skywalkerLAX

Lounge is only important in Asia, in Europe it's better to just go out for Dinner especially if one doesn't spend that much time 'at home' anymore it's a good opportunity for some proper food.

This is a really nice, solid hotel and the service is excellent too. Too bad they ruin it in the beginning by playing these upgrade games. The good breakfast has been lauded many times already and is still noteworthy.

I really couldn't think of any reason why someone wouldn't like this hotel as a Le Meridien. It's well known that they rarely have lounges and at a price of 100 EUR I consider it fair value. Aloft costs the same and doesn't offer any Lounge or special amenities either. In contrast of the competition (or lack thereof) in Stuttgart there is probably no need to go beyond the good service they offer.

On a side note: Once in Europe I have much less meltdowns at hotels than in Asia where the clowns and bumblers are prevailing in the hospitality industry. It's refreshing to deal with professionals for a change.

skywalkerLAX

The problem is... where else would you stay? There is a severe lack of chain hotels here and unless you need to stay at the Messe Gelaende (Hampton Inn) or the Airport (Moevenpick) you run out of steam quickly. I'm not a big Steigenberger fan.

There is of course the aloft but the price difference to the LM is marginal and the breakfast more than makes up for that. I like the aloft concept and their beds though (the LM bed tonight was horrible as it turned out). Btw I was surprised there are no Illy coffee machines (or any for that matter) in the suites. But a voucher for a coffee downstairs...

FD1971

Many lounges in Europe are quite nice, even in Starwood hotels, not to mention Hyatt.

Clowns can be found on both sides of the check in counter and your actions speak a clear language. Your constant bullying of hotel staff has earned you a certain reputation over time...hardly anyone plays upgrade games with good customers, but the usual conspiracy theories prevail on the internet much easier these days.

skywalkerLAX

I'm not talking about lounges not being nice. It's just a better use of time to go out of the hotel.

I think both our reputations are equally questionable so you'd be the last person to inquire about that. Did you finally find a job where your 'experience' in the hospitality industry is cherished?

FD1971

Huh?

Since when do I look for a job? Are you confusing me with Uri?

And with all due respect, my friend, my reputation in the travel industry speaks for itself, but I agree that there might be a difference when it comes to my reputation among experts and fans in the stands.

cln

Had my first stay here. Was upgraded to a Junior Suite, the spa area was nice. The breakfast was very crowded and we had to set up our own table at the bar area. Dishes were refilled very slowly. We couldn't enjoy breakfast at all...

For that inconvenience we were offered an apology as well as waving the parking fees which I accepted.

Would consider this hotel again, aloft is almost same price. As previously mentioned there is not so much choice downtown Stuttgart.

LH738

Introduction The hotel is in walking distance from the main station. It is also in walking distance to the city center. I had two 1-night stays in october 2017 and november 2017. Both times the hotel was fully booked and I got an upgrade to a Junior Suite. Room The room is modern with a rotatable room-divider containing the TV set. The room faced the main street but there was no noise when the windows were closed. There are also rooms facing the more quiet back of the hotel. Dining Breakfast has an excellent selection of fresh food. Platinums can choose between 500 points OR breakfast.

est-gratuite

No updates since 2017 on this property.
Anyone stayed here recently ?

SoCalNorCal

I'm wondering the same thing. I'm staying here in December for a night during a road-trip.

jpdx

I stay here a couple times a year. Nothing has really changed from prior reports. Rooms and junior suites are nice, but they're very reluctant to upgrade. Have to use SNA or ask at check-in. I hate begging for upgrades, but I do it here because the responses are so interesting. At a minimum, the agent will sigh, sometimes mutter something like "you're alone, why do you need a suite." The breakfast buffet is decent, although I hate that they check off your room number and tell you to walk in and find your own table. I've taken up other people's table on occasion (while they're at the buffet), had others take mine, and had staff clear away my stuff. The station construction causes some noise and disruption if you're walking or driving here. I often stay at the aloft now (which isn't without problems, but when the rate is 30-50% less, it's really a better choice IMO).

est-gratuite

Is it still possible to walk from the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) through the park and to the hotel ?
With all the never ending (10 years plus) construction in and around the main station, I thought I should double check this.


