SAKS — Hotel in Kaiserslautern

Where to begin? Pros- Wonderful staff. The front desk agents were extremely helpful and welcoming. Always with a warm smile and most knew enough English to assist a traveler that knows just enough German to embarrass themselves. I had mentioned to the front desk that my Wi-Fi was constantly disconnecting, and they were kind enough to give a code that allowed a connection that didn't drop out. The location is wonderful. I was there for three and a half weeks and the only time I drove to eat was when a friend suggested somewhere out of walking distance. Otherwise, there are more than enough restaurants, bars and shopping that driving anywhere is almost pointless. Also, every Tuesday is a small "farmers" market right behind the hotel, and on Saturdays the entire pad behind the hotel is taken over by the farmers' market.

Cons- No A/C, no refrigerator, and no microwave. Why? This is a "modern" design hotel. Maintenance on the building is not great either. My sink had a crack in it. Most of the carpets are in need of replacing. The bed was lumpy and constantly creaked at night. I honestly thought it would fall apart on me one night. You can't connect a computer or wireless stream to the TV in the room. There were 2 treadmills in the "cardio" room and only one was working. The gym was barely large enough to sponsor a single person at a time. There is supposed to be a club on site, but I never saw where it was located. And while it states the rooms are 129/night, most are closer to 180/night. This hotel is not worth it.

An oddity, while I was there. I saw a lot of what appeared to be "senior" staff members. You know, people wondering around that don't appear to be guests, but do not seem to be gainfully employed. If they are staff, I suggest firing them and using their salaries to improve the hotel. I always saw them around the diner or hanging around the bar. Morning, afternoons, evenings. The same 3 or four gentlemen. Occasionally talking with staff. They had been there when I got there and were there when I left, so I am assuming they are staff. They need to find a job or find a new place to just hang out.

Conclusion- The staff and its location are its only saving grace. I had planned on staying at a local Marriot but was convinced otherwise by a coworker. If they truly want to supply a modern experience, start putting the high costs of the rooms towards modernizing the amenities. Replace the carpets. Replace the beds. Fix the A/C issue. But keep those amazing front desk people. A couple in particular and they know...

Chose SAKS for my TLA (temporary lodging) option while waiting for my house to be available. Originally made reservation for a junior suite room to stay for 30 days and told them I had to check out early (15 days early). Luise - the "manager" told me their policy is that I have to pay for the remaining two weeks even though I am asking for an early check out. This was just the latest issue with this hotel during my stay. Prior to that:

After checking in, they ask for credit card payment to cover the reservation. They actually charged me 10% of the 30-day price - they called it "security deposit" Five days later I receive a call to my room after they noticed that I walked in the hotel to inform me that I need to pay my balance right away. “New hotel policy” I ask for a glass of ice to drink..average wait time for the empty bar to provide it: 6 minutes (happened on 3 separate occasions) Asking for an itemized receipt for the payments made so far is a discussion with the staff because they claim it’s only done at the end when you check out. After insisting, they finally provide it. When asked to show the VAT amount on the receipt, they say they can’t do it. Wi-Fi is very intermittent. Do not plan to do any work from your room! It will cutoff and constantly request you enter your room number and last name at least 2-3 times per hour. If you hope to watch even 1 hour of Netflix, be ready to re-enter your Wi-Fi at least 3-4 times. My iPhone 11 connects and as soon as I lock my phone for more than 2 minutes, the WiFi connection goes away as well. Bathroom gets cleaned every so often and you must request it, although they claim it’s done daily. I’ve dealt with three females and two guys there from their staff, and none seemed to care about customer service - worse of them all is Luise, the "manager". Parking in front of the hotel is not allowed to guests who check in unless you’re the manager, owner, or a white person. Every morning and evening, there is a different vehicle parked there, and when I ask the front desk why this car is allowed to park there...there is no real reason given. I was told I can’t even park there for “2 minutes” to run up to my room. Instead I should look for side street parking across the street - which is always full, or plan B, park in the garage and pay for those 2 minutes. The only positive about the hotel - it’s located “downtown”. Bottom line is that there is nothing worth while here; the suite does not have a...

A needed hotel when summer is considered the time for vacationing. This hotel has air conditioned rooms. Staffs are friendly, except my encountered experience with the breakfast host one early morning, she wasn’t pleasant and her customer service is not wonderful...I say this because there’s no smile in her face and had me assume I could charge it to my room when I wanted to pay separately from my room bill. The continental breakfast buffet for €15 per person typical European style is not that bad. Out of the 10 days stay, I ate there only once. I love their coffee (cappuccino) though. You can get purchased coffee 24/7. This is a pet friendly hotel, but be warned “IT IS ONLY THE SPA SUITE ROOM” that can ONLY accommodate your pet. I suggest to contact their reservation by email and not in person to reserve, it just makes your reservation much more less complicated, I know, it’s from experience. The room, for the 10 night stay, I noticed it’s dusty towards the back of the headboard. I asked the manager (front desk) who worked there that morning to make sure it gets wipe down or vacuumed because I get allergies to dust. Come To find out it wasn’t done. Unsure if housekeeping vacuums, I’ve been observing that, to my knowledge, they don’t once you occupy the room space. There are many restaurants and cafes around the area. The walking distance to the K In Lauteen Mall, wonderful place to shop. There’s the Istanbul restaurant not far has very decent prices and delicious food. Dominos pizzas is just next to it too. The garage parking is discounted to guest after 8 hours continuous parking. I love the bartenders in the evening, they made my experience worthwhile staying because of the hectic day. Overall...