Ramada Hotel Bochum - Bochum, Germany     

We stayed there for 3 days. The main reason for choosing it was the online deal I got which made it the cheapest deal for available at the time (£153 for the 3 nights). THe hotel was clean and in excellent decorative order. Check-in was swift and reception staff pleasant. The room was fairly standard, simply decorated but the bathroom was on the small side. The room had a flat screen TV on the wall but no mini-bar. If you order breakfast in bed then invite some friends as there was enough to feast on all day! The restaurant was reasonably priced and the food good with plenty of local dishes. The staff were very pleasant and attentive. The only problem is that since the hotel is directly in front of the Starlight Express Theatre the restaurant can get booked up. We were told that we'd need to book if we wanted to eat in the early evening. Also, when the show finishes the bar can be crowded. On the downside, a number of websites state that the hotel has a pool and a few photos suggest that it has. This is unfortunately just a water feature in the beer garden and the only things I could think of swimming there might be the rabbits that play on the lawn. Check out was as easy and swift as check-in. Finally, this is not a central hotel but if you are there for Starlight Express is definitely the best choice. It's a 5 minute walk from the concert hall and stadium and 10 minutes from the planitarium. The underground is 10 minutes away and is one stop from town. Alternatively, the centre of town can be reached by foot in 20 minutes.