Hotel Tourist - Frankfurt/Main, Germany     

We had booked the hotel around 10 days in advance over the internet and had received a confirmation. When we turned up at the hotel, the rooms had already been sold to someone else (definitely at a higher price). There were a couple of business exhibitions and demand for rooms was high. Everything was full. We had nowhere to go. The manager said our master card was not acceptable at German banks (by the way we had used it in Hamburg and Amsterdam), and called the bank to prove his point. The funny thing was that he seemed to be carrying out a jolly conversation at the bank when it was already 10pm at that time. He finished us off by remarking to ppl sitting around him how "unreliable" and "fraudulent" Pakistanis were and how they always had problems with their credit cards.

Just returned from a visit to several German Christmas markets and a stay at the very convenient Hotel Tourist. You just walk out the south entrance of the train station, across the street and down half a block, and you are there. I had read some really negative things about this hotel, but the price and location were right so I decided to give it a try and was very pleasantly surprised. First, the location was wonderful for us--we were traveling by train and using local transport like the u-bahn, trams and buses. This hotel was less than 5 minutes from all those. Second, the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, giving us a city map and marking locations for us, giving us transportation information, etc. Third--and perhaps most important, the rooms were clean and comfortable. They were small and basic and the TV left a lot to be desired (small, remote was sporadic, and had only one channel), but the bathroom was so shiny white that it almost hurt your eyes. The room itself was clean and comfortable; I wondered if I were at the same hotel some of the posters had described! Breakfast buffet was fine: cold meats, cheeses, bread, cereal, both scrambled and boiled eggs, beans, and juices as well as milk, tea and coffee. Everything looked appetizing and was refilled frequently. Tables were clean and invitingly set. There was a computer for guest use, but it is not hooked to a printer. However, there were two internet cafes in the same block as the hotel. I was delighted by the low price and good quality of this hotel. I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting a clean, friendly, basic stay convenient to the train and local transportation.