It was obvious from the moment of arrival that everyone who works here is family... and if they…read morearen't related by blood, they're honorary. And it only took a few hours here and in the hotel pub, before I got the feeling that everyone who stays and/or comes here is also family, because that's truly how they treat you... only better, in some cases.
It was pretty fantastic considering my group was all from so far away and spoke very little German, but even with a language barrier they took better care of us than 95% of the places of I've stayed. Our group took a particular liking to Ivan, the late 20-something son of the owners, who spoke more proper English than I could if I tried. Ivan got us all set up with our rooms, which had to be suites based on the size and amenities.
This hotel is a stellar option for folks wanting to toggle back and forth between Cologne and Dusseldorf, as it's pretty close to being right smack in the middle between the two, just a short autobahn, train, bus trip away.
Our room was basically bigger than my apartment and had TWO bathrooms. One with a small sink and private toilet, the other with a massive tub and shower and what was probably a 12ft marble vanity with dual sinks for getting ready. The room also had 2 full-length mirrors, ultra comfortable beds, was stocked with fresh fruit, bottled water of the flat and bubble variety, BIDET, free wi-fi (though it was a bit spotty on our floor), and they had an in-room pants press machine... which is something I'd never seen before. Almost made me wish I owned nice pants.
There's a lovely restaurant on the first floor that offers a variety of beer, wine, and spirits and hands-down the best German food encountered our entire trip. The atmosphere couldn't be beat -- it was like a German Cheers, but with a a nice dining room as well for family functions and special occasions, and they're open early in the morning for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and into late night... come to think of it, I don't know if they actually ever close. AND they even made special off-the-menu vegetarian food for myself and 2 of my friends... which we did not expect at all, but they insisted and it was tremendous in every way.
The hotel has only a handful of rooms and no elevators, and because the building is a historic one, the halls and stairs are rather thin, steep, and winding, but it works for Hotel Höttche. I was surprised at how quiet it was in the Inn portion of the building given the lively good times happening in the pub, but you couldn't hear a thing and our room was the only one on our floor so we basically had the top floor and the back staircase to ourselves. The atmosphere feels old school and authentic and I'd challenge you to find a nicer bunch of folks.
A solid 5-stars for Hotel Höttche.
