This Hotel it is a bit down from the Mercure Standard, due to the old building that inside should be refurbished. In some area you can smell the smoke, and this is not exaclty what I'm looking for when I book a 4 star hotel. Room are not enormous, available tv and cofee machine.
Notwistanding this, all the staff of the Hotel it is greatly gently and smiling with everybody. Restaurant propose a good quality food, also breakfats is offering several choice, all of good taste.
Parking inside the Hotel at the price of 10 euro.

Stayed the second time in this hotel. Everything seems to have improved since last year(if that is possible).
The main asset are the employees. From reception to bar- and restaurant staff they are all extremely friendly and helpful. We stayed for 5 nights and were very well looked after. Rooms and bathrooms are nice and clean. Breakfast is plentiful with lots of choice of fresh fruit and local specialities (wurst = sausage) and a great variety of fresh bread and bread buns.
We certainly will be back next year for another break in this much improved city.

The Mercure Hotel Atrium Braunschweig is a nice hotel, with exelent service! The food at the restaurant is very good. If you stay at this hotel during the summer please make sure you get a room with aircon.

The Mercure in Braunschweig is a basic budget hotel with nothing special apart from its location and really friendly and helpful staff.


LOCATION:

-If you need to be next to Braunschweig main train station (“Hauptbahnof”) then this hotel is the closest you’ll get. It’s a 3 minute walk from the train station to the hotel entrance. Be aware that there's not much in terms of shopping or dining around the hotel.

-On the other hand if you’re here to spend your time in the city centre, then this hotel is far from ideal. It’s a very long walk to the centre (and back),. You can use public buses but you’ll have to plan around the timetables which can mean long waiting times in the rain/snow on weekends. If you’re going to spend more than one occasion in the city centre, get a more centrally located hotel.


ROOMS:

Rooms are small and almost all identical. They're more modern that the hotel itself, but be aware this is a basic (no frills) express hotel. Nothing fancy here. Everything clean, but very basic. If you are a ONE person, you will get a SINGLE blanket even if you have a double bed. If you book a double bed with 2 people you will get 2 single blankets. Most rooms face the inner court which is very quiet, but also has a very depressing view of other grey walls and brown windows.


EXTERIOR & COMMON AREAS:

-This is an ugly 1960s concrete box. Both the outside and the inside are renovated but will always retain that awful style.

There are only 2 lifts(elevators) and they are not large.

-There is a small bar in the lobby. Nothing special.


INTERNET:

Only ONE single computer on the first floor with free internet access. For a hotel with over 100 rooms this is just not sufficient.


BREAKFAST:

Breakfast is 16 Euro per person which is fine considering they have fresh orange juice (which you have to squeeze yourself) and an adequate selection of warm food. There is not much fresh fruit to be found though.


STAFF:

Easily the best thing about this hotel. I found both the reception and breakfast staff genuinely interested in your well being, flexible, helpful and friendly which is really surprising in a budget hotel. I haven’t had many experiences of good service in Germany in the past and was pleased to be proven wrong for a change.


CONCLUSION:

The Mercure is a good budget option if you are here on a quick (1 or 2 night) stay and don’t need to be near the city centre.

Yet, if you're on a longer stay or want to go shopping or sightseeing, pick another hotel. The hotel atmosphere, décor and views are all quite soulless. After 2 days, it can get depressing pretty quick.

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General notes on Germany:

Keep in mind that if you are in Germany almost ALL shops and services are only open from 9:00 to 18.00 weekdays, even shorter hours on Saturdays, and almost everything is closed ALL on day Sunday, due to archaic German legislation on trading hours. If you arrive on a Saturday afternoon, you’re not going to get into many shops or be able to do much until Monday morning. This goes for ALL of Germany.