*A stylish hotel with great breakfast, but not ideal for business travel*…read more The Hopper St. Josef in Cologne's lively Southern district prides itself on a modern approach. It is located in a historical building that used to be a daycare center. The building has been transformed into a "Designhotel" with ambient lighting and modern interiors throughout. The most spectacular aspect about the hotel is arguably the breakfast room, a former chapel with high ceilings and stained glass. Having stayed in the hopper for about 20 days in the spring and early summer of 2013, I can confirm that a plentiful hot breakfast buffet and chapel's calm atmosphere are a good way to start the day. Another very positive aspect is the friendliness of hotel staff. However, there are some drawbacks that business travelers especially may want to consider. Some rooms are very small, and there is no real workspace. Instead of desks and standard chairs, the Hopper went for fold-out desks and uncomfortable design chairs. Working is very inconvenient in this setup - and becomes nearly impossible thanks to the "innovative" approach to light. Each of the five rooms I have stayed in did not come with a bright lamp - the main light was more of a subdued background light. Great for winding down, not so much for working. Desk lamps are also not included in the rooms; neither is air conditioning. Plus, owing to the structure of the building, you may need to take a few stairs to your room as you step out of the elevator. Keep this in mind when you travel with heavy bags. If you like cardio exercise, it's best to skip the small basement gym with two pieces of equipment and head straight to the Rhine boardwalk 2 minutes away. My final verdict is that the Hopper is a charming hotel best suited for creative-minded leisure travelers.

The rooms were modern and pretty and offered whatever you need. Beyond the rooms, the staff is…read moreamazing. Everyone at the front desk is very helpful but Jonas and Lisa are the best! They go above and beyond to make sure they help you with whatever you need. We enjoyed our stay at this hotel, thanks to these two!

Fantastic Marriott property. The location is ideal for a great stay in Cologne. The staff is always…read morefriendly and everyone speaks excellent English. The rooms are clean and comfortable. The breakfast is wonderful, with fresh German breads every morning.

Really spacious and clean rooms, a great breakfast, and centrally located only a few minutes walk…read morefrom the train station.

Fantastic breakfast! Variety! Modern room! Spacey!…read more Customer service: Fast and friendly at the breakfast. Not friendly but fast at the reception. Hmmm: The shower room glass wall should be bigger not to make the floor wet. One free bottle of water is a good service. Price: Average. Parking lot: Not free. Location: Far from the station but close to bars and restaurants.

The Steigenberger Hotel is Koln is centrally located and probably one of the best properties in the…read morecity. The staff is incredibly friendly and the hotel quite practical and efficient. Check in was smooth and the room was surprisingly quite nice. The amenities were on the spartan side, but got the job done. I like the walk-in shower as it's quite efficient. The work desk in the room had plenty of power outlets and USB ports. Also of importance is that the bed was quite comfortable. I had dinner in the lobby bar which had a limited menu, but was surprisingly tasty and had a number of healthy options. Breakfast was served in the restaurant and I was impressed with the quality of the buffet which was highlighted by an omelette station which gladly accommodates my request for an egg white omelette...with fresh egg whites. Overall, a very pleasant stay and I would absolutely return if I'm ever back in Koln.

Metro one is a simple hotel with very simple fittings but it has a style about it which is somehow…read morevery welcoming. Very friendly staff. Very clean. Cracking breakfast.

