Attributes:
Pet-friendly, Business
Amenities:
Business Center, Dining, Fitness Center, Internet Access, Meeting Rooms, Parking, Pets Allowed, Room Service, Shuttle Service
Type:
Hotel
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View from our suite, Mercure Seestern Photo - Mercure Duesseldorf Seestern, Düsseldorf, Germany

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User Reviews

Mixed Messages at Mercure Seestern

by fizzytom

Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

November 23, 2011

Best of IgoUgo Courtesy of a well known travel website, I had at my disposal two nights accommodation free of charge in a suite in Dusseldorf's Mercure Am Seestern. It's worth mentioning that my first attempt to redeem the offer resulted in a terse email telling ...Read more Courtesy of a well known travel website, I had at my disposal two nights accommodation free of charge in a suite in Dusseldorf's Mercure Am Seestern. It's worth mentioning that my first attempt to redeem the offer resulted in a terse email telling me they wouldn't honour my voucher. After discussion with said website I tried again and this time I was sent an email confirming a stay of one night; after another exchange of emails I received confirmation of a reservation for two nights.

We were flying in to Dusseldorf Airport and I checked the hotel website to see how to reach the hotel from there. The website mentioned a free shuttle service so I contacted the hotel by email, advising them of my arrival time and asking how to book the service. I received an email the following morning in which I was advised that the service operates only between 6 and 10 a.m. and 6 and 10 p.m.

The hotel is situated a couple of kilometres from the city centre but can be reached easily by tram. During the day you can take the U77 to Am Seestern, the final stop on the line and the hotel is directly opposite the tram stop. In the evenings you need to take any of the U74, 75, 76 services and get off at Prinsenallee from which it's a two minute walk to the hotel. The hotel has a large underground car park.

This is principally a business park so it's very quiet in the evenings. There's a Subway and a smart bakery/coffee shop just further along the block that the Mercure is part of. Alternatively there's a small stand up kebab joint just beside the tram stop. If you want to stay close to the hotel but not actually eat there, there is an Italian restaurant adjacent to Prinsenallee tram stop.

Given the issues around making our reservation I was not expecting check in to go smoothly but I was pleasantly surprised. We were checked in swiftly and advised of the time of breakfast and where it would be served. At this point it might have been useful to have been told about wi-fi access and other services but no information was forthcoming and we were directed to the lifts.

Our suite was on the seventh, and top, floor of the hotel and from the bedroom and the living area we had great views towards the city centre, picking out the iconic bridges over the Rhine and the instantly recognisable Rheinturm. I was rather perturbed to note that the bedroom window opened with restriction while the one in the living area had restricted opening, much more sensible given the altitude. The first impression was excellent. The living space had a seating area with three comfortable sofas clustered around a coffee table, while there was a full size dining table with four chairs in the corner. There was also a well lit desk and, on top of it, a pod machine for hot drinks. The latter surprised me as it's unusual to have in-room drinks making facilities in Europe so I assumed that it was an additional feature because we had a suite. There were large flat screen televisions in the bedroom and the living area. If you went into the toilet or bathroom when the television was on and closed the door, the sound could be heard through speakers.

The bedroom followed the same light airy colour scheme with peach walls and patterned peach soft furnishings. The comfortable bed was a king-size and not two singles pushed together. However, the bedding still included two large single quilts rather than one larger one. There was one thin pillow each and when I looked for additional pillows I found two empty bags but no extra pillows hidden anywhere in the room. After breakfast we asked for additional pillows for the second night: the receptionist noted the room number and request but we did have to ask twice.

The large bathroom had a well lit vanity unit with two washbasins, a large bathtub with overhead shower and a loo. There was also a separate loo and hand basin just inside the main door to the suite. As well as plenty of complimentary items there were wall mounted dispensers of hair and body wash. The shower screen ran half the length of the bath and due to the positioning of the loo it was necessary to open it to climb into the bath to stand under the shower; unfortunately wherever you positioned the shower head, the water still managed to work its way under the edge of the shower screen and soak the floor.

Breakfast is served in a light and bright restaurant on the first floor and while it was an extensive "American style" buffet, it did present a number of issues for me because of my nut allergy. The first was that all the breads were laid out unwrapped and without labels and I suspected that one of the darker ones might contain hazelnuts. This was largely irrelevant anyway as the breads were laid out in such a way that it was impossible to prevent crumbs from one type falling on another. Likewise, the cheeses were nicely arranged into easy to pick up slices, then artistically strewn with walnuts so that I couldn't have any cheese. The cold meats were next to the cheeses and as both used tongs to pick them up, I also avoided the meat as I couldn't be certain that someone hadn't borrowed tongs from the cheese to take some meat.

Happily I was able to have some hot food and although these items were a little dry from being kept hot, they were at least tasty and frequently replenished. I also helped myself to some fruit salad with a choice of yoghurts or flvaoured quarks, and sliced melon, pineapple and lovely tangy kumquats. Disappointingly the coffee was barely warm, even though it was brought to the table in a heat retaining jug. The were two waiting staff at breakfast and never more than three or four tables occupied at most, yet there were always tables that needed to be cleared and I couldn't see why these were not attended to more quickly.

After a day's sightseeing we returned to the hotel late on Saturday afternoon and went straight to our room but we were unable to gain access to the room with either of our key cards. At reception we were told it was because we had only booked for one night; I maintained that this was not correct and the receptionist checked on the computer and said that this was fine, and issued two new cards. Our suite had been partly cleaned but a used glass had been left on a bedside table and no new pillows had been brought. The lack of attention to detail was a little surprising.

As we were only in Dusseldorf for a short time we didn't take advantage of the leisure facilities such as the sauna in the basement and never got round to switching on the netbook we'd brought with us. Wi-fi internet is available in the rooms for a charge but there are a couple of free terminals in reception too.

This Mercure Hotel is aimed more towards business travellers than any other group. While it is well maintained and nicely decorated it is somewhat faceless and I found the staff largely indifferent. Our suite was undeniably comfortable and well equipped but there was a lack of consistency in service and of attention to detail, though this could easily be sorted with better communication between the staff.

As our stay was free I can't state how much it would have cost, but rooms at this hotel officially start at around Euro79 a night for a standard double and, of course, a suite would be more expensive. However, if you don't mind the short tram ride into town I imagine you'd be able to get lower rates for weekend stays as the hotel seemed to have very few weekend guests. My advice would be to sign up with topcashback.com, then click through to the Accor website, the company to which Mercure Hotels belongs. (We managed to get excellent weekend rates for their Salzburg hotel for September and also bagged a whopping £14.60 in cashback, making the price even more attractive.)

I liked the Mercure Seestern, but it didn't quite meet my expectations. Nevertheless I would recommend it to business guests and to tourists who don't mind the short distance from the city centre.

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