Hotel berhampiran Betty Barclay, Aachen

We stayed at this hotel for 10 days while helping our son move to Aachen from a different part of Germany. The location of the hotel is extremely convenient as it is only a 5 minute walk from the train station, and about 15 minute walk to both our son's new apartment in the Frankenberger neighborhood and also to the old town. The staff was very friendly and helpful, especially Panayoti who spoke very good English and explained all the charges on our hotel bill clearly. The breakfast offered a variety of healthy choices and fresh baked goods and was reasonably priced. The hotel felt very safe both in terms of Covid precautions and security at night time when returning late. The only thing I felt was not quite up to my expectations were the flat pillows and firm beds. I prefer fluffier pillows and a softer bed, but it was comfortable enough for the length of our stay. When I return to Aachen, I will not hesitate to book a stay at this hotel again.

Our 1 night stay was good but the girl in reception is kinda rude, if we ask for a favor or question she will make face and looks tired while doing the favor or answering us. Also, the breakfast is good but small choices. But the rest are ally good and other staff.

We stayed at the Mercure Aachen Europaplatz for one night in May 2023. This was an overnight stop on our Journey from the UK to Bonn. The hotel is in a good location, very close to the motorway and with easy access to Aachen. Check in was quick and very efficient. The staff where extremely helpful and pleasant and made us feel very welcome. We had 2 rooms including a disabled room. Both where very well laid out. Clean, Functional and very comfortable. The disabled room was a wet room style which was perfect for my sister with whom I was travelling. Plenty of space, and well laid out. The only downside if anything was that the bed was a little lower then expected. We ate in the restaurant in the evening, the food was very enjoyable, the staff extremely helpful especially with getting a table set up for a wheelchair and overall seemed to be good value. Breakfast was included in the morning but had very limited choices however this may have been as we arrived close to the finishing time. Overall this was a very nice hotel with easy access, good parking, friendly staff, nice rooms and offered good value. I would not hesitate to stay here again if i had the opportunity.

Everything was good & twin beds were comfy, except the breakfast buffet didn't have any cooked eggs, sausage, or bacon! Too many breads & standard make-your-own waffle, and no normal black tea. Diamond members receive 2 drinks/snacks. Shower is not fully enclosed in glass and therefore can get floor very wet if you're not careful. Hotel is not near city centre. A seasonal shuttle to Christmas market should be offered. Taxi from hbf was €13.50. Bus picks up right down the street as well, but was difficult for Americans to navigate buses.

Great hotel, good service, perfect Autobahn location, clean, all positive. However, drop the bill on your creditcard, because this hotel refuses to release the reservation made on your credit card. They tell you they did and blame your bank, but they don't release your reservation leaving you with an amount less to spend on your credit card for which you paid in cash.

This was our first stay ever at a vd Valk hotel and I start with the positive things. 1) Staff at the lobby and the breakfast very friendly and helpfull. 2) When we arrived we got an other room after a complaint without any problem. What disappointed us strongly were the following. 1) We got a room where the carpet all over had black smudges which looked really dirty. 2) The bed in the new room was on the side facing to step out like a slide at a holiday park. It was worn out by the” heavy weights” over time and never repalced. I fixed this problem temporarely myself by turning the very thick second mattrass over. 3) My wife and I were not able to watch our own old digitized pictures and short video's (TV has an USB port) because the television terminated everything in such that we even could not watch TV at all. Watching only TV was restored by a very helpfull staff member. 4) Between my bed and the wall were a lot of big and thick parts of clocked together dust. (see pictures) These rooms stay very dark even with all ”lights”turned on and by accident I noticed this because I used my flashlight in the night. 5) Vd Valk send us by e-mail a voucher for a welcome drink which did not specify any period of validity. When were thirsty the last day we decided to use it and went to the lobby and showed this voucher and the answer was that it was only valid on arrival. When I told the lady that this voucher did not mentioned anything about it she then told us to get a cup of coffee where we just had breakfast 1 hour before. This first acquaintance (in Dutch kennismaking?) with vd Valk hotels was ice cold and for us never more. So to say, our first and last.

Though we weren't expecting our rooms to be in the Kasteel itself, the accommodation in the modern blocks was corporate and dingy and though described as ”deluxe with a balcony” had no views of the ancient pile or anything of particular interest. To be honest, I have stayed in more interesting Travel Lodges in the UK and paid half the price. The whole place oozed mediocrity, from the check-in clerk who volunteered no recommendations on how to experience the Kasteel which was, in effect, sealed off to tourists, to our bathroom which had no natural light or air and a shower situated in the bath. All very disappointing. Dinner in the Old Water Mill was marred by a delay of 25 minutes before we saw a menu and extremely long gaps between courses which we put down to a shortage of kitchen staff or maybe a lack of english menus; both seemed plausible. The food itself was high quality/mid-range though definitely not gourmet or fine-dining. Oddly, Limburg wines were not included on the wine list but a very limited number of bottles from the best promoted vineyard in the region were available by the glass on request. The entremet was literally inedible though I appreciated the free glass of dessert wine I was given in compensation. Service had its faults such as asking us what we wanted to drink before we had been given any kind of drinks/wine list but was generally characterised by a sincere effort to provide attentive service. We opted not to have the breakfast buffet at 23 euros a throw and though the check-out clerk verbally acknowledged we hadn't partaken, somehow he included a line item on the bill ”breakfast excluded” which added 46 euros to the bill (yes, added) which we only discovered as we prepared to drive off. Utter stupidity and a symbolically apt end to our misadventure at Kasteel Vaalsbroek.

We were nicely surprised by this new (or recently refurbished?) family-run hotel. It is very cozy, laid out in a ”motel” style where each room is entered from either the courtyard or a courtyard balcony. We did not use the swimming pool but its use was offered. The courtyard garden and surroundings are beautifully kept and fit well with quite picturesque neighbourhood of Eynatten. There are five restaurants within a walking distance if you happen to arrive, like us, on Sunday night when the hotel restaurant is closed. The breakfast was very good and when there was a slight confusion as to the time the brakfast started, the family started running around and managed to start the breakfast within minutes after our (early) arrival to the breakfast room. The location close to the highway makes it a nice place to stop on a long journey.