Arrived prebooked from the UK travelling on motorcycles. Given a friendly welcome and without asking were offered garage space for the bikes which was a releif as we would not have relished leaving them outside overnight. All rooms face onto the street and can be a little noisy at times although you can close the windows and rely on the fans which all the rooms have. Well decorated and furnished with quality fittings throughout. Breakfast was excellent quality with a wide choice catering nfor a wide variety of tastes. All in all very staisfied and the staff were genuinley helpful and accomodatioing I cannot imagine you would be dissapointed staying here.

Great little family run place. Clean rooms, great breakfast. Just a 5 min walk from the thermal spa.

Just wished they had wifi.

Would recommend Granus to anyone going to Aachen.

The good things you hear about this hotel are really true. It is friendly; the breakfast is wonderful; and the breakfast room and lobby are almost unbelievably quaint and cozy, while the guest rooms are very up-to-date. The experience is so unlike what you get in a typical American hotel that this feels like a truly European experience.

Immediately to the west is the promenade created at Napoleon's order for the pleasure of wealthy Aacheners. And just up the side street (and up the hill) is the Stadt Garten, a large park which boasts a weather station, a small vineyard, various pools and fountains, plenty of trees and an historic monument to the Aachen conference in which Czar Alexander I, Emperor Francis I of Austria, King Frederick William III of Prussia, Prince Metternich, and the Duke of Wellington met to tidy up post-Napoleonic Europe. In fact, the tour bus route runs right beside the hotel.

If there's any downside, it's that the hotel fronts on a busy street, which can be noisy at night. But there are many hotels along major streets in the area, so you know hotel guests love the location.

We really got a great deal when we stayed at the Hotel Granus. The room was more spacious than we had come to expect in Europe, with a European-style double bed and a single bed for our son against another wall. In between, there was a writing desk with a small television on top and a chair. The bathroom, with a shower, was sparkling clean.

The hotel really seemed more like a bed-and-breakfast, since we were greeted at the front desk by the very friendly proprietor who was anxious to lead us to our car parking across the street. And the next day's breakfast was fabulous. The proprietor asked us how we wanted our eggs (that came with bacon!) and conscientiously refilled our juice glasses (with a choice of grapefruit or orange juice) and coffee cups. The exquisitely decorated breakfast nook also featured a sideboard with an amazing range of various goodies – pastry, buns of various kinds of bread, cheeses, ham, salmon, yoghurt, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh fruit salad, strawberries, etc.

The hotel is located on a side street, Passstrasse 2a, just about ten minutes walk from the city center. It is also just up the street from the Carolus Thermen bath complex. One has to keep a sharp eye out for the hotel when first arriving, since it looks just like the apartment buildings on each side. Since the Hotel Granus is family run, we were advised that we would have to make a special arrangement if we arrived after 2:00 p.m. on the weekend, but that was not an issue since we actually arrived shortly after noon. We also had to park around the corner initially and then come around when the proprietor could lead us to the parking area. While the hotel advises that free internet is available, we weren't able to figure out how to make the connection, but, since we stayed only one night, didn't pursue the question.

Although still not a problem, the area might have also gone downhill in recent years, since a tattoo parlor was located across the street and we saw various disreputable characters sitting and standing on the street when we walked toward the cathedral. We didn't try the Irish Pub that is next door on the corner, but it seemed to have a lively crowd when we returned in the evening. (The fact that the television was broadcasting the Eurovision song contest probably didn't hurt.)

We would definitely stay at the Hotel Granus again and recommend it highly. The price is even better than we would pay for a comparable level of service in the U.S., even with the recent strengthening of the dollar. The name, by the way, evidently comes from the Roman centurion who, according to legend, discovered the hot springs that led to Aachen's founding.