hilton standards but IMHO not as good as the Dom Hotel. Hyatt as mentioned is not convenient due to its location on the other side of the Rhine.

Kage mentioned the Hotel Im Wasserturm which used to be the place to stay but I have heard some not so positive reviews about it from people that used to stay there all the time. They now recommend the Excelsior Hotel Ernst as the best in town.

http://www.excelsiorhotelernst.com/en.html

bahamaman

One more thing . . .

I spoke to my father-in-law yesterday (he lives in Cologne) and asked his recommendation, at least for New Years Eve.

First (and I imagine you know this), it is necessary to have a restaurant reservation in Germany on NYE, and most good restaurants will have a fixed "menu" or buffet.

If you would like a restaurant that is pretty close to the Dom Hotel (and very close to the Hyatt), you might check out the Rhine Terrassen, since it should have an outstanding view of the downtown fireworks display (like the Hyatt, it is on and across the Rhine from the cathedral). I have eaten there a few times, and it is very good, but short of outstanding. Here is a link to their planned NYE bash (in German):

http://www.rhein-terrassen.de/Events_29.php

Innerloop

I might give a contrary recommendation to some here - given the expected level of crowds at the Dom itself, and given the relatively easy walk across the pedestrian/rail bridge from the Hyatt right into the heart of the Dom area, I think its a good choice for this sort of holiday.

If you're in good shape to walk the bridge a couple times a day, and would prefer not to have all that noise literally on your doorstep, its cheaper, the views are great, and the service is pretty darn good too. And generally cheaper.

The Dom is great too, you can't go wrong with either IMO.

Chopsticks

It's been a while that I stayed there, but definitely a very nice hotel in a good location. ^

RichardInSF

And if you don't feel like walking the bridge, the Hyatt is quite near to a subway station. I've had decent stays at the Hyatt -- not luxury but good.

Mora

For New Years Eve I would recommend the Hyatt as you would have a direct view from the Hyatt to the fireworks on the rhine. I would probably not recommend the Dom Hotel for that specific night as it's going to be very crowded around the hotel and you need to fight your way down to the river to see the fireworks. If you don't neccessarily need to stay in Cologne itself you would indeed have a great view of the fireworks that take place in Cologne (if you got decent weather conditions) from Schloss Bensberg in Bergisch-Gladbach.

luxury

Please continue discussion in the Germany forum where I believe is a better home for this thread.

Luxury
Co-Moderator
Luxury Hotels

flyingfkb

I can recommend this hotel Hopper St. Antonius http://www.hopper.de/flash/englisch.php . It is a bit more modern but very nice.

Otherwise I also would say the Le Meridien is the nicer than the Hyatt.

mosburger

To the OP: Please don't waste your NYE time at your preferred hotel. Instead, get out there and prebook tickets for one of the more memorable events at various locations. Cologne is not yet a city of sophisticated hotel parties.

My recommendation would be to book a "Silvester dinner" for example at Osman30 in the Mediapark Cologne Tower for you both: http://www.osman-cologne.de/silvester_2011.htm After 11pm they have a DJ and dancefloor set up.

Other well known and at least somewhat interesting locations might include the Eigelstein area north of the main station, the Friesenstrasse, the Belgisches Viertel area, Aachener Strasse and the Suedstadt. Maybe also the newly renovated Rheinauhafen area directly at the Rhine river.