Thanks that may be enough to get us by. Overall it seems to be a lot nicer then the Hilton and they have suites.

Confused here all
Deciding between SPG Dom,Hyatt,Hilton or IC
I also have some old Marriott points that could use a good home if I choose the Marriott.
The Hyatt has a Regency Club which is my first thought process
Anyone with muti brand experience in Cologne ?
Wide conflicting reviews here on this property

The Dom is by far the oldest building and has some very tiny rooms, so for somebody without status on el cheapo rate, I would recommend to avoid the Dom. IC is rock solid, same with the Marriott, which used to run some promos with good old Germanwings (Euro 89 midweek incl. of BF )

Hilton has no club, only a few suites and aside from the once hip Ice Bar is nothing to write home about. If you do not mind the distance to the city center, the Hyatt is your best bet, but as pointed out yesterday in the other thread, I never got a suite there without using a cert. and if it is booked, river view rooms are also hard to come by...the view from the RC however is priceless.

Tough decision, but not really much to lose, all are true high quality hotels.

I would vote for the Marriott or the DOM.
The Hyatt- in my opinion- is not that nice and also has a poor location.
The IC has a great bar however small rooms.
The Marriott has a very nice club lounge, good location (about 3 minutes from the DOM) and usually excellent rates.

Just completed a short conference stay at the Dom, we usually meet at the Hyatt, I (on private) usually stay at the IC. Hilton is out for me, because it's a 4*.

- Dom, small rooms, upgrade was nothing exciting (higher floor? little larger room? Didn't bother to push anything for one night). I thought the bathrooms were quite out of date and not very spacious.
- As RA, IC usually gives you Exec Suite or Club room for cheapest room booking (you usually can chose), good value for RAs. Location excellent and better than the Dom, since closer to Neumarkt und Heumarkt. Safest and best bet when on own expenses.
- Hyatt is just as great. I don't have any status, deluxe/ suite rooms are large and new-ish. Location is not so good, on the wrong side of the river. I need to mention that cheapest rooms are actually the cheapest rooms, and could do with a refurb. More expensive suites or rooms are nicer.

Edit: Neither Hyatt nor IC Club are very exciting. Hyatt has a better food, IC has the better booze offer for happy hour

I'm looking to book a room here in June and found this in the rate terms and conditions "Complimentary Minibar"......now, is this as in the Royal Ambassador definition of Complimentary Minibar, or does it just mean there's a minibar in the room?

Thank You for the great reply and post ^Not so sure why i nver saw it till now
Hilton I take it is a lesser property at 4 star?
Hyatt on wrong side of river? Whats involved to get where u need to go?
Which are the nicer newer rooms and suites? I assume you mean the Hyatt

True usually its a no brainer.
I am leaning toward the Hyatt.Club lounge,free wifi, welcome amenity
typically the food is good at most Hyatts if you want to dine in house or in the room.
There upgrades are consistent globally and breakfast and beverages are fully covered
I am going to try and use the confirmable complimentary electronics to upgrade my stay to a suite at the time of booking

Two healthy legs.... that take you across the Rhine via the 'Hohenzollern' Bridge, which is right next to the Hyatt. Alternatively, you could also take the tram and cross the river via the 'Deutzer' Bridge to the Heumarkt / Interconti area. Google Maps should offer good overviews, the Hohenzollern bridge is the one north of / right next to the Hyatt, the Deutzer bridge is the one south of the Hyatt right next to the former Lufthansa WHQ.

The e-suite upgrade will get you a Regency Suite, one or two of them have a view of the Cathedral. It is a classic one-bedroom suite about twice the size of a regular room, but nothing too special. I used several paper vouchers here in the last years and the upgrade has always been the same.

I never received a suite at the Hyatt Regency Cologne without using a voucher, but received suites at the SPG properties for free.

Thanks for the advice
If the suite is nothing special should I save hundreds of dollars and just book on GP points?
Also SPG has a Cash and Points rate which is a pretty good value too.
As for two healthy legs right now thats a go hopefully they have taxis when I get tired from sightseeing
How many minutes by leg and foot action?
Translation walking distance!

I was at the LM in Koln over a year ago, and was NOT offered a complimentary minibar, but the 4Points Koln did have one. In it was 2 beers, 2 bottles of juice and 2 waters.

In regards to "two healthy legs" ... Albeit it is true that is just crossing the river, I would say it's a 15 min walk (1 mile) on a fairly busy 4 lane bridge (to Heumarkt) or a 10 min ride on the metro (to Neumarkt) and would generally avoid staying on the "wrong" side when on a tourist/ sightseeing trip. You will always have to either catch a taxi, metro, or spend some time walking - there is, apart from the exhibition center, nothing much on the Hyatt side of the river, so you would have to go back and forth for club lounge happy hour and sightseeing, dinner and evening entertainment (there are one or two nice restaurants around the Hyatt though - but most is on "the other side"), for example.
Dom and especially the IC are very close or walking distance to almost everything - sightseeing, bars (espec IC), restaurants.

As for basic rooms at the Hyatt. They could do with a refurb, old style TVs etc. Suites are better, but nothing to write home about. Pretty much guaranteed suite upgrade at IC.

Therefore, my recommendation is to stay either at the Dom Hotel or the IC.

+1 for the Dom.
Also- you could consider the Marriott if you really want a club lounge.

The size is comparable to the regular suites at the Palm Springs Suites property, really classic one bedroom room, one living room suite with a regular bath, no jet tub or steam room / sauna.

As pointed out before, if you go with the Hyatt you have far more guaranteed perks, but if you are unlucky you get a RC courtyard view room...

Using a suite upgrade cert. would guarantee you a river view suite, aside from the stunning views from the Regency Club.

The 4P is generally far less expensive and actually a 3 star hotel, but service is hit or miss, same with the upgrades at the Dom, either you end up in a regular room, no lounge or breakfast or they give you a nice suite with floor to ceiling windows of the cathedral, a stone throw away...

Rate at the Hyatt should be Euro 150 on weekends or 190 on weekdays, normally - 20 %, if a Limited Time promo rate is available. During the summer, the rates will probably decrease to Euro 130 on any day. If you stay longer, the 20/30/40 % off rates could be interesting for the Dom, the property used to be in the 90's several times last year.

The walk via the bridges is actually very nice, about 10 minutes to reach the Cathedral. If you take the tram, you need 5 minutes to the stop and 5 minutes to the first or second station on the tourist side of Cologne.

I cannot comment on regular rooms at the Hyatt, but the RC rooms have new 37' Samsung LCD-TV's which are nice.

Rooms at the IC are significantly smaller in comparison to the Hyatt and the bathrooms are nothing to write home about at all, very small and average for a new 5 star hotel in an age where bathrooms are considered a unique selling proposition for an upscale hotel...