I'm there on 29-31 Jan 2007. The rate was EUR 277/night (major exhibition in Koln), but fortunately, I got the 2 nights on points redemption,

Everything Flying Lawyer suggested, and if you like beers, you can:

Day 1: Try the various Kölsch ales in Cologne.

Day 2: Take a boat to Düsseldorf and try the various Altbiers in that city.

Repeat as time permits. :D

And if you make it to DUS I buy you an Altbeer.:D

4P Koln-- Free Mini Bar??
 

Doing a quick quasi M/R to CGN next weekend (thank you CO $218 r/t:cool: ) and I've made a reservation at the 4P Koln at e79 for Sat night. My reservation states ....Standard room with bath, Free Mini Bar, hair dryer etc. What exactly do they mean by 'free mini bar'?? I've never seen that before.. is it empty, filled with 2 bottles of water ?? Free booze ?? I've checked other threads on this property and it seems fine for a one night stay--although a bit away from the center of town (The Dom is more centerally located but at e159, double the price and NO free breakfast!).

When my family stayed at this hotel in the Summer of 2006, I believe each room received 2 bottles of water, 2 bottles of juice, and 2 bottles of pop (all complimentary). I don't think there was any alcohol involved.

This hotel is located just outside of the main train station (going out of the exit opposite the Dom). If your definition of "center of town" is the Dom and the old town near it, it would take you 5 minutes to get there (and a lot of this walking would be inside the train station).

Minibar there has 2 bottles of water, 2 bottles of juice and a couple of small bottles of Coke. Definitely no alcohol AFAIK.

And the location of the 4P is central as it gets! If arriving at the hauptbahnhof (main train station), use the exit near the LH airrail check-in or next to the mcDonalds, and you should be able to see the hotel in front of you beyond the car park, taxis etc. Less than 2 minutes walk!

Enjoy your stay!

As of my stay there this past week, the minibar at the Four points Koln is indeed non-alcoholic. Having the free breakfast is wonderful and the restaurant has non-smoking section which is a respite from the lobby area. *cough*

Thanks, thats fine with me-- as I usually stop at a local mini mart to stock up on cokes/juice ryv, as I generally avoid even opening the mini bar for fear of those electronic charges:mad: Glad to know this time, I can open it without being surprised at check out!

i stayed around thanksgiving and i thought the free breakfast was very good. they also had the international version of the USA Today complimentary, if i remember correctly.

Stayed there last weekend: 2 bottles of mineral water, 1 bottle of orange juice, and 1 bottle of apple juice. Replenished daily. Terrific location, having also taken advantage of CO's EWR-CGN sale. ^

Mauld, since you're a Hyatt Diamond, I would suggest the Hyatt instead. I checked Feb 2-4 and it's available for use with the Choice Level certificate (US $135 per night which includes tax). We walked by the 4pts and it looks like a dump from the outside and thought that it was in a dark area at night.

At the Hyatt, you'll probably get a regency club room and maybe a nice river / dom view. Our room has a nice marble bathroom, separate shower, and great extra long bath tub.

Here are some pictures from our trip in November including some pics of the hotel, room, and regency club items (near the middle of all the thumbnails). Photos

The RC has free alcohol if you're a drinker, excellent views of the city, a great breakfast, and evening horderves. The RC staff serves you, which I thought was a little odd, but fancy.

A bit of a walk across the river though.

LM Vienna does the same (six to 8 pottles replenished daily). It was a nice and unexpected (at least for me) feature).

4 Points Koln- Beware---
 

:eek:
Well, I'm back from a quick trip to CGN, and thought I'd add my impressions of this property. I just re-read some of the comments, and my experience is a bit different than most others. Yes, the hotel is directly across from the train station, but there is a lot of construction going on between the two and you have to go around it to get to the front entrance. Once in the lobby, it is rather small, but ok. At check in I was told I was upgraded and given my key to room 805 and was told it was a quiet room, in the rear of the hotel. The wait for the one elevator was long, and once it arrived it is very small. I found my room and was in for a big surprise.... one single twin bed was along the wall, and even that didn't quite look right. I appeared as if it had only the box spring-- no mattress and thus low to the floor and very hard. There was one pilow on the bed and a folded quilt and the room itself was barely 6' wide. The view was out to the construction site and to a dismal housing courtyard. I called down and asked about my 'upgrade' ?? and was told the bath in my room was much bigger than those in other rooms and thus my room was considered upgraded. I asked if I could change to a larger room, and was told no, I had reserved a single (at the e77 rate), and was not offered a larger room. The hotel didn't appear busy (Carnaval doesn't start for 10 days or so). She didn't even mention paying more, but as I was only one person, and had reserved a single, this is what I was assigned. I have stayed in 4Points before, and was not looking for a 'Luxury Collection' experience, I was very disappointed with this room. The outside of the building is shabby looking and I would not recommend it for a single woman, as the area surrounding the hotel seemed a bit sleezy. I ended up checking out the same day-- luckily I got a good rate at the Hyatt across the river, where I had a much better stay. Yes, I could have stayed at the Dom Hotel, but I thought for one night, how bad could it be???? (IMO--VERY).
Here are some pictures: http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=105...=SYE/otsi=SALB

PS-Yes, I know others here will feel I am being a bit too picky, and perhaps even find the room fine for the money. But as a longtime Platinum with Starwood, I was hoping for something a bit better, especially given some of the previous comments on this property.

Easy answer: Cologne, Germany is not Metuchen, NJ. Allthough you believe you have spent 100 Dollars, the buying power of 77 Euros is about 70 Dollars. A 77 Euro rate for a very central downtown hotel incl. breakfast incl. tax in a city like Cologne should not rise high expectations. What dump of a motel do you get for 70 Dollars incl. tax and breakfast in the US???

I was there probably the week before you, and I had an excellent stay. I checked in Monday, 29 Jan for 2 nights, when the hotel was almost booked solid, and the rate even for the single room you mentioned was EUR 277, and for the double room EUR 487. These were ridiculous rates, but luckily, I was able to book two nights using the 50EPR award, so total "outlay" was 6,000 points. At check in and as SPG Platinum, I got upgraded to room 904, which was HUGE...two bay windows, one of them to a balcony almost 4 feet wide. Room had two single beds put together as one queen/king, work desk, small coffee table and two chairs. Even the bathroom was quite large. We put 4 large suitcases on the floor of the room, plus another one on the luggage rack, and still had A LOT of space to move around.

My stay also included buffet breakfast every morning in the restaurant. Actually, the b/fast wasn't too bad.

I was not too bothered by the construction, and even left the balcony door slightly open during the night and most of the day, just to let in some fresh air.

In regards to the one elevator you mentioned, actually, there are two. The large one is right next to the reception desk (probably can fit 6 people), and there is a small one opposite the restaurant and next to the business centre, past a single glass door. That elevator was truly very small, and probably could fit 3 people. Agree with your comments, though, that elevators were very slow.