Family-friendly Hotels in Darmstadt

Ok, I was sent here by Cathay Pacific after one of their planes failed, so the review is tainted by seven hours at Frankfurt Airport, ( which is incidentally rated 3/10 by Skytrax). The hotel is dated, and of a quite austere design. They didn’t have my booking which was probably more Cathay’s fault than theirs. Checkin staff ranged from naive to rude. The room is large with a good sized balcony