Hotel Review: Bristol Hotel

I stayed in room 504 of the Bristol Hotel in Frankfurt from 10 to 12 April, 2009. It was one of the most pleasant hotels I've ever stayed at.

The hotel is the least expensive one of those listed in Wallpaper* City Guide for Frankfurt (70 euro per night for a small single room, including breakfast). Online booking on its website is very easy and smooth. The email confirmation message says, "A cancellation free of charge is possible until day of arrival, 4 pm."

I arrived in the late morning, but it was no problem for me to check in (I thought I should wait until around 2 pm for check-in). My room was even upgraded to a larger single room.

The bedroom is furnished pleasantly with minimalist design, featuring raindrop-shaped door knobs and hooks for hanging clothes on the wall. The bathroom has a removable shower head and a designer wash basin, with a pitch-white bin by Koziol (there is no shower curtain or bath tub, though). It would be perfect if the bedroom has a kettle for brewing tea. But with good design, such tiny details of convenience do not matter much.

The entrance hall is also well-designed, complete with cow-skin couches and electro music of good quality in the background. The hotel bar serves good food.

The breakfast room, open after 6:30 am, faces the hotel's courtyard garden with lush green tree leaves through large windows, serving not only continental but also English/American breakfast, which is important for someone like me who needs to eat plenty of food in the morning. Food is decent, so are tea bags (Tchibo Coffee Service's Pure Tea Selection).

Wireless broadband connection is for free. Even if you don't have your own laptop, there are two computer terminals in the lobby, available for free. The front desk also lends you a mini laptop by Acer to be used in your bedroom if you deposit your credit card (but again for free of charge). I don't have a laptop and don't intend to email during my stay. But after the amazing experience at Cocoon, I feel like emailing a friend of mine to tell my excitement. The Bristol Hotel just makes my desire feasible for free of charge.

The location is excellent, too. Just a five minute walk away from an U-Bahn station (if you walk via platform 24 of Frankfurt Hbf station). Five minutes of a further walk takes you to airport coach stops on Mannheimer Strasse.

Finally, the hotel staff is all friendly. When I check out, it takes a bit of time for my credit card to be recognized. The receptionist apologizes, a rarity outside Japan.

I'll definitely stay at this hotel if I visit Frankfurt again.