I stayed in 33 towns and cities this spring (travelling 45 days out of 90, 20 coutries, 20,000 kms), and as a reminder to myself I have roughly ranked all 38 overnight sleeps to perhaps look back on. Delighed to report I would happily stay again as the vast majority; a handful (six) I would look to find an alternative.
I am greatly impressed by the overall quality of accommodation which with the exceprion of the four sleep locatiions on moving vehicles - a train and three ships - was all booked through booking.com, from a week or two ahead (the longer stops while I was travelling with Lisa) to when I was actually on the train the day I had made an error, missed my interchange station, and altered plans at the last minute. I ranked my stays:
7 - five star - fabulous (Budapest, Zagreb, Palermo, Catania, Paris, Rostock and Odense) - named below
23 - four star - excellent
6 - three star - good
1 - two star - disappointing (Frankfurt)
1 - one star - never again! (Gdansk)
"Fabulous" does not mean perfect ... it means a "wow" factor. And the rankings are somewhat price dependent too.
Why those two abject failures? Both could have been resolved by staff, who in both cases were approached and given the opportunity to fix at least the key issue. It take quite something for me to ask - and in Gdnask I offered five them five opportunities to explain or fix the issue prior - and this is extraordinay for me - posting a poor review on booking.com; had they explained, even if I had not agreed with the explanation, I would have moved on. As it is, only in the last 48 hours have they got back to me, and I suspect that's only because I copied their chain's VP of European Operations.
The hotel manager writes
"I would like to explain that we strive to provide the quality & service on highest level". Strive, maybe - but you failed to meet those aspirations.
"If you would like to share with me, how and what can wipe out the negative experience, please let me know". Sorry - you can't wipe out the experience. You had six separate opportunities to try, but this sticks in my memory and every time I see a Radisson Blu hotel in the list being offered to me, I now shudder.
Happier - in fact very happy - memories ...
Budapest - Metropolis - 1073. Budapest, Kertész utca 39
Rooms off a courtyard - loved the Rubic room (Illustrated)
Zagreb - SmartRooms - Pavla Hatza 2, Lower Town, Zagreb, 10000
A wonderful host and a lovely room
Palermo - Porta di Castro Boutique Hotel & Spa (Illustrated)
An amazing little hotel - quirky, old building, fabulous breakfast
Catania - Binario 8 Catania Stazione Centrale
A real feel for living in the town and not in a hotel
Paris - Hôtel Hor Europe
Just what we needed right by Paris Nord
Rostock - Das Hotel an der Stadthalle - Rostock Hauptbahnhof
The best receptionist of the trip - he and I talked so widely.
Odense - Cabinn Odense
Ultra Modern. Spot on. Breakfast in the Penthouse (Illustrated)
I've looked back for patterns in the "fabulous" and in the places that almost made that list - and there are only a few patterns. Some were hard to find and I wondered what I had let myself in for. Some were huge rooms and some were tiny. Some cost very little, others were not cheap. But all were within walking distance of a station at which Interrail tickets were valid. All were experiences, and in all cases they would not have made five star without the staff.
P.S. - full list of reviews, with extra "+" where I almost gave a fifth star. Please ask me for any more positive details if you wish. Numbers are the number of nights at that accommodation.
Seven_Sisters 1 ***
Berlin 2 ****
Prague 3 ***
Brno 2 ****
Kosice 1 ****
Budapest 3 *****
Zagreb 1 *****
Ljublyana 1 ****+
Venice Mestre 1 ****
Frankfurt 1 **
Chur 1 ****+
Sleeper-trn 1 ***
Palermo 3 *****
Catania 3 *****
Salerno 1 ****
Bolzano 1 ****
Munich 1 ****+
Paris 1 *****
Gissen 1 ****
Rostock 3 *****
Gdansak 2 *
Warsaw 1 ***
Vilnius 1 ****
Siauliai 1 ****
Siauliai 1 ***
Tallinn 1 ****+
Oulu 1 ****
Kemi 1 ***
Lulea 1 ****
Sundvall 1 ****
Odense 1 *****
Antwerp 1 ****
Dieppe 1 ****
Newhaven 1 ****
Galacia 2 ****+
Bilboa 5 ****
Salamanca 1 ****+
Portsmouth 1 ****
