Hotel Elbe - Frankfurt/Main, Germany     

After a nine hour plane flight and a walk with ridiculously clumsy baggage across a steaming hot city, all we wanted was a place to drop our bags and fall onto a bed, preferably never to get up again. And even with expectations that low (at the time) we were very dissappointed with the hotel. Coming to the hotel we found ourselves in a street with nightclubs and prostitutes, and upon entering, the hotel was very small and very modernicity-lacking. At the reception, we were greeted and given a key, after which we made our way up to our room. Imagine our surprise when walking into our room there was coca cola cans on the bedtable, somebody's loofa in the bathroom, obviously no clean towels and the sheets were not changed. Suspecting that somebody might still be living in the room, and knowing that it obviously hasn't been cleaned, we came back to the reception to inform the too-casually dressed receptionist of our not-cleaned room, to which he had the nerve to ask "What makes you think it hasn't been cleaned?". Finally having gotten a key to a clean room, we were somewhat at peace. However, the hotel is placed in a nightclub district, so there are prostitues and very questionable individuals outside at night. The room was not air conditioned. Perhaps I have expectations much too high, but where I come from, a place like Elbe would be shut down in a heartbeat.

I choosed this hotel taking into account the proximity to the central station as I'd arrived to FRA by plane and would leave the following morning to Hannover by train. The hotel is located only 3 blocks from the train station, so it's OK if you're travelling alone or with friends and need to be near the public transport for a short period stay. It's no recomendable for families for the neighborhood is not very safe, although I guess it was that specific street since further up I could find fine restaurants and shops. The room was small as well as the bathroom and there was no cable on the TV. It all looked very dated and dark. The breakfast, included on the price, was less than OK, but for the price paid I could not ask for more. The recepcionist (a Tunisian) was very helpful and gentle (even lent me an electricity conversor so I didn't have to go and buy one when I saw that I couldn't charge my Ipod). I would recommend this hotel for a short stay mainly for its good location. Luis M., Caracas-Venezuela