We booked and paid in advance for an overnight stay in this hotel as a stopover on the way to Austria. We phoned in advance to warn them we would be quite late and were informed that although the night porter would have left by midnight, we would be able to access the hotel and our room key would be left out in the Late Key box.
Anyway, when we arrived at 12.30am, the door was locked. We both tried to look for another door but no joy. It was definitely locked. I tried ringing the number and got an answerphone message. I don't speak German so had no idea what the message said. Anyway, I left a message saying we were outside the hotel and the door was locked.
It was sub-zero dgrees and we had two young children with us so after 20 mins we decided to try another hotel down the road which was open. Luckily we got a room there. I returned to the Comfort Hotel the next day to explain what had happened and request a refund. The man behind the desk was rude and loudly proclaimed that the door was definitely not locked and implied I just didn't know how to open it - he even demonstrated how to open it (it was just a matter of pulling the door open...nothing complicated). This despite the fact that I had no trouble opening it that morning! He said he had been called out at 01.30 as a guest had lost his room-key and it wasn't locked then.
He wouldn't entertain the fact that perhaps one of his guests had locked it and another had opened it with their room key. But there was a Christmas party nearby and many of the party-goers were staying at the hotel so I thought it was a reasonable assumption. He was adamant we were at fault and didn't know the difference between a locked and unlocked door. Why would we lie after a long journey and decide to change hotels at 12.30 am with exhausted children? We gave up trying to reason with him, he was starting to shout at this stage so we left.
Anyway, long review for a hotel I didn't even stay at but the customer service isn't great. I got back 50% of the room price once I complained to Hotels.Com who I booked through. But can assure you I will never book there again.
- Comfort Inn Frankfurt
