Being absolutely fair about the hotel, there is nothing really wrong with it - there is free parking, the hotel facilities are fine (more on that later) and the staff are very pleasant - it is also perfectly clean so no real complaints. I'm just not that startled by it to go along with all the delighted ravings about it. - and I think thats probably because in honesty a family with 2 children staying on a stopover is not the target market.
The hotel itself is huge - wide, rather than tall - and appears to be built out from the central block (reception, restaurants, pool & spa area) so to get to our room we had to take a long route - along corriders, up lifts, along additional corriders, up another lift - so quite a way to go from pool to room - especially as there was a wedding party celebrating in one of the public areas which we had to cross in our towelling dressing gowns!
The hotel is really aimed at the wedding & conference market I think and I would imagine is very good at it. There are several public areas and bars and most were full on the Saturday with 3 different wedding receptions and on the Monday morning with a couple of conferences. This didn't affect us in any way but with huge amounts of staff (all v friendly and speaking perfect English) in these areas, and hardly any in the areas for residents, it was obvious where the priorities lie.
The room itself is v 'trendy' - sink in middle of room, large shower room open to view and concealed by hanging beads - so fine if you're swayed by that. We did book a family room with 2 extra truckle beds - and had the email as proof but the hotel denied receiving it - they were happy to add the 2 extra beds in but charged us an additional 20 euros a night on top of our already booked price which I felt was a little out of order since we did have the original document but late on Saturday night after a long drive we accepted it rather than look elsewhere.
The pool was small but absolutely fine. One thing to be aware of - the sauna/steam room area is v stricly no clothes at all. Being a prudish Englishwoman, this prevented me from using it - it also made things a tad awkward with the kids as the loo for the whole swimming pool area was in the sauna area - directly opposite. and certainly the other residents had no qualms about letting it all hang out as it were. Fair play to them but I didn't particularly want my 9 year old daughter to see!
There are various restaurants in the area but not the choice obviously that there would be if you were staying in Mainz itself. - which on reflection I think we would have been better off doing. We did eat in the hotel's Vinothek one night which was absolutely gorgeous - the food was amazing. However it was v expensive compared to other restaurants of a similar quality.
I think the hotel would be perfect for a wedding stay. It would also probably be lovely for a destination hotel for a couple to enjoy the restaurant & the facilities. Its probably not ideal for a family with youngish children looking for a stopover and to visit Mainz - which of course is us!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
25 August 2011
Dear Yorkgirl_8,
We are sorry for the inconveniences you've had during your stay.
We understand your motivation regarding the location of the room in our conference-building, or the comment over the wedding-partys which had been held during the period of your stay.
We arranged an upgrade into a deluxe-room for you, instead of booking a smaller superior-room, as it was reserved. The receptionists wanted to give you and your family a more spacious room for a comfortable stay when you’ve checked in.
As you’ve seen in our Wellness-World we do have dressing-rooms and closets to store your dresses, instead of crossing the hotel in your bathrobes and there is a toilet-room direktly in the pool-area too.
We feel very sorry that your stay in our hotel has been so ill-fated. But as you say, we are more a conference-hotel than a family-hotel.
Thank you very much for the open comments which will help us to make your and other guests stay in our hotel more comfortable.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC