Hotel Motel One Stuttgart-Hauptbahnhof — Hotel in Stuttgart

I usually enjoy staying at Motel One hotels. As a frequent business traveller to Germany, they're usually well-decorated, comfortable, and reliable. Unfortunately, my most recent stay at Motel One Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (From the 23rd June 2025) was an absolute nightmare due to a bed bug infestation.

After going to bed early due to an early flight, I woke up during the night and noticed dark marks on the pillow. When I turned on the main light, I discovered the bed was infested with large bed bugs (photos attached). At first, I wasn’t even sure what they were because of their size, and I worried that they could be ticks.

It was ~1am when I went to reception who gave me a new room, but no guidance on how to handle the situation or prevent spreading the infestation. I'd already unpacked my suitcase on the bed, had clothes on the floor, and had to pack everything up in the middle of the night, exhausted and worried. I took precautions myself by showering, changing clothes I'd worn in the bed bug bed, and keeping my stuff away from the new bed.

The next day, after researching and speaking with colleagues, it became clear they were bed bugs. However, things got worse after I returned home to the UK:

My partner and I both developed new, painful, itchy bites for a couple of weeks afterwards.

We endured sleepless nights and a constant sense of disgust and paranoia for thinking more and more bugs were appearing due to the number of bites that kept appearing.

We had to turn our entire bedroom upside down, wash and steam-clean everything (including hiring a steamer), and I had to dispose of my luggage and clothing from the trip for fear of releasing any more bugs into our home.

Despite all of this, Motel One’s response has been to deny responsibility. They claim the room was inspected beforehand and that I must have brought the bed bugs in myself – an outrageous and insulting suggestion. It's impossible for a guest to cause a full-blown infestation within a few hours of arrival, especially for the bed bugs to be the size they were.

I could've accepted this as an unfortunate one-off incident if Motel One had handled it properly with an apology, accountability, and some form of compensation. Instead, their response has been dismissive and defensive, shifting blame onto me.

My warning to future guests: do not stay at this hotel. Clearly, rooms are not properly inspected, and when things go wrong, Motel One will not take responsibility. Instead of resolving the issue professionally, they will try to deflect and blame...

TLDR : Good for business trip. Clean and very close to main train station but has no facilities. Choose it if your only need is a place to spend the night.

Pros: Rooms of the hotel are very clean. The staff is polite. There are safes in the rooms. Free WiFi internet in available. Location is perfect for public transportation, it's very close to the main train station - almost next to it.

Cons: Rooms are quite small. There is a tv but it has (almost) only German tv channels. There ara some international channels listed but not working. No minibar. No water to drink. No tea or coffee. No kettle. No iron. No slippers. No cotton buds. No room service. No anything. The hotel provides iron if asked but there is no phone in the room! I am a frequent traveller and I think this is the first hotel room without a phone I have ever stayed. There ara 4 lamps in the room each controlled separately, it's not possible to turn them on/off at once. You have to walk 3 corners of the room. Thankfully not a large room:) The hotel has no facilities at all, no spa, no sports center, no business center, no meeting rooms.

Offers one free breakfast if you subscribe to mail list. I learned this after paying for it. Breakfast is good...

Unfair Policies & Poor Customer Service

I had a deeply disappointing experience with Motel One. Due to airport strikes and the cancellation of my flight—a clear force majeure—I was unable to travel. Despite this unforeseen situation, the hotel refused to show any flexibility.

I booked on booking.com, however at the time of my booking, their website stated that reservations guaranteed by credit card could be canceled free of charge until 6 PM the day before arrival, with a no-show resulting in a charge for just one night. After my planned stay, they retroactively changed their policy on their website to require cancellations 14 days in advance for trade show periods.

In an effort to find a fair solution, I proposed reasonable alternatives—being charged for one or two nights instead of the full stay or even rescheduling my booking—but the hotel flatly refused. Instead, they insisted on charging 90% of my three-night stay, despite the circumstances being completely beyond my control.

I strongly urge future guests to be cautious when booking here, as policies may change without notice, and customer service is unwilling to work toward reasonable resolutions.

#BadCustomerService #UnfairHotelPolicies...