Restaurant & Hotel Villa Salve — Restaurant in Binz

During some days during the summer of 2012 we visited the awesome small town of Binz (situated at Germany’s largest island - Rügen - at the coastline of the Baltic Sea. After the Second World War until 1989, this area belonged to the DDR (East Germany), and was closed to tourists.||||We live in Sweden, and the journey to Rügen is very uncomplicated and pleasant. The boat trip takes only four hours from the Swedish city Trelleborg onboard one of the modern ferries of the ScandLine. We then arrived at Sassnitz... about only 10 kilometers drive from Binz.||||This was our very first visit to Rügen and to Binz, and we didn’t have many expectations at all. However, we had seen some pictures, and had read some information from tourist catalogues and at the internet. It all looked very small-scale and romantic.||When we arrived to the municipality of Binz, we were nevertheless a bit surprised (and actually a bit “disappointed”) that the town seemed to be so big…mostly due to the heavy numbers of cars. ||It seemed to be very problematic to find a free parking lot (and later we learned that, if you find a free space to park, you have to pay all 24 hours a day).||||However, after finally reaching the Villa Salve (thanks a lot to the GPS in our Volvo car), we got help/instruction from one of the employees at the hotel, and parked the car in the basement below the hotel building. Actually, we had reserved the place in advance. Note! The cost for the parking was rather expensive: € 12:-/night, I believe it was. ||||The reception desk is, as another TA-contributor described it, “hidden” in a corridor at the back side of the hotel building. The walls in this area are decorated with a lot of photos…displaying more or less famous Germans - and some international - guests. ||I noticed that among the pictures some were showing the Norwegian royal crown-prince-couple; HRH Haakon Magnus and HRH Mette Marit when having lunch here at the Villa Salve’s restaurant together with the current German prime minister Angela Merkel. Even ex-prime ministers of Germany, Helmut Kohl, were at some other photos, visiting the restaurant as well. ||||The check-in procedure was anyway quite impersonal and didn’t make us feel warmly welcome. The receptionist called for a young man (employed as a waiter), who - after guiding us and our car to the parking basement - accompanied us to our room at the top floor (second floor) of the Villa Salve. The stairs are very upwards and quite narrow, and due to suffering from severe back pain (!) I had to struggle a lot with my suitcase. The young man, who followed us, didn’t once offer his help.||||The Villa Salve is very nicely situated next to the impressive boardwalk and the great beaches! The area is so beautiful. Everything in the community seems to be so well managed. Most of the buildings are from the turn of the century (the period around year 1900), very nicely build, renovated and preserved! The all-through color is white. The long pier is even great. ||We’ve not seen this kind of constant great environment elsewhere (and we have been travelling a lot) – it is entirely awesome! ||||During our stay we rented bicycles and explored the areas along the coastlines. We visited small towns as Sellin, Göhren, Lauterbach and Putbus. All of them really nice places.||We used to bike the one way, and to take the exciting train “Rasender Roland”, built from year 1895 and forwards, back to Binz. A perfect combination when biking the one way, and bringing the bikes onboard the train the other way.||||You should not miss Prora, the place north of Binz where Hitler (!) planned, and during the 1930’s started to build, the enormously large vacation centre for the “aryan” German population (20.000 people should be here at the same time). A crazy plaze!||We even stayed a couple of days (after our visit to Binz) in the city Stralsund; a fantastically well preserved and renovated city from the medieval “Hansa” time!||||The Villa Salve’s geographical location at the boardwalk, next to the great beach, was fantastic. And we were very satisfied with the great breakfast with a wide range of selections, having the option to sit outside looking through the trees enjoying the breathtaking view of the beach and the sea.||We had a well-tasting dinner as well one evening, outside at the terrace, listing to an artist performing at the stairs to the hotel.||||We really loved Ostseebad Binz, and we are going to come back! ||However, we will not return to Hotel Villa Salve. ||||We experienced a lack of genuine kindness and caring. For example, when arriving to the breakfast every morning, nobody of the employees lifted their heads and said “Gute Morgen”. Off course we were ordinary paying guests only…however, the employees didn’t once tried to make us feel special, comfortable or appreciated. When passing the small reception desk, the person working there very rarely raised her head to look at us and say “Hallo”. ||I got the feeling that the place was ruled by revenue thinking only…not severely being aware of the fact that all the guests are “ambassadors” who are going to remember their stay as...

During some days during the summer of 2012 we visited the awesome small town of Binz (situated at Germany’s largest island - Rügen - at the coastline of the Baltic Sea. After the Second World War until 1989, this area belonged to the DDR (East Germany), and was closed to tourists.||||We live in Sweden, and the journey to Rügen is very uncomplicated and pleasant. The boat trip takes only four hours from the Swedish city Trelleborg onboard one of the modern ferries of the ScandLine. We then arrived at Sassnitz... about only 10 kilometers drive from Binz.||||This was our very first visit to Rügen and to Binz, and we didn’t have many expectations at all. However, we had seen some pictures, and had read some information from tourist catalogues and at the internet. It all looked very small-scale and romantic.||When we arrived to the municipality of Binz, we were nevertheless a bit surprised (and actually a bit “disappointed”) that the town seemed to be so big…mostly due to the heavy numbers of cars. ||It seemed to be very problematic to find a free parking lot (and later we learned that, if you find a free space to park, you have to pay all 24 hours a day).||||However, after finally reaching the Villa Salve (thanks a lot to the GPS in our Volvo car), we got help/instruction from one of the employees at the hotel, and parked the car in the basement below the hotel building. Actually, we had reserved the place in advance. Note! The cost for the parking was rather expensive: € 12:-/night, I believe it was. ||||The reception desk is, as another TA-contributor described it, “hidden” in a corridor at the back side of the hotel building. The walls in this area are decorated with a lot of photos…displaying more or less famous Germans - and some international - guests. ||I noticed that among the pictures some were showing the Norwegian royal crown-prince-couple; HRH Haakon Magnus and HRH Mette Marit when having lunch here at the Villa Salve’s restaurant together with the current German prime minister Angela Merkel. Even ex-prime ministers of Germany, Helmut Kohl, were at some other photos, visiting the restaurant as well. ||||The check-in procedure was anyway quite impersonal and didn’t make us feel warmly welcome. The receptionist called for a young man (employed as a waiter), who - after guiding us and our car to the parking basement - accompanied us to our room at the top floor (second floor) of the Villa Salve. The stairs are very upwards and quite narrow, and due to suffering from severe back pain (!) I had to struggle a lot with my suitcase. The young man, who followed us, didn’t once offer his help.||||The Villa Salve is very nicely situated next to the impressive boardwalk and the great beaches! The area is so beautiful. Everything in the community seems to be so well managed. Most of the buildings are from the turn of the century (the period around year 1900), very nicely build, renovated and preserved! The all-through color is white. The long pier is even great. ||We’ve not seen this kind of constant great environment elsewhere (and we have been travelling a lot) – it is entirely awesome! ||||During our stay we rented bicycles and explored the areas along the coastlines. We visited small towns as Sellin, Göhren, Lauterbach and Putbus. All of them really nice places.||We used to bike the one way, and to take the exciting train “Rasender Roland”, built from year 1895 and forwards, back to Binz. A perfect combination when biking the one way, and bringing the bikes onboard the train the other way.||||You should not miss Prora, the place north of Binz where Hitler (!) planned, and during the 1930’s started to build, the enormously large vacation centre for the “aryan” German population (20.000 people should be here at the same time). A crazy plaze!||We even stayed a couple of days (after our visit to Binz) in the city Stralsund; a fantastically well preserved and renovated city from the medieval “Hansa” time!||||The Villa Salve’s geographical location at the boardwalk, next to the great beach, was fantastic. And we were very satisfied with the great breakfast with a wide range of selections, having the option to sit outside looking through the trees enjoying the breathtaking view of the beach and the sea.||We had a well-tasting dinner as well one evening, outside at the terrace, listing to an artist performing at the stairs to the hotel.||||We really loved Ostseebad Binz, and we are going to come back! ||However, we will not return to Hotel Villa Salve. ||||We experienced a lack of genuine kindness and caring. For example, when arriving to the breakfast every morning, nobody of the employees lifted their heads and said “Gute Morgen”. Off course we were ordinary paying guests only…however, the employees didn’t once tried to make us feel special, comfortable or appreciated. When passing the small reception desk, the person working there very rarely raised her head to look at us and say “Hallo”. ||I got the feeling that the place was ruled by revenue thinking only…not severely being aware of the fact that all the guests are “ambassadors” who are going to remember their stay as...

