Mercure Hotel Koeln Belfortstrasse — Hotel in Cologne

As I have made clear it was overall a negative experience because of the difficulties in accessing the Annexe building and my room and poor English of some of the staff (I do some speak German) . It was very quiet and leafy in situation and of an adequate size.
The staff were generally helpful and but some did not peak any or much English. Mahommed did not explain to me that I had to use the brown room key to access the Annex building (I was in room 460). This meant that I had to come back to the main hotel. He also did not explain that he could follow me on camera and then open the Annex door when I arrived there. He spoke little English and very heavily accented German. I had to go back to reception three times during my stay either because I could not access the Annexe building or my room When I arrived in Cologne I was told by Mercure hotel staff that you were near the Hauptbahnhof and the Rheinufer but this was absolutely not the case. With a suitcase it was really a long way and hard to find. However, once in the hotel and with a map of Cologne I could see that you were in fact very close to the Reichenspergerplatz U Bahn station on lines 16 and 18 and this was very convenient for me to get into the City Centre and University areas and Cologne-Deutz to which I needed to travel by Cologne's excellent public transport system. This because of the difficulty I had in entering the Annex building on arrival and subsequently. On the Friday (26th) of my stay the lift also did not work. It stopped on every floor and then gave up on the 3rd floor. Aslo n Friday I could not enter my room with the key card and had to go back to reception. This was frustrating. The key system and lifts are not reliable and need to be looked at urgently. I stay in Accor hotels frequently (and have your loyalty card) and this was the worst experience I have had with Accor. I feel that I need some sort of compensation. The breakfast was very good indeed and up to best Accor standards but there not enough small tables (for 2) for single travelers like me. I wanted to have an evening mail in the hotel but this was not possible and Ebertplatz nearby was recommended where (although not that near) I did find an Italian restaurant that was okay and not too expensive.
The water refiller was a very useful feature which I had not seen before,-especially the sparkling water. I felt intimidated by some of the guests in the Annexe who had clearly been taking drugs and were half dressed in the lift. They were also smoking cannabis from the very strong smell of it outside the main hotel - other guests also commented on it. This is in no...

DISAPPOINTING. Stayed in one of the apartments for 3 weeks. Note: Apartments and some of the regular hotel rooms are not in the main building, but across the road. Too bad during bad weather if you have to go to the reception or breakfast/bar! Apartment was ok as far as size, but quite 'old fashioned' interior design. Small bathroom, no walk-in shower...one has to step into the bathtub to take a shower. Not very convenient and potentially dangerous! Apartment not very well maintained: paint peeling in places and mould in bathroom. Also, no hotel/guest service directory in the apartment - not even reception, housekeeping telephone numbers etc. No guestroom safe, no iron/ironing board. Had to go across the road to ask for an iron and board....since no hotel directory with phone numbers to ring (see above). The ironing board wich was delivered was falling apart and unusable (clearly nobody checking). Had to make another trip across the road to request an ironing board that's actually working. Reception staff need some serious guest service training - with the exception of one team member (Ms Mai, who was very friendly) all others I encountered ranged from incompetent, unfriendly to arrogant and rude - one, apparently 'senior', female team member in particular!. Hotel carpark fees are ridiculously high...no reduced fees for hotel guests - general public can park at the same cost as hotel guests. When I had to extend my stay in Cologne for an additional 10 days, I booked another hotel in town...better rate and far superior amenities...

Booked our stay at this place for a long weekend getaway and must say, we were totally impressed. Hotel stay is not new to me, but one with almost nothing to complain about, is extremely rare. Started with the smooth check-in process - it was seamless and quick. We had booked an apartment for a family of 4. The beds for the kids were already made. The apartment was spacious enough for free movement, well lit and had large windows. The service of the staff was impressive throughout - this includes the staff at the reception and at the restaurant. The staff was happy to accommodate special requests - like they said I could work from their pub, which would be closed at the hours I needed, so I could get a strong WiFi signal. When I chose to work from the room, the lady at the reception, upon request, promptly restarted the router to get the connection up and stable. Spread of the breakfast was good and met expectations with taste. It's not common that you are offered supplies in the mini bar complementary and also refilled daily. This is besides the coffee supplies.

Overall, a pleasant stay and wonderful experience.

If I had to complain, the shampoo and conditioner cans were empty, however, housekeeping was prompt to replenish it. Wish the curtains covered the windows beyond the edges, to prevent sunlight...