hofbrau river front hotel — Hotel in Helen

“My wife & I were looking for a funky old hotel.” “Well, you found it!,” the proprietor replied. “This is one of the funkiest, hotels in town!” And it was. (Visited April 13-15, 2018) Built in 1950 it's a collection of haphazardly placed buildings in a rough L. That's not the only rough thing. This is a old BUDGET HOTEL, very "dated”. It overlooks the river on the back of the 100 & 2 story 200 Buildings. The overlook is far from private. The door opens on the aisle running so if you want to relax and listen to the water you may have visitors. 2: You can walk most of Helen from here. DON'T eat at the Hofbrauhaus. Go to the Bodensee for GREAT German food - the best I've had since I left Germany 30 yrs ago. The owner/chef & wife are German. Zer Gute! Be aware rooms vary. Rm 204 is square with a HUGE bath (almost 1/3 of the space). It was just sorta clean, as in don't look on the floor behind the toilet. There were ants inhabiting one corner of the sink counter, not that they bothered us. Room 106 was L-shaped w/ 2 twins & a normal size bath – about what you'd expect. But the TV was on the long side of the 'L so it was like looking down a long tunnel, making it a postage stamp instead of the big screen it was. This room had 2 doors - one front, 1 back. There were no phones. Being old & evidently 'grandfathered' I saw no smoke alarms or sprinklers. No clocks or radios. 106 had a mini-frig which held room temperature no matter how the thermostat was set. We were promised a frig in 204 but there there was none. They said the old ones had been taken out & the new were late. Every hitch was greeted with: “Renovation”.

Speaking of renovations, they'd just painted the doors frames of the 200 block. 204's door stuck horribly and STAYED stuck. I'd have to literally B&E it, ramming with my shoulder to break the sticking seal, plus the door needed planed to get in OR out. My wife couldn't OUT without my help. I met his maintenance guy. He's worked for himself all his life doing odd jobs to make ends meet, and apparently his disabled sister (bad back & 2 artificial knees) is the maid. They need the jobs and probably work cheaper than a contractor.

I never saw a maid or maid's cart on the premises. The manager leaves at 10 pm, so if you lose your key you're screwed - & doesn't arrive until 8 am. He makes a GREAT cup of coffee.

The Continental Breakfast is a USA experience: a case of honey buns, instant oatmeal, hot water for tea & oats. Cold milk & those little boxes of cereal. That's it. I recommend going 300 ft towards Helen & feasting at "Hofer's in Helen" which has full breakfasts & the best baked goods in Helen. It was good and beats vending machine Honeybuns & coffee.

This hotel was all I expected: funky, little on the down side, & dated. DON'T BOOK IF YOU WANT A SLICK LUXURY OR MODERN HOTEL EXPERIENCE. It is NOT about that. It's about a funky little hotel at the end of 'the strip' that you'll remember – perhaps fondly, perhaps not, or like me, a little both. Normally I would rate it a 'C'; however, this had the following: The bedroom was clean, BUT The quilt had the faint odor vomit, The sheets & pillow cases were clean, but the box spring had a weird yellow stain near the foot. No phone. No smoke detector. No one to help you between 10 pm & 8 am. The bathroom: floor was gritty. The heat lamps had huge smears on them which leads to hot spots, which leads to blowups (not burnouts). Someone might get hurt. The ants. I was more amused than anything because they stuck to their own little corner of the sink counter, never interfering with my stuff (toothpaste, hairbrush, etc.). BUT I have a feeling that if you left some food out . . . The missing refrigerator. My wife depends on cold chocolate milk in the morning. I would have liked to have saved Bodensee leftovers, which were so good I nearly threw up throwing them out. Given this my normal' 'C' as “a funky old place to stay” is a D, depending on how you like your ants! If you LIKE this & Pics -...

Terrible Experience at the Hofbrau Riverfront Hotel: A Hazard to Your Health!

I strongly advise against staying at the Hofbrau Riverfront Hotel if you value your well-being. This establishment is a dangerous place, riddled with neglect and devoid of any maintenance staff. While there is potential for improvement with proper upkeep, the current state of affairs is abysmal.

