NH Heidelberg - Heidelberg, Germany     

When I arrived for my first night, I was given a horrible, horrbile room (room 251). It smelled of smoke (in-spite of a requesting a non-smoking room). I could clearly hear a man talking in the next room. There was no carpet or rugs in the room, just a wooden floor. The only chair in the room was a hard chair at the desk - no comfortable chair to sit on to watch TV. No proper wardrobe, just a rail with coathangers. The shower room was tiny. There was a sign on the wall saying not to open the window, because birds fly in. It didn't look like any of the photos on this site. The room really felt like a prison cell, it was so depressing that I couldn't bear to sit in it. I complained to hotel reception (in fact, it developed into a heated arguement), but they said the hotel was full and they had no other rooms available. It was advertised as a 4* hotel by Travelocity, and I paid 4* room rates - but room 251 was far worse than the worst budget hotel I have ever stayed in. Because I complained so much, the second night they moved me to a regular room - like the ones in the photos on this site. I guess you could call that one a 4* room. I would never risk staying at this hotel again, in case I got allocated another "prison cell". During the same visit, I also spent 3 nights at the Marriot. That was great. That will be my choice for next time.

I turned up at the NH having arrived at Heidelberg without booking a room for the night. I've stayed in an NH in Amsterdam before, and wasn't impressed - too many extras and a clean, but so dull room. Unfortunately my experience here was virtually identical. Staff were pleasant at the check in desk, my rate was ultra expensive, but the lobby looked so beautiful and unique I thought perhaps I was in for a treat. The gorgeous glass lifts zoomed me up to the 4th floor. My room (437) was on the left wing right at the far end. It had a hallway, mini bar desk, office room with recliner, huge bathroom and good size bedroom. Even had a chocolate on the pillow. Sweet. Right, pleasantries over; Here's the bad points. 1.No air con, only a vent which did nothing when you rotated the temp switch in either room. 2.An abysmal hotel guide, half of essential info contained in small print on your keycard. 3.Breakfast, although superbly presented, was completely inedible at 9am - all the hot food was rock hard and looked terrible. 4.My room had a kettle with tons of sugar ONLY?!! 5.Room service maids on my floor were walking around in their own clothes, and as my room did not have a 'do not disturb' sign, how was I supposed to know who they are if they suddenly came into my room? 6.The hotel's Wellness fitness centre, with sauna, steam room...only opens from 1700-2300! So much for my morning warm up! 7.Bath towels were scarce and very small - not what you expect at this level of hotel. 8.The quilt was small and full of dust, meaning my already hot room was now stuffy - not good for an allergy sufferer like me. So, will I stay in an NH Hotel again at over 200 Euros a night? No way Hozay.