Merfelder Hof Reviews 

Tolle Erfahrung. Hat wirklich Spass gemacht und empfehlenswert.

I booked this hotel for a business trip after a long day on the road, having started driving at 4:00 AM. I arrived completely exhausted in the evening and was expecting a quick check-in and some rest. Since the reservation and payment were completed in advance via Booking.com, I assumed everything would be simple and straightforward.

Unfortunately, the reality was quite the opposite. The hotel entrance was locked, and the only option available was a self-service check-in terminal that simply didn’t work as expected. I tried entering the full reservation number and my name exactly as I had entered it on Booking.com – last name in the last name field, first name in the first name field – but the system wouldn’t recognize me.

After nearly 30 minutes of failed attempts and another 10–15 minutes on the phone with the hotel contact, the manager eventually came down in person. Only then did I find out that you have to enter just the first four digits of the reservation number and reverse the order of the name and surname. This was never stated anywhere. How is a guest supposed to guess such non-standard behavior?

When I explained to him that I didn’t have the energy to deal with these kinds of technical issues after such a long day, instead of showing any understanding, he implied that the problem was on my end. I strongly felt like he was trying to make me look like an idiot rather than admitting the system was poorly designed and lacking clear instructions.

Overall, a very poor impression – the hotel may look modern, but after 5 PM there is no staff on site, and guests are left to struggle with a confusing system without support. If any issue arises, you’re basically on your own. For the price, I expected at least a functional check-in or some basic customer service. This was honestly one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve ever had.