Let me recount my experience in detail:

First Room:

The hardwood floors were shockingly filthy, leaving my feet black with grime. Despite numerous attempts to clean the floor with a towel, it remained persistently dirty, turning the towel completely black each time. The bathroom window had been improperly sealed, with someone attempting to rectify the issue by stuffing paper towels into the cracks. Adding to the inconvenience, the AC unit was positioned in a way that the window blinds covered it, making it impossible to have the AC on while keeping the window closed. The AC unit's filter was in dire need of cleaning, covered in a thick layer of grime and debris. An unpleasant odor emanated from the AC unit, likely indicative of mold or mildew growth inside. The bed itself was thin, uncomfortable, and showed signs of wear, with the springs causing discomfort, and the pillows being hard and flat. A strange smell from the bed prompted me to investigate further, and to my dismay, I discovered a mold-infested stain, possibly a urine stain, upon flipping the mattress. This could potentially be black mold. The area underneath the bed was not spared from negligence either, with a significant amount of dirt and even cigarette butts littering the floor. Overall, the room was in dire need of maintenance and updating.

Upon voicing my concerns to the manager, she kindly moved me to another room. However, it became evident during our conversation that the hotel had been without a maintenance person for an entire year. While the manager showed understanding, she seemed oblivious to the true state of the room.

Second Room:

The second room had its own share of issues. Once again, the AC's filter was caked with a thick layer of gunk. Attempting to clean it only resulted in the water turning black. Although the room was relatively better, it still exhibited signs of neglect and required updating and maintenance. The bed was an improvement, yet it remained uncomfortably firm, and the pillows were disappointingly hard and flat. Regrettably, my health deteriorated while staying in the second room, likely due to my sensitivity to mold. My suspicions were confirmed upon closer inspection of the AC unit, which revealed a substantial amount of mold growth.

After enduring three nights in these hazardous conditions, I could no longer tolerate the situation and was compelled to find alternative accommodations. Remarkably, after relocating and thoroughly showering, my health significantly improved, confirming that my symptoms were indeed caused by exposure to mold.

In conversations with fellow guests who had also stayed at the hotel, I discovered that their experiences were similarly disheartening, if not worse. One Marine, who had witnessed adverse living conditions during deployment, expressed disbelief at the appalling state of the rooms.
Others noted that there were no AC units or heat, no thicker blankets, and the rooms were cold.

In conclusion, if the owners of this property cannot afford to hire proper maintenance staff and ensure the safety of their customers, it is imperative that they seriously consider shutting down the establishment altogether. The Hofbrau Riverfront Hotel poses a serious risk to the health and well-being of anyone unfortunate enough...

I always try to look at the positive and normally would not leave a review unless it was positive, but I feel this experience was one of the worst all-around experiences ever with a hotel.

RUDEST staff on the mountain. When we arrived at the hotel, I said hello and the lady at the desk said, "What's your name?" My husband said 'good morning' to her when we went to get "breakfast, " and she literally only made a noise and tilted her head. Honestly, if the staff had not been repeatedly rude to me and my husband, I wouldn't be leaving this review right now.

BUGS! This place is near the river and surrounded by trees, not a city hotel. Unfortunately It's run down and not maintained very well, but for less than $100 per night and a last minute get away, we were ready to brave it. We dropped our bags, changed our shoes, and went out for dinner and sightseeing. I noticed a few ants on the nightstand, so I picked up my train case and moved it to the dresser. When we came back at around 10 pm to go to sleep, I saw a roach crawl under the microfridge as my husband walked into the bathroom . After jumping on the bed, I saw another one crawling out from under the bed. I screamed, my husband killed it and went to the front desk to ask for a different room immediately. No one was there. He rang a bell and waited and then sent me the phone number posted on the sign to call. When I called the number the man asked if we had gone to the front desk. I said yes, but no one was there. He said he would call me right back. He called me back with 5 minutes and said, "Go to the front desk, and they will get you a different room," and hung up. When I went to the front desk, 3 people were there. They did move us to a room with 2 double beds, but not only did I receive no apologies, but they were clearly hostile when I got to the door. Two people on the poarch followed me into the tiny office as I went to the front desk. They kept repeating that "no one else had reported roaches," and it was "just sprayed."

I was literally standing there in my PJs, already pretty vulnerable, and was being treated like I had done something wrong by 3 staff members. (2 women and 1 man) If the staff had shown any remorse or empathy, I would not be writing this review right now. I get it things happen, but the total lack of kindness makes me angry, and I want to make sure others do not find themselves in the same situation.

"BREAKFAST" They had packaged honey Buns, packages of instant oatmeal/instant grits, and a basket of apples.

There is no way these rooms are up to any type of hospitality code. The 1st room was a king bed (this was the one with bugs). Dust everywhere. Clearly, it had not been cleaned properly in a long time. Holes in the fireplace, air conditioner was broken, and bugs. The 2nd room was two double beds. The door knob on the bathroom was broken. The front and back doors were beaten up pretty badly with significant gaps when closed. Definitely signs of some forced entry on both sides.. Was just dinghy and dusty.

If we hadn't already paid in full and repeatedly told our room was non-refundable, we would...