Holiday Inn Lubeck by IHG — Hotel in Lübeck

The hotel is quite well located. Directly opposite there is a bus stop where several lines stop. Among other things, also some with which you can quickly get to the train station. The old town is also within walking distance in a few minutes.

The hotel building itself is a bit older. However, everything is well maintained and has certainly been renovated several times. The advantage with such old houses: The rooms are usually a lot bigger than in new buildings, so also here. And the hotel has a swimming pool. It's big enough to swim a few laps. As far as the feel-good factor goes, though, it's stuck somewhere in the 1990s. The gym is small and basically has endurance equipment. There's also a sauna, but it wasn't really hot during our stay or even during the "operating" hours. The pool could also be a few degrees warmer.

What stood out was the consistently friendly staff. Starting with the professionally and friendly check-in to the house technology (which we unfortunately had to use once) to the staff in the restaurant.

Breakfast is served in a pleasant atmosphere. The buffet is generously laid out, which somewhat belies the fact that there is actually no more than is usually available as standard at Holiday Inn hotels. Egg dishes can be ordered from the staff. These are tasty and nicely presented. We liked the breakfast.

Thanks to our IHG status, there was a room upgrade. So we had a very spacious room that could definitely be made into something more. Especially the seating area with a small sofa, table, chair and lamp could be a bit more inviting. Otherwise, we noticed that the room was very dark. Even when all the lamps were turned on.

From the staff we would have liked a tad more professionalism. For example, our room was not cleaned. When asked, we were assured several times that despite the advanced hour, someone would definitely come again all by themselves. This was then also the case. Despite the "do not disturb" sign, two employees were standing in front of the door to clean the room. The housekeeping department also failed to comply with this sign. Our air conditioning did not work. The reception passed on our request to the building services department. They also came, but we still had our "Do not disturb" sign on the door. Instead of calling the room (as we know it in such cases from other hotels), the building services just left. Only after two more inquiries at the reception did it work. However, our request was then handled immediately and to our satisfaction.

Another minus point is the price. This was significantly higher than for comparable Holiday Inns. It was also not obvious to us why this is so. The hotel was definitely not fully booked.

Despite the small negative points, we would visit this hotel again.

So we rate: 3* if everything is as you would expect from a hotel of this category and price range. Less or more * for corresponding negative or...

Me and my husband stayed at this hotel on October 14, 2015. When we arrived there were two ladies at the front desk. None of them greeted us. When I approached the front desk and started saying something, one of them pointed her hand at me, saying in a very unfriendly manner: "Wait". The other lady handled our check in. She wasn't friendly either. She didn't smile nor she greeted us in any way (forget about: thank you for being an IHG member). She suddenly told me that our reservation was for only one person and I had to pay extra 20 euros. It was a surprise to us. First of all, we were sure we booked a double room and second of all, why would they charge us 20 euros more for an extra person when the room was for up to 3 people (that's what was on IHG website). We asked to double check it in their system but she was unable to do so. She told us to show us the proof of the reservation but we didn't have internet access so we couldn't do that at the time of check in. What system are they using that they couldn't check a reservation?

We went to our room and checked the reservation. Of course,we were right: we booked a room for up to 3 people and the price was the same no matter if there was one person or 3 people in that room. We went to the front desk and told them about their mistake. I felt very uncomfortable. I felt I was being accused of something.

Another annoying thing was the fact that there was no internet in the room at all. Fast internet access is a standard nowadays in every hotel.

I would definitely stay at a different hotel next time I am in Lubeck. This one was just an average hotel, expensive, with no internet, basic room and unfriendly staff.

I would not recommend...

I stayed 11 nights on business and arrived a day early by mistake, however, the staff member was able to accommodate me. The room was clean, modern and quiet, but no fridge which might be an issue for some. A bit of a walk to the town centre, but there is a good restaurant in the hotel - Kochwerk, with a reasonable selection of meals (but closed on Sundays). I experienced one issue upon check out. When I checked in, I was told that breakfast was included even though it was not mentioned on my booking confirmation. I checked again with another staff member the next morning and asked what if I did not eat the €20 breakfast. The staff member replied saying that I would not be charged for any breakfast that I did not eat. When I checked out, my credit card was charged with an invoice including 11 x €20 = €220 for breakfasts that I did not eat. The staff member said I should have told him about breakfast before charging my credit card. He was reluctant to refund the €220, but eventually was able to credit the amount. I will be sure to check before invoicing next time, but the list of charges should also be confirmed with the customer before the credit card is processed. In addition, Reception should know if a customer has eaten breakfast or not. Despite the issue, the staff were friendly and helpful and it was a relaxing...