The Westin Leipzig — Hotel in Leipzig

We stayed here for one night during our drive around this particular area of the former GDR. Our g.p.s. wanted to route us down Berliner strasse, but a section of it is closed. We made the necessary detour to eventually arrive. Check in was quick and the clerk was very friendly and pleasant. Due to SGP platinum status, we were upgraded to a deluxe room on the 24th floor (thank you very much). It was very nice, clean, spacious and had a great view towards and beyond city center. However, upon entry, the room was very stuffy and warm. I turned the A/C on and dialed down to the lowest temperature with max fan - but nothing much happened. Some air was coming out of the vent, but not much cooler than the room. I called the service express line and asked if the air conditioning was on, as our room was really not getting any cooler air. He told me that the air conditioning would not work if the windows were open. I told him that the windows were not open. He then said that he would send someone up to check out our air conditioning. I said thank you and was waiting for the service person. A few minutes later we heard a knock at the door and I opened the door expecting to see the service person for the A/C. Instead it was a staff member bringing up a voucher that the front desk had forgotten to give us when we checked in. I asked if he knew anything about the A/C controls - he came over, played around a little with the controls, and then said - "it does not seem to be working right" and would contact someone - and made a phone call on his cell phone. I told him that I too had already called and that someone was supposed to be by to check it out and thanked him for also looking at it. A few minutes later, I received a call from someone in service who very bluntly said -- "your air conditioning is working - give it 10 minutes and it will cool down". I then told him that we had already had it on for over 10 minutes, there seemed to be minimal air coming from the vent and the air was no cooler that what was in the warm room. He just responded "It is working" and hung up. So, since we were going to go out for a walk, visit the city center and then have dinner down town, we just decided to leave the windows open (as far as possible) and not have any more hassle from rude employees. When we returned, it was cool enough outside that the room temperature was reasonable - although we did sleep without any blankets/coverings, as that made it too warm in bed. Other positives - (1) Hotel is in a good location - within a short walk to shopping and dinning areas. Very close to the train station for those using that form of transportation.(2) Very comfortable bed (3) very quiet and peaceful in our room (4) They will park your car - parking is 19 euros ( which is about average for what we were charged on our trip for hotel parking). Besides the one rude employee and the lack of working air conditioning, the only other negative issue for me is -- one of the welcoming "selection" choices for SPG platinum members in SPG hotels is a choice of a free breakfast. Most Starwood member hotels offer platinum members a free full breakfast or breakfast in the club lounge (if they have one). The policy of many Westin's is that when platinum SPG members select a free breakfast for their "recognition" choice upon check in, only a continental breakfast is offered. If one wants a complete breakfast, then there is a signifiant surcharge. Apparently, at these Westin hotels, platinum members are not valued enough to receive the full breakfast buffet --- yet large tour groups, whose individuals may never stay at Starwood hotels on their own, and the travel company is getting large volume discounted room rates for them - do get full breakfast included during their stay. Interesting dichotomy. As far as ratings, all-in-all, the Westin Leipzig is a very typical mid-range Westin - so you know...

This hotel is very reasonably priced and in a great location, very close to the central market area and an amazing zoo - highly recommend anyone dedicate a full day to exploring this.

The hotel itself needs quite some work. The rooms are dated, but this can be overlooked if the service and other amenities are up to scratch. Unfortunately, at this hotel they are not. When travelling to Westins and other similar Marriott chains, we really value the lounge as a place to recharge, work a bit, and enjoy some small bites in between meals. Upon check in we were told this hotel did not have any lounge for Marriott Elite members. Once again, if this was the only inconvenience it could perhaps be overlooked. Unfortunately, it was not.

To call the rooms spartan in their amenities would be a gross understatement. Even in the larger rooms there is no mini bar or fridge, and the TV is barely larger than a work monitor. The lack of a fridge may not have been such an obstacle, if there was an ice machine on the floor and if requesting a bucket of ice to the room did not attract an eyewatering €10 service charge.

We were originally incorrectly given a twin single bed room, despite booking a king sized bed, but even when given the correct king room the bed is still made up with two separate single sheet sets. An impractical and unwelcome configuration for any couple with even an ounce of romance left in their lives.

The next warning sign came on our first morning in the hotel, where after enjoying a leisurely breakfast and getting ready, we made our way out of the hotel and politely asked for housekeeping at the front desk. We knew we were in for trouble when the front desk responded by asking “what exactly do you need done?”. We did not need anything specific, we just requested a standard housekeeping - new towels, make the beds, empty the bins etc. We then left the hotel for 9 hours (once again, highly recommend the zoo) only to return to find a room that STILL had not been made up. Upon returning to the front desk, we were met once again with perplexed staff asking us to list out all the duties that their cleaning staff should be doing. Eventually we returned to a room that had been clearly been made in a rush, with not a single apology or explanation for the delay.

We were partially drawn to Leipzig as a destination on our broader European trip, due to the chance to stay at a storied Westin location for such a reasonable price - due to many a pleasant experience at other locations in our travels around the world. Unfortunately the Western Leipzig has broken our chain of good luck with the franchise and would strongly recommend against others visiting this location, expecting to find the world class experience normally associated with the...

TO THE LOCATION The hotel is very well located between the main train station and the old town, both can be reached in about 10 minutes on foot.

THE HOTEL The building is huge. It has 27 floors. Built in the 1970s. However, it was probably renovated once. At least it has not stood still in time. The hotel has a lot of function rooms.

THE STAFF We found the staff to be very friendly and professional. Consistently in all departments. Unfortunately, that is rather the exception today. Therefore a big "thumbs up"!

THE ROOM Thanks to our Marriott bonvoy status, we had a room upgrade to a larger and higher room with an old town view. The view is really very nice. The room was large enough, though not huge. The cleanliness was good.

Unfortunately, there was one or two items in the room that left us wondering:

Why isn't there a coffee or tea maker in the room!!! This hotel was the very first hotel where there was no such thing. Unfortunately, the air conditioning could not be regulated at all. The temperature in the room was just about bearable, it was almost too cold. Why is there something like a sewing kit in the bathroom, but no body lotion? The bed was comfortable, but not to be compared with the otherwise extremely comfortable beds in other Westin.

CLUB LOUNGE Unfortunately, there is no club lounge at the hotel for status guests. Only in the evening can you enjoy select drinks on the house for 2 hours. In addition, there is a small hot dish on the house. The selection of drinks was of very good quality. The food was also very good, although a bit limited. We would have been happy about some nuts or similar.

BREAKFAST The breakfast was ok. However, it was far less spectacular in scope and presentation than that at other Westin hotels.

GYM AND SPA Here we come to the point that makes up for the plus point of friendly staff!

The Gym is absolutely not adequate. Both in terms of size, equipment, their condition and cleanliness. The gym could be tolerated in another hotel, but not in a Westin that has "Well being" written all over it.

But ultimately the most insufficient point in our eyes is the fact that as a guest you have to pay 10 euros per day for pool and sauna use. We know that this is the latest trend in many hotels. However, this is not communicated anywhere in the hotel. At least, we found no information about it, except for a sentence on the website, in the hotel itself. Neither at check-in, nor at the SPA entrance or in the room.

Especially against the background of a missing lounge for status guests, one could also include the access as a member benefit here, for example.

As I said, a big...