A recent trip to Goteborg with my brother to meet an old friend of his who now lives in Vargon left us visiting Goteborg for a night and staying at this Ibis Hotel location.
First off, I must say that from the pictures on the website, it sure looked like it was going to be an interesting place to stay. And it was! I've never stayed on a ship while it was not traveling somewhere on a cruise. So, I'd have to say that the experience was something new. However, during the trip, we've learned that there are other boats out there in Goteborg which are docked and thus also now hotels and restaurants. Not letting that ruin the experience, we still continued to stay here.
The linens were clean, the bathroom newly renovated and everything worked. So, kudos to that. There are plenty of 3* ish hotels that just don't meet those simple expectations anymore. Anyway, there are a few downsides to the hotel, which cause it's 3* rating here.
First off, while it's not a far walk from the main city centre (about 10 minutes), it is a bit of a drag when most of the walk is through a relatively deserted business park. My only saving grace for the walk was a store called Holmens (a menswear store that was VERY well curated). Additionally, since it's that close to a business park, there are no real places close to the hotel that give you an appropriate option for breakfast. That being said 85SEK for a hot breakfast is a steal. And a standard 3* breakfast you will get by the way - just saying it's worth it, not saying it was michelin star quality ;) Oh, and the Wifi isn't free. Grr.
The staff are well conversant in English and a certain breadth of nationalities stay at this hotel, making it great if you're a conversationalist like me. The other thing about the staff is that they're extremely helpful and know the town quite well. They also helped us save a ridonkulous £60 per person because I was an idiot and printed our Ryanair boarding passes on double sides - those who fly Ryanair (grr hate them) will understand.
Anyway, good hotel, good service, with some downsides. read more