On arrival at this hotel we noticed immediately that the hotel is more bland than the grandness we were expecting from the hotel write up and photos. By the end of our stay we had come to the conclusion that the hotel is more suited to a 2* rating than the 4* it has somehow obtained.

Our "golf theme" room (which we didn't request) consisted of a green golf carpet, fake patches of grass and golf clubs and balls strategically placed around the room and on the walls. Although clean the facilities in the room were very dated and of low quality. On the morning of check out there was no hot water.

The themed rooms are actually located in a separate building next door for which you are only given one key which makes it difficult when you each want to enter the building at different times.

The restaurant is also housed in the building next door which although looks inviting the staff were not. When we tried to get lunch 45 minutes before closing we were repeatedly asked if we wanted our food to take away. When we said we wanted to eat in we had no offer of a table to sit at just handed a menu and told we had 5 minutes until they close!

There are no services that are offered by other 4* hotels, such as a concierge or room service, in fact the reception closes at 10pm at which point there is no personal representative at all.

This hotel is great if you just want somewhere clean and can pick up a cheap deal for a quick overnight stay but we would certainly not recommend it for a special trip and certainly not at the full price.

The Halberstadt Hotel is now the Hotel Viva Creativo and EVERYTHING is better. It's a wonderful little hotel with all the home-touches that make you want to keep coming back. From the hot-water bottle (in a Winnie-the-Pooh fleece costume) to the squeaky duck to be used in your immaculately clean bathtub, everything makes you feel like the hotel has been furnished with TLC. You can even borrow a bicycle and enjoy the area. The breakfast buffet (included) with everything from home-made jams to freshly scrambled eggs is a joy. And, if the weather is good, have your breakfast in the lovely garden. This was our second visit and won't be our last. The hotel is only about 80 miles from where we live, but it's like checking into a fairy-tale world -- not overly luxurious, but VERY comfortable and welcoming. (Check on eBay - english or german - for weekend packages.)