nobody-elite

Thanks everyone for your helpful input... I will check out the suggestions.. unfortunately I am not a frequent starwood customer... as the starwood at the airport sounds good. Guess I will miss out on some of the usual HHonors Gold perks.

Really don't have a great deal of time in the city, so the convenience of the airport hotel sounds appealing to me.

again I really appreciate the comments from others...

nobody-elite

Ken ... thanks, what was the "endless weekend rate" ? This trip is coming out of my pocket, and not a business expense.

I have just visited the website for the Arabella sheraton, and the best rate I could find was 179 Euro...

Didn't see any specials being offered.

My stay will be for a Sunday night, and only the one night.

Also, I don't have any special status with Starwood properties...so it will be difficult to get any upgrades I am sure.

USAFAN

I wanted to check hrs.com and this popped up, however, could not access the website (There is an error in the connection to the hotel database. ( Message: F- (-2) )
Please try again in a few minutes.

Holiday Inn Düsseldorf
City Centre-Königsallee
Wir haben das
"Mai - HIGHLIGHT"
für Sie und möchten Sie in
unserem First Class Hotel
direkt an der berühmten
Königsallee herzlich
willkommen heißen.

1.- 31. Mai 2002
EZ / DZ € 125
inkl. Früchstücksbuffet

!Wir freuen uns auf Sie!

EURO 125 incl. buffet breakfast. Somebody on the board recommended this Hotel!!

nobody-elite

thanks USA FAN ...

I couldn't read German... smile

Unfortunately, that deal is until the end of May.. I will be there in early June..

USAFAN

Nobody ... you should look at hrs.com.
Finally the webpage came up with many nice prices. Hilton next Sunday only Euro 75 incl. breakfast. And most of the hotels you can reserve without a credit card.
Actually I booked a hotel in Paris via HRS, and I paid only 1/3 of the published price.

nobody-elite

thanks USA Fan....

I guess it is a bit early for me to be checking last minute deals... since I am looking for a good rate for early June...

Perhaps, I will hold off my booking until closer to stay, to see if I can get a better price...

You are correct though, I finally got through to the website and some very good deals are being offered.

KenF

Rate I got (twice - we're back there this weekend!) is EUR 120 - thats for an execuitve room (no worries about upgrades ) w/breakfast - TTC/inc.VAT/inkl.MwST - that's double occ. There is also a EUR 99 rate for a standard room, but we've not managed to get that one (generally only twins available).

However, we're staying Sat. night, so it depends on what counts as a weekend!

These rates are from Starwood central bookings - www.starwood.com

ITN are showing various cheap rates for sundays, from EUR 87, with basically the same as we have got for EUR 140 (called an Endless Weekday). Since I can't book from ITN, I can't tell you if those rates are inclusive or exclusive (I'm only an Amex customer - why on earth should I be able to actually use their booking site grrrrr!)

Not trying to seduce you away from Hilton, of course, after all I'm HH-Gold to!

(Now, if they were only doing that "Member get Member" promotion this year....)

Ken.

"Wherever you go - there you are" - Buckaroo Banzai

tcswede

Hi Nobody Elite,
just to give you an update on the Düsseldorf Hilton. I just stayed there last night. Having reserved an internet rate at €UR 86 - which for Düsseldorf is among the cheaper rates for a good hotel - I ws not expecting to much

Location:
it is about 6 KM / 4 miles from the airport - equal distance from town center - maybe a tad longer to the Altstadt - (Old Town)

Parking:
They have a self parking right in front of the Hotel €UR 13 for 24 hours. As someone wrote there is street parking a little further away.

Checkin:
As said, I was not expecting to much, considering the rate - I was upgraded to the executive floor upon checkin. (Have HH Gold)

Lounge is open from 7 to 22, with breakfast from 7:00 to 11:00 and hot canapes from 18:00 onwards - Drinks available all day. Loungs is small and somewhat cramped with old furniture in the side room.

Room:
Basic and somewhat old looking - they are refurbishing - to be completed in 2003. They offerd a fruit basket and a plate of chocolate with personalized greeting from the manager.

Surprise:
Upon check out it was inquired whether I had received the bottle of champagne - Laurent Perrier - for the inconvenience of the old llooking room. I had thought it was the bottle out of the minibar - so I had left it. I was then handed my key back and suggested to pick it up.

It is not every day that one is upgraded on a low low fare and then being rewarded for the inconvenience caused by the upgrade.

Aside from that - it is still a very OK Hotel - of course there are better - but then again there are a lot of worse ones.

Cheers

Thomas

nobody-elite

wow tcswede....

You certainly lucked out on that stay...

Which website did you find that price? I have not seen it advertised at that price yet...

I won't be needing parking, will just take a taxi from the airport to my hotel.

Thanks so much for taking both the time and effort to give me your feedback, it is much appreciated.

tcswede

I booked it straight forward over Hiltons own website - getting the 1000 HH points for an online booking :-))
Cheers

Thomas

nobody-elite

A question a bit off of hotels....

Are all the stores closed on Sundays in Dusseldorf? Here in N. America, most stores are open on Sunday for shopping.

Since I will have most of Sunday free, I was hoping to be able to look around the shops before I have to fly out to Paris on Monday.

nobody-elite

tcswede.... I have gone to the Hilton website and the best rate I can find for my date is 135Euro... so I called the Hilton phone line and enquired.. The best rate they could find was 135E as well.

After about 5 mins the girl finally found something relatively close to your 86E.. it is under the section of Hilton Saver Rate and is offering 90E.

Apparently this offer is good only until June 4th..lol... but she said perhaps they are extending this offer day by day... so to try in a few days. I am looking for the following week of June.

It looks like a good deal, and I am going to chance it by waiting a few more days to see if I too can come up with the saver rate you talked about. Thanks so much for your helpful advice.

USAFAN

All shops will be closed. It's German law; churches and workers unions have a powerful lobby. Only gas stations will sell something and shops at airports, main railway stations.
2 venues:
-Meuser in Alt-Niederkassel for "Speckpfannkuchen"
-Uerigen in the "Altstadt" for "Alt-Bier"

nobody-elite

Thanks USA Fan... not what I wanted to hear but thought it was probably going to be true.

What does this mean in English?... I have NO German

Meuser in Alt-Niederkassel for "Speckpfannkuchen"
-Uerigen in the "Altstadt" for "Alt-Bier"

nobody-elite

another question, for those in Germany.... smile

Does anybody know how close Dusseldorf is to a little town caled "Wellingerode"....? Does it seem possible that one could travel by train from Dusseldorf to this town and back in the same day?

It is the home of my ancestors... although none of us have been to Germany in the past 100 years.



[This message has been edited by nobody-elite (edited 05-16-2002).]