I was partly attracted to visiting Osnabrück because there is a Holiday Inn there and I need enough points to qualify for Platinum this year. But I also felt that it would be an interesting place that deserved a visit. The Holiday Inn Osnabrück turned out to be a good hotel fairly near the station (about 7 minutes walk) which looked like it was a newbuild (I forgot to ask). The area around the reception desk was very tastefully designed, with a slightly hip seating area to the left facing reception and a restaurant on the right, Restaurant Echt. Passing through the space between the reception area and the restaurant, where breakfast is served, you come to a lovely bar complete with a fake (but convincing) fireplace right in the middle of the space. July in Germany had not exactly been cold, but temperatures were cool and the fireplace was welcome.


Exterior of the Holiday Inn at Osnabrück


The bar area in the HI Osnabrück is really pleasant


There is an equally pleasant seating area near reception

As a Platinum member, the reception staff offered me a complimentary drink at the bar, but also credited my account with 500 welcome points (usually it's a choice between points or a drink). I was also upgraded to an upper floor room which resembled a junior suite, with a separate sitting area and a big desk, quite rare in hotels these days. There was a free minibar with a choice of water, soft drinks and beer, which was replenished each day. The minibar was offered in addition to the tea and coffee making facilities. The sleeping area was decent with new beds and bedclothes and the room was dark enough so I could sleep well. The bathroom was fairly standard with a very good shower (stable water pressure and temperature) but no bathtub. As usual, there wasn't enough space to put my washbag, shaver and other things, so I left them in one of the room cupboards.


This is the reception area of the HI Osnabrück


This was the first impression of my junior suite


This was the sleeping area

The only truly negative aspect of this hotel was the cost of the breakfast, €23, which I declined, opting to go to a nearby bakery and cafe for a breakfast at a third of that cost. All the same, the hotel had a nice ambience and it was pleasant to hang around there, especially in the bar area, but I wanted to get out and see Osnabrück. There is a network of buses that pass nearby and at the main station, but you can in fact easily walk everywhere in Osnabrück. A final word about the train station, Osnabrück Hbf: along with Koblenz train station, the station in Osnabrück is one of the nicest ones I have been to in Germany.


This was the seating area in the junior suite


And this was the bathroom, with an accidental selfie