Novotel Hildesheim - Hildesheim, Germany 

This is an old building converted to a hotel and looks good from the outside. It is in a pleasant situation, central, quiet, and not too far from the main station, (though why do they annoyingly only give you instructions how to reach it by car on the website and not on foot? we got lost trying to walk from the station). The staff were friendly and our room was small but clean. There were no drawers, so nowhere to put things like sweaters and underwear unless you really were tall (I'm not) in which case I suppose you could have deposited them on a high open shelf. You have to pay for Internet access in the rooms but it is free if you use the one public computer in the hotel lobby. The breakfast was good, but the evening meal (we were there for a conference) was poor value for money and not well organised, and the staff were clearly not able to cope with the numbers - some of the waitresses were almost in tears. Next day, the conference dinner was scheduled for 8.p.m. but it was not until 9.15 that we were presented with the first course - a tiny plate with a few salad leaves and a dribble of sauce. Most people were starving by this time, but again there was a long wait for the main course and the sweet (which most people complained about as not tasting too good) was not served till 11.45. Possibly if you are a normal guest, this hotel is fine, but as far as we were concerned, there were too many hitches to give it a high rating.

This hotel was wonderful. I was not sure about staying here because of the price, but it was well worth the money. I stayed for three days, and at the end regretted having to leave. During a two-month trip to Germany, this was by far the best city and hotel. Loved the surroundings.