Artisthotel Monte Christo Cologne

( 2 stars , Cologne , Germany )

I was going to attend the exhibition in Cologne and because the prices had skyrocketed for this period had to look for something cheap and I wanted a good location to go out in the evening. So this was the fist search result on lastminute and didn’t look too bad although I tried to find something conventional. But for the 70 EUR per night this was by far the cheapest (Although I only used the normal internet sites to search for hotels) so I decided to try this. The booking was easy and I didn’t have to pay a deposit or give credit card details (I wasn’t 100% sure of my trip). So I arrived at the hotel at about 5pm and they said the room would be ready at 6pm. The check out is at 5pm so its good if you have a later flight or just want to sleep late. The service is unconventional as they do not really have a reception and the bar is most of the time not staffed so you better not need anything in terms of customer services. The staff is a bit strange, but reasonable polite and can speak reasonable English. Paid for the 5 night on my arrival and asked for the recite. They said that they would give this the next day, but they didn’t for some reason. On my check out there was nobody in the building that I could find and I had to leave without a recite… The room was very small, although this was advertised as double I would not call it that (Maybe in the UK, but not in Germany). It had an Ikea bet and an OK mattress. Although the bed was double they had only a tiny duvet and I got really cold the first night. The next day I asked for a larger and thicker duvet (and I stressed the two words) when I came back I had exactly the same size duvet, but maybe slightly thicker. I really hate telling simple instructions twice so I wasn;t bothered as it was now warmer in the room. However they seem to have something with the heating and maybe try to save on electricity so already small radiator would not be on sometimes and it would get too cold for what you expect in a hotel and as the room is very small and was smelly when I arrived I could not open the window. The room also does not have a phone which was inconvenient and the floor was very dirty. Also if you are a sensitive to noise (which I am not) this would probably be a nightmare for you as the walls are very thin. You can easily hear a conversation two rooms away and they do play music two floors down and this can also be heard crisp and clear until 3 am on weekends. Wasn’t a problem for me as I can sleep under any noise level and come back drunk anyways. 2 stars as it is very cheap, check out at 5pm and the location is good. It is in the old town close to the river where nice restaurants are. However the fun part of the town is a fair 15 min walk away. To the fair it probably took me 15 mins to walk or 8 EUR on the taxi (about 10 mins or less). Oh and they have a 21” TV (no international satellite so you better speak German or be obsessed with the news – BBC World and CNN) Overall not a very good hotel (B&B would be more appropriate). I would pay more and stay in a more professional place. There are several small hotels in the Old town that look much nicer.

My boyfriend and I work in the hotel industry and decided to try and find somewhere a little different to stay during our much needed holiday in Koln. We were slightly early to check in but luckily the room was ready and the lovely owner didn't mind at all. We stayed in several different rooms and each was a delight, the rooms all decked out in bright colours with great lightling and alot of general kitch. The bathrooms really made our stay, clean, well fitted and with HUGE baths, lovely. The cocktail bar was nicely busy at the weekend, good cocktails and a great atmosphere. A real treat, inexpensive, much better than your average hotel and very sweet helpful staff.

Lovely cheap little hotel in the middle of the old town of Cologne. The rooms all have their own theme. We had the red room. Creatively decorated, clean, nice bath and friendly hostess. We even had some handcuffs on the bed... The only downside was the thin walls, so you could enjoy your neighbours conversation. The is no restaurant, but you can order breakfast is in the bar. We didn't have breakfast there but in a nice coffee shop on the other side of the street. You can't find a cheaper alternative so centrally located. We had a very nice and romantic time in Cologne!