Hyatt Regency Mainz - Mainz, Germany 

We spent two nights here- one to begin our vacation and one to end it. The first night was perfect. We arrived before check-in and were upgraded to a nonsmoking Club Deluxe Room (651) because they were "fully booked". (we were already paying for a nonsmoking Regency Club King View Room). There was a nice welcoming letter for us, and minutes after check in another letter of welcome was delivered with specific information about hotel procedures. What a nice way to start our trip, and look forward to the last night of our vacation as well because the Club Deluxe room was the "splurge" we had booked for that final evening. We arrived for our second stay about 30 minutes before check in. This time we were told "guests have decided to extend their stay so we don't have your room". We asked if we could go sit upstairs in the Club Lounge and have something to drink while we waited for a room to be cleaned for us. The young man at the desk hesitated, but agreed. About 45 minutes later a different young man brought us room keys. The room was on the second floor and much, much smaller than the Club Deluxe room on the sixth floor we had the first time. It also smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, and had a funky rotting garbage smell. I went down to the front desk and attempted to rectify the situation. The girl working now was the same one who had booked us the first time, and really tried hard to help. Unfortunately, corporate policy is not "leisure traveler friendly". We had booked these rooms months in advance, and were "bumped" by business people who decided at the last minute to extend their stays. We were given another room on a higher level, but on the same end. (the "01" rooms) It also reeked of cigarette smoke, but I am not the type to complain more than once. We got almost no sleep that night because there is an outside bar/band stand just underneath the rooms at this end of the hotel. The music stopped about midnight, but they have a "nighttime baseball stadium level"light that stays on all night. (mercifully it was below us, if I had accepted the same room on the second floor it would have been directly at our level) It was a miserable way to spend our last night and almost $600. The "view" was mostly of the alley and the "toiletten" truck. The best part of the hotel is the staff in the Club Lounge. They are very kind and accommodating, especially Vivane. However; the lounge service itself is unusual for this genre. While you might not be able to get alcohol except for certain hours, usually you have access to soda, water, and juice all the time. In this lounge things get locked up fairly early in the evening. (In contrast, at the Berlin Marriott club lounge coffee, soda, water, and snacks were available 24/7) It was also different because there were no hot food offerings for breakfast or the cocktail hour. When we choose to upgrade to a club level setting it is because we have done the math and concluded that those amenities have real value for us. In this case, it did not. This hotel is convenient to the Romantisches Theater S station which makes it an easy shot from to and from the Frankfurt airport. Best tip for travelers- be specific and ask for a room closer to the "51" end than the "01" end. It will make a huge difference in the quality of your experience. Best advice for the hotel- respect the rights of leisure travelers. And acknowledge the traveler who has made the choice to be a repeat customer. On our second stay not only did we pay a premium price for less than a premium room, there was no acknowledgement of our patronage. I realize a computer-generated form letter is not a big deal, but it would have made a much nicer impression on us had we received one on both stays.

Simply perfect stay. Beautiful hotel, rooms very nice. Breakfast leaves no wish open. Hotel is located directly at the Rhine side. Don't forget to take a stroll along the river Rhine. Mainz is not such a highlight for itself, therefore I recommend to visit the city "Wiesbaden" just on the opposite side of the Rhine as well as the Vine-area "Rheingau" with its beautiful little vine towns.