Wir waren am 13.08.2020, unserem letzten Urlaubstag auf Rügen, im Restaurant der Villa Salve. Es war schwierig ein Lokal zu finden, welches zu dieser Jahreszeit und sicher auch aufgrund von Covid19 nicht restlos ausreserviert war. Wir dachten für den Urlaubsabschluss an eine Fischsuppe sowie Fischplatte und wählten das Lokal aufgrund dieser Gerichte in der Speisekarte. Der Gastgarten war bis zum Rande gefüllt, im Lokal selbst fand sich allerdings noch ein Tisch für 4 Personen in der Nähe des Küchenausgangs. Der Kellner war nett und zuvorkommend. Die Speisekarte war auf den ersten Blick gut und überschaubar, die Weinkarte sogar hervorragend! Wir bestellten den Binzer Fischtopf für zwei und einen Salat als Vorspeise. In einem großen, alten und etwas schmudddelig wirkendem (,da von außen mit Essen bekleckertem) Kochtopf kam die Fischsuppe. Die Suppenschälchen waren aus Glas und extrem dreckig, worauf hin wir um neue, saubere baten. Zurück kamen die gleichen mit kaltem Wasser ausgespült. Der Salat war lieblos angerichtet und ohne Dressing, welches wir auf Nachfrage nach Essig, Öl sowie Salz und Pfeffer selbst zubereiteten. Die Suppe bestand aus einer tomatigen Grundlage und Fischstücken. Der tomatige Geschmack sowie eine ganze Packung Wacholderbeeren (!auf jedem Suppenlöffel waren ca. 5!) ließen den Fisch geschmacklich eher in den Hintergrund treten. Dieser war zudem leider in der Konsistenz eher fest und sehr trocken. Der Salat war mit dem eigenen Dressing ok. Der bestellte Wein war gut und wurde ohne Aufforderung des Kellners stets nachgeschenkt. Als Hauptspeisen hatten wir zwei Fischteller (die wir übrigens nicht als eine Fischplatte für 2 Personen bestellen konnten), Tagliatelle mit hausgemachtem Tomatenpesto und einen Salat mit Wild. Wir hatten bereits eine Vorahnung. Die Teller kamen recht lieblos angerichtet. Der Fisch war ok, aber weit weg von 'frisch aus dem Meer' und 'höchster Qualität'. Man bekam eher den Eindruck von TK-Ware. Der Rahmwirsing war komplett zerkocht und bestand zu mehreren Teilen aus Rahm als aus Wirsing. Die 'Petersilienkartoffeln' kamen ohne Perersilie und waren zudem noch hart und nicht durch. Der Salat mit Wild war ebenfalls ok, aber mehr auch nicht. Die Tagliatelle waren zerkocht und weit über al dente hinaus. Wir ließen alle Teller nahezu voll zurückgehen, gaben dem Kellner ein Feedback zu den Speisen und machten deutlich, dass hier das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis bei weitem verfehlt wurde. Von einem Fischteller für 22€, einer Fischterrine für 12€, Salaten für je 16€ und Nudeln für 11€ erwarten wir uns weitaus mehr. Anschließend baten wir um die Rechnung. Ein Schnaps wurde uns noch angeboten, den wir dankend ablehnten. Aufgrund unserer Beschwerde wurde bei der Rechnung nur die Hälfte des Preises verrechnet.

FAZIT: Guter Service, netter Kellner. Unterirdische Speisen. Ein Koch, der sein Handwerk nicht beherrscht (und dazu gehört zumindest Nudeln oder Kartoffeln kochen). Maßlos überteuerte Preise. Immerhin 50% Rabatt auf die gesamte Rechnung. War leider immer noch weitaus zu viel für die erbrachte Leistung.

PS: Sollten Angela Merkel und Reiner Calmund hier tatsächlich Urlaub machen, ist zu hoffen, Sie bringen ihren...