...

Forstbetrieb

Yes, but no more park...

est-gratuite

Well, I was there a few days ago and this is not 100% accurate.

The park called "Schlossgarten" is still there...they have just reduced it in size.
When walking from the station to the hotel via the side ramp you do pass through a portion of the park near the "Biergarden".

However, having now done this walk I would NOT advise this route if you have heavy luggage. Once you get through the park and near to the road where the hotel is (Willi Brandt strasse) you have to go up a LOT of stairs to reach a footbridge to cross the very wide road and then go down even more stairs to get to the hotel on the other side. As I was pulling heavy luggage, I refused to do the stairs and had to walk further north through the park all the way down to "Neckartor" metro (U-bahn) station to be able to cross the road, by going and back up via the metro station elevators. It must have taken me something like 20 to 25 minutes from the station.

On the way back to the station I tried a different route via "staatsgalerie" metro station and "Gebhard Muller Platz". This route thankfully had no stairs but it involved crossing roads a total of 3 times each with traffic lights. It still took me about 15 to 20 minutes and I was going quickly to catch a train.

Bottom line...no matter which of the 3 different routes you take, you are looking at quite a long walk, one of which involves a lot of stairs on 2 sides of a footbridge.

Give yourself extra walking time if you need to catch a train.
If it's raining take a taxi.

est-gratuite

Apart from my issues mentioned above with walking to/from the train station I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel.

The lobby is very fancy in a sort of art deco/1950s style with a modern touches near the reception desk. The elevators had marble walls and gold borders. From the lobby and elevators, it almost looked like a 5 star hotel entrance. Many other "Le Merdien" hotels I have stayed at did not have lobbys this nice looking, so I was pleasantly surprised. Also, from the outside the hotel really does not look like much, so it's really surprise when you walk in.

I was upgraded without asking to a rennovated/refurbished room on the 4th floor which was quite large with a decent sized bathroom and walk in shower. Looked great.

Windows CAN be opened at this hotel for fresh air.
There is NO club lounge.

Chose breakfast as my welcome gift and really enjoyed it. Large selection, fresh fruit and eggs station where you could order whatever you wanted

Late check-out granted without fuss.
Staff were really friendly.

I had no problems during my stay and throughly enjoyed it.

Frab1

I've been here often for work, probably accumulated over 50 stays over the past 5 years with at least 10-15 earlier this year such that the reception greets me by name whenever they see me.

One thing to note is that this hotel is packed Mondays to Thursdays with consultants as this hotel is pretty much the only chain-affiliated and decent one in Stuttgart that gives away points (except for the newer aloft which however awards less points) and as Stuttgart is packed with large firms (Daimler-Mercedes, Porsche, Bosch, Würth, LBBW to just name a few).

That means that if you come from Mondays to Thursdays you can forget about any sort of upgrade as the hotel will operate at 100% utilization. Different story from Thursday through Monday and I'd expect the hotel to be much more forthcoming.

Over the 50 stays I had one proper suite upgrade, which was really nice once you get it. Breakfast is a wide spread and quality of it is okay, no more, no less. Worth checking in advance if there is a trade fair in Stuttgart as hotel prices explode during those days. Like others said there is no lounge in this hotel and even if there was, you would probably not enjoy it at all during the week.

I can't say that this hotel is overly friendly and I am a native German speaker. Despite them knowing that I am a very frequent guest, they tend to argue on everything. Last time I had to check out at 4.30pm to leave on an immediate flight to South Africa (yes, that was the most extreme situation I've ever had at work) and they charged me a full additional day despite the receptionist trying to avoid it and saying "sorry, but this is the order I get from my front-desk manager" and I did not have to time to argue as I had to catch my flight. They know that they operate in almost a monopoly.