| Product: |
Radisson SAS Senator Lübeck |
| Date: |
09/01/06 (543 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: So many but most of all the value for money
Disadvantages: I couldnt find any!
After becoming slightly obsessed with the idea of visiting a traditional Christmas market, this year I finally managed. Finding the destination wasn’t easy, of course the obvious choice had to be Germany, but as I had such high expectations of what to expect I had to get it right! Eventually with the help from some friends and the added incentive of a Ryan Air cheap flight destination I decided on Luebeck in North West Germany and the Radisson SAS Senator Hotel.
A little bit about Luebeck
As Luebeck is still to be discovered by us here in Britain, its impossible to write a review about the hotel without providing a little bit of encouragement as to why anyone should visit Luebeck. Well as I mentioned getting there is easy now that the tiny airport has been turned over to tourism with Ryanair as their carrier. About 10 minutes from the airport you find yourself transported into this beautiful Medieval town, full of friendly people and lots to see. The best time to go has to be close to Christmas, it is brimming with activities especially in the evening with dozens of little Christmas markets which serve in the day as places to buy stocking fillers and by evening the hub of entertainment, street life and the German equivalent of Mulled Wine. Now before you get the image of a drink ridden yob filled town, this is anything but, infact it could be one of the safest feeling places I have ever travelled to, people are laid back, friendly and traditional. All to the shame of us speak English many along with French! Although drinking is a national pastime, especially in the winter the culture is for family and as such groups of youths getting drunk do not exist and are replaced by groups of families drinking steaming wine and chatting the evening away. Luebeck is also the birth place of Marzipan, so anyone with a sweet tooth will be more than happy to peruse the many exquisite chocolate shops! Also, for the past three years it has been host to the worlds ice sculptures, which is a fantastic sight to visit full of intricate sculptures from sculptors from around the world with an ice rink to boot! Only tip for anyone who hasn’t been to Germany before If you aren’t convinced to go, what have you got to loose when you can pick up a flight for 99p!
Price
Well before I go on, I thought it would be best to tell you how much the hotel costs, after all value for money has to be one of the best methods for judging the hotel. The rate per room presently varies between 120 and 125 euros per night, which at current exchange rates works out about £85 per night, which includes a buffet breakfast, internet in your room, TV, free parking under the hotel and use of all facilities. Personally, I think its pretty good value, at £40-£45 per night each (if you are sharing a room) you will get to stay in a spacious, clean and well groomed hotel.
Location
As with most of the Raddison hotel chain, the Raddisson SAS Senator Hotel in Luebeck is perfectly located and is serviced by two airports, Hamburg International Airport (approximately an hour from the hotel) and Luebeck Airport (approximately 10 minute car journey away). The hotel sits on the banks of the River Trave (if you fancy a walk the sea is within approximately 10 miles of this point in the river), with fantastic views over the river and the town of Luebeck on the opposite banks. Set back from the road, the hotel inside is absolutely void of any traffic noise and with the views of the river it feels like you are on an island, when infact cross the bridge and you are in the heart of Luebeck town which is complete with many boutiques, familiar chains, markets and historical buildings.
Facilities & Service
The hotel has 224 bedrooms, of varying sizes, with a choice of smoking or non smoking (we had a smoking room and unlike any previous experience of a smoking room, it did not smell of days old smoke but as fresh as the non smoking rooms). As mentioned if you do drive over to Germany, the hotel provides a safe place to park your car under the hotel.
Check in is a simple procedure, where all facilities are explained. Rooms are designated, but are officially available from 3 on the day of arrival. In practice, rooms are available much earlier. We arrived at 9am and all 3 rooms were ready for us by 11am. In the meantime we had a wander around and were able to leave our luggage secure in a room at the rear of reception.
A standard room consists of a TV, En-suite with bath and very powerful power shower, which I personally couldn’t resist being in for at least an hour at a time! If you are like me and love to take the shampoo’s etc home with you, each bathroom tray has 7 little bottles of shampoo, shower gel and soap that is refilled every day (of course only if you use them or pack them into your case as we did!). In the room a complementary pair of slippers and bathrobe is left, which as with the towels if you want them to be replaced then leave them on the floor for the cleaners, if not hang them up. A really nice touch was a chocolate left on each pillow every day, of course with Luebeck’s links to marzipan the chocolate was of course filled with marzipan which was gorgeous and even if you don’t like marzipan give it a try as it is very different and less sweet than any I have tried before.
The rooms are cleaned daily, with very wise housekeepers who didn’t once knock on our door, but timed the cleaning event to perfection. We was not once disturbed and didn’t once return to our room to find the cleaner in. Cleaning the room was a very hassle free experience, and very thoroughly carried out.
To access the rooms all located, along short corridors in three blocks, there is a choice of stairs or lift. To activate the lift, you need to swipe your bedroom card on entrance and exit. This is s little inconvenient and a case of trial and error to get the key in the right way around and at the right time. As all rooms are on the first and second floor, most people tend to walk once luggage has been delivered.
Now an important point for you, if you require a double bed, ask when you book in as standard rooms come complete with 2 large oversized single beds. There are some standard rooms with double beds, but time your visit well and if you request a double bed, you may well be upgraded to a business suite. There were six of us and out of our 3 rooms, 2 were upgraded to a business suite, so not bad odds!
The hotel facilities include a small swimming pool on the ground floor, 2 saunas of varying intensity and a steam room. Loafing around the hotel is very comfortable experience. The large reception area is complete with leather sofas and staff that are attentive and leave their respective bars to serve snacks, tea, coffee and any alcohol to you, rather than requiring that you enter their specific areas to order and eat / drink your refreshments. It’s a perfect place to wait for your group or relax and watch the world go by. As Germany is a place where many still smoke, you can smoke here too.
Besides this there is also a bar, which is open from early evening till the last person leaves, and two restaurants both serving excellent, but quite pricey food.
Breakfast is included and served in the main restaurant. The choice of food at breakfast is staggering, there is definitely something for everyone’s taste and diet. Self service it consists of the normal English fried breakfast, a huge variety of fruits, breads, meats, yoghurts, fruit juices the list goes on and on Hot coffee is served to your table on arrival, and tea can be found in the main serving area.
I could not fault any of the services in the hotel, all staff were incredibly friendly, spoke immaculate English and the hotel was beautifully clean throughout. As we were visiting close to Christmas, the hotel was fully decorated and looked stunning.
Would I recommend the hotel?
Well if you haven’t guessed from the glowing review, yes I most certainly would and Luebeck in general too. We found the hotel to be brilliant value for money (including the drinks), friendly and a relaxing place to be in. I have stayed in some very good hotels and some very cheap hotels and I do class this one amongst my favourites. As a chain they can be found throughout the world, so I will definitely check if there is a Radisson at my next destination.
Link to the site
http://www.radisson.com
Address
WILLY-BRANDT-ALLEE 6
LUEBECK, 23554
49-451-1420
Summary: Great value and a fantastic location
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