Had an absolutely GREAT stay here! The location can't be beat: Right on the bank of the Rhine River…read morewith a perfect view of Cologne Cathedral, and an easy walk across the Hohenzollern Bridge to get there! I was upgraded to the Club Level ... and this was my first-ever experience with it. It was like walking into a very nice office reception area, with food & drink readily available. It was funny one night when I tried their afternoon "reception". They brought out lots of appetizers and even a hot penne pasta dish. The staff on this floor is amazing, as well! My room was very nicely-appointed, and I had a direct view of the train tracks just before crossing the Hohenzollern Bridge. Since I'm a bit of a train nut, this was absolute perfection for me! I wasn't even envious I didn't get a Cathedral-facing view, either. :-) Also, since it was late May, the sunrise lit up my room beautifully every morning. (Alas, if there was one thing that bugged me a little, it was the shower. The water temperature would change every time someone flushed a toilet somewhere in the building. Hopefully this can be addressed. On the bright side, at least my morning showers were invigorating!) Legends, the bar on the main floor, was fantastic! I will judge a place by how they make their Whiskey Sours, and Legends is indeed legendary. Their food menu is plenty satisfying, too. I enjoyed at least a couple afternoons & evenings here. Since breakfast was included in my hotel reservation, I definitely took advantage and ate at Glashaus. Now THIS is a breakfast buffet! I think I could spend an entire morning here just getting fat & happy (vacation calories, like movie theater calories, don't count!). The layout is world-class, as is the Omelet Station. Glashaus breakfast is definitely a way to fall off the diet wagon, heheh! :-D All-in-all, a great place to stay and I look forward to staying again.

If I could give zero stars, I would. We are here on day 86 of our 100 day tour, and so far, this…read morehotel has been the most uncharming I have been to EVER. The Hyatt Cologne may be posh and it may have nice rooms, but everything else is a problem. Everything. If you plan to do an even here, think again.

During a trip to attend the Photokina in Köln, I was booked into the Hotel Stadtpalais by the…read moremarketing manager of my employer. It is a kindness for which I don't know that I shall ever be able to fully repay her. Knowing nothing about it but having made many previous trips to Germany, I thought I knew what to expect from any hotel in its class; however from the moment I first entered the doors to the last time I left them to head for the train station, I was treated to a level of hospitality I have rarely found anywhere else in the world. The staff is delightful! From Jadwiga at the front desk who answered every question I had with a warm and charming smile to Timon in the intimate Bio's Bar who served up many of my suppers after long days on my feet, every person working at this hotel is exactly who you would want to be working there, doing exactly what they do. The rooms are a bit larger than the standard German business class hotel. Spotlessly clean, tastefully decorated, and supremely comfortable, they also have the benefit of being sound-proof like none I have found anywhere else (a quality they proved unquestionably well during the evening of my arrival when a concert by Justin Bieber was being held directly across the street at the Laxness Arena). The Bibliotek restaurant serves as both breakfast room and evening dining room. The food is delicious and served with the utmost care and skill. Then there is the sauna. Just thinking about this subterranean Xanadu makes me long to return! Words cannot do justice to the paradise that awaits you on the second basement floor of the hotel - although since first experiencing it I have employed "magical," transporting," and "exquisite." Try it for yourself and tell me I'm wrong - but rather than doing so I know you'll thank me instead.

From the owner: Das Hotel Stadtpalais eignet sich hervorragend für Seminare und Tagungen in gehobenem Ambiente…read more Gegenüber der LANXESSarena, in direkter Nähe zu Messe und Bahnhof Köln Messe/Deutz, verbindet das Hotel historische und moderne Architektur. Aus dem ursprünglichen, denkmalgeschützten Kaiser-Wilhelm Bad mit Bibliothek wurde ein komfortables Hotel. Charmante, historische Elemente wie Geländer, Reliefs oder Naturstein wurden stilvoll in das neue Design mit aufgenommen. Neben 113 Zimmern und zwei Junior-Suiten für Übernachtungen bietet das Hotel im Tagungsbereich 7 funktionale Räume für bis zu 70 Teilnehmer. Die Seminarräume sind dank natürlichem Tageslicht hell und freundlich, für die Besucher steht WLAN zur freien Verfügung. Für gastronomische Genüsse sorgt die Bio's Bar, für die Alfred Biolek Pate steht, sowie das 2019 eröffnete Restaurant KWB im Stadtpalais. Im März 2024 ist das Hotel Stadtpalais als nachhaltig und zukunftsweisend geführtes Hotel offiziell als "Certified Green Hotel" zertifiziert worden.