Checked in around 7.00 am on the 1st and after giving my name was greeted by the phrase "Are you sure your booking isn't at the Hilton Garden Inn" by the trainee manning the desk. Asked for my confirmation number and provided an email from the front office manager confirming my late arrival which provoked a sort of controlled panic - but eventually my paperwork was found and I was good to go.
Well until I asked if I had an exterior facing room which resulted in much searching and a claim that he'd have to call someone - but ultimately a plan of the hotel was found and this was confirmed.
No mention was made of breakfast in the restaurant for Diamonds or any of the hotel's facilities.
So overall a fairly poor check in experience, however I don't want to be hard on the guy because he was friendly, and despite looking fairly panicked, remained professional - I think it will only be another week or two before all the staff are really in their groove.
Mixed feelings about the room - really liked the design and look of the room (and the hotel) but it was really small - I don't know what I'd done to be assigned such a small room in a fairly empty hotel. The bathroom was extremely cramped - basically the door would just clear the toilet and worse of all - shower over the bath! This is something I hate and is clearly not inline with the room descriptions on the website. The upside was the room was at the end of the building and had a good view over the autobahn, high speed train tracks and the city skyline. But basically if I wanted a new cramped room with a shower over the bath I could have just stayed at the HGI for a significant savings. A card and small tray of apple based products was also waiting in the room.
The executive lounge is indeed huge - infact worryingly so. On the morning of my arrival I was the only person having breakfast there - but the next morning three tables were occupied and it actually felt crowded! The food service area is just a small corner which would be extremely busy if the lounge was even 50% full. Given the huge size of the lounge I don't know why the food and drinks area isn't better spaced. Outside of breakfast I didn't use the lounge.
A few minor nitpicking negatives:
The elevator banks appear to be independent of each other - so the button only works for one pair not the other one.
I like the look of the carpeting in the hallway - but it is a bit of a bugger to roll luggage on.
For my taste the mattress is rock hard, even by German Standards.
My hated shower over bath combo didn't drain properly so I was always left standing in a significant amount of water.
My room also wasn't serviced.
I also suspect I was double charged - I had a prepaid rate that appeared to have been charged to my card prior to arrival - but on check out was told that it hadn't yet been charged and was charged again and my card is currently showing the same amount pending twice - but I'll wait and see what happens.
Despite the negatives I didn't dislike the hotel actually quite the opposite - the staff were friendly, the Hotel appears well built, it has the advantage of being brand new and I like the design but I was left with the feeling I get after staying at the Sheraton (who have treated me well with upgrades to a junior suite) of why didn't I just make the effort and head into the city? Especially given the time it takes to get to the hotel from T2.