Prize by Radisson, Erfurt City — Hotel in Erfurt

Spent 1 hour checking in at 3.20am with no other customers around after a very long drive.

Initially i was told nobody had a reservation and the clerk seemed unwilling to investigate.

Then when I prove i have a reservation, he demands a credit card because he doesn't trust a confirmation email sent directly to me and to the hotel from Hotels.com

Ask for a later check out considering I've lost 1 hours sleep to be told i have to pay extra!

Really rude and strange behaviour yet claims to be polite with me. I hope that his managers can play back the video of this check in to prove the point that it was wrong from beginning to end.

Blames Hotels.com and suggests i should reserve with a competitor.

On departing reception to go to my room, I ask to the clerk about the free coffee that's advertised and then blames me for talking too much making a false accussation for the reason why i didn't tell him.

Then when I got my key to go to my room, I discover now that the room doors don't have numbers on, at least ones that you can see! Weird!!

Oh and the extortionate car parking at the rear can be saved by parking at the side of the hotel on a car park behind the bus stops and 10 spaces marked with an X if you don't mind unsecure but they won't tell you this.

Seriously, look elsewhere for a hotel, especially if you want a fast check in and decent service checking in, will not be visiting again for sure. I'm a time served travel agent and expect a far higher standard for the...

Staff were 10/10. Everyone was SO lovely!! Common areas more or less clean (however not everywhere), the rooms were convenient and smartly designed, however for me, I just disagreed. I completely understand that this is a part of the ‘Prize’ design, and I do respect it, since it was really thorough in that sense, however the furniture already seemed to be a bit worn. Additionally, the drain in the shower was clogged (drained really slowly), and had hair in it when we came. We used the shower on the day of check-out, and therefore didn’t have time to fix it during our stay, but would’ve been nice if they had cleaned it properly before our arrival. ||The parking was full, but of course that is to be expected when you arrive at night. No problem, since the lovely receptionist helped us find parking near the station. At breakfast, the breakfast list was lying in the reception, and the reception crossed out rooms with a marker. Me having been able to see that does not seem super GDPR-compliant, and I hope they will change this. ||They did acknowledge my Radisson Rewards status, which was super nice. The bar was open 24/7 and seemed very clean. They served good beers:-) ||The area did not seem unsafe at all. ||All in all, the hotel was very fine, and the staff was so lovely and really really helpful. We had a fine stay in spite of the hiccups, and will be back if we’re in Erfurt, hopefully just to a bit cleaner room and more...

The good stuff first:

Since I came by train, the location worked perfectly. The Old Town isn’t far, and with the tourist card it was super easy to just hop on a tram from the station. The bathroom did its job and the bed was comfy enough for a good night’s sleep.

Now the less shiny parts:

No fridge in the room, no bottled water at the bar, and check-in took forever (there’s a big ad for the online kiosk check-in, but… it wasn’t working). My first impression felt more like walking into a youth hostel from the 1970s than a modern hotel. Retro can be cool if done right, but here the quirky decor felt a bit forced rather than stylish.

The lobby had a messy vibe, again more “Jugendherberge” than hotel. My room was on the first floor (which at the back is basically ground level), so my view was straight onto a parked car — not exactly the Paris skyline, more like a U.S. budget motel. The service at reception was hit and miss: sometimes chilled in a nice way, sometimes a little cocky. And surprisingly, English didn’t come easy for the staff, which is rare in Germany these days. The area around the station also wasn’t the nicest to stroll through after dark.

All in all, definitely my least favorite Radisson experience so far. I’ll be thinking twice before trying a...