We recently visited Bielefeld for the weekend. We have previously lived in this City and decided to return to see what it was like in 2012.
We were unsure which Hotel to book as we wanted to be pretty central for shopping, sightseeing etc. I narrowed down my list to two hotels close to the centre. The Mercure and the Alcadia.
We decided the Mercure would suit our needs better as there was an underground car-park beneath the hotel, and it was very close to numerous restaurants, bars etc.
We arrived at the hotel at quite a busy time and found it difficult to park the car to unload our luggage and book ourselves in. This was quite a complicated procedure as you have to book yourself in before you can aquire a space for the car park.
Once booked in we were happy to be given a room on the fifth floor.
We had asked the hotel for a quiet, non-smoking room, on a high floor and this is exactly what we got.
We loved the room which was indeed VERY quiet. We didn't have a view as our room was at the back of the Hotel but we felt this didn't matter at all as we wanted a good nights sleep.
Whoever designed the room made a great job of it. I stay in Hotels quite frequently and get very irritated when there are no hooks in the bathroom or bedroom and only one chair which always gets fought over.
In this hotel there are lots of hooks in the bathroom, and plenty of space to hang small items like underwear that you might want to wash. The bath is quite deep and would benefit from a handrail lower down. I found it a bit slippery and as I have a slight disability just used the shower.
There were two dining chairs and a nice large table. We had a huge desk area and a flatscreen TV with a good choice of channels. We also had a small,well stocked fridge.
This hotel is in a great position.
There are several very good restaurants and bars on your doorstep. We particularly liked a Bar/Restaurant called Alex which was about a five minute walk away. There is a large Italian restaurant right next door.
We didn't eat in the Hotel restaurant on this occasion. The hotel was quite crowded as there was a Coach party from Holland staying a few days. We did use the bar and it had a good atmosphere and the barman was very friendly.
Breakfast was a bit hit and miss ! The first day there was a great selection of food but the 'hot' food, eggs, etc. had been left waiting around too long and were quite cold when we came to eat them. This was disappointing. Must admit the next day the problem had been addressed and we had a good ' hot' breakfast. Not quite so many items available though.
We will certainly stay at the hotel again. Our only problem was the bed was way too hard and quite uncomfortable. With hindsight we should have asked for some sort of topper. I did mention this on the Hotel questionnaire and to their credit they emailed straight back to say they would provide a cover if we visited again in the future. I like hotels who answer questions straight away !
For anyone looking for a quiet hotel, in a good central location, I would certainly recommend this hotel. Ask for a room at the back if you want the quietest location. The rooms have an inner door between the front door and the bathrooom which gives extra privacy and makes the room very peaceful when other guests are in the corridor.
The car parking situation could be made a bit easier. We got a bit confused swapping tickets at the front desk. We needed to use the car quite a lot and payed nineteen euros for our weekend stay. I think if you can leave the car in the garage ALL day, without moving it, it costs four euros per day.
Rooms on the front of the hotel have a great view across to the Sparrenburg castle and the famous church with two steeples.
The staff on reception are very friendly and willing to help with any problems.
