I stayed in this hotel for one night at the beginning of October 2007, in a single room, booked through an on-line bookings agency gtahotels.

The single room was small, but I'm only usually in a hotel to sleep so I don't need a huge room. The bathroom was dated, but clean and functional. The room itself was clean and there was a small minibar too.

All staff encountered at the hotel were friendly and helpful.

The buffet breakfast was good with some warm items available such as bacon, sausage, fricadelle and eggs along with the different breads, cheese, cold milk, cereal, yoghurt etc you would expect.

Limited car parking space is available under the hotel on a first-come-first-served basis. There were few people staying with cars on the night of my stay, so there was plenty of space for mine.

There is an internet cafe a few doors down the street, and the hotel is located a few minutes walk away from the main railway station in Mannheim.

On the basis of my experience I would recommend the hotel as a good budget accomodation choice, and I would stay there again should I be visiting the area again.

A typical small Ramada Inn, exceptionally well situated for access to other parts of the city and for arrival and departure by rail.

I have to say that in the end, this hotel turned out to be perfectly fine, but in the beginning it was a bit of a nightmare. We checked in at about 9.30pm, after being dropped off by a taxi with all our luggage. The receptionist announced that the apartments where we were apparently staying were not on the premises, and then proceeded to give us complicated directions to what seemed like very distant accommodation. It involved going through a deserted underpass, which had no working escalators on either end, so we had to haul our suitcases up and down all the steps, and from there we got lost. After a couple of irritated phonecalls we did manage to find the place, which was about 3 streets away from the 'x' she marked on the map for us. She had assured us it was only 150m away, but it was more like 600m, through a creepy underpass and down dark streets. The 'apartments' were terrible. The exterior was dirty, completely unlit and looked like it was uninhabited. Inside, the rooms were somewhat better, but the single beds were absolutely tiny, and there was no wireless internet, which we specifically requested as we were there for work. We rang back to reception to complain and were eventually given a 'comfort' room back in the hotel itself, which was fine. Just beware when you ring to book, and check exactly where they are going to put you.

I'm not sure if all Ramada hotels are franchises but this one was and was not as good as Ramadas I have stayed in in the US a while ago. Minimal staff - don't expect anyone to carry your bags.....
Positives: very handy for train station, trams, taxis, main shopping street. Helpful front-desk staff. Excellent breakfast (see below).

Negatives: Tiny reception which gets a lot of smoke from the teeny adjacent bar. Room decor needs an update from the current 70's look. Heating was effective but only sign of cooling was a fan - in summer I reckon you would roast, and beware, the hotel is on a busy road so could be noisy if you needed to open windows. No bath in my room - could be an issue for some.

The nicest suprise was the fantastic all-you-can-eat breakfast (13 E) and helpful waiting staff. I didn't expect to find such a great buffet room tucked around the corner from reception.

I'd stay here again if the price stays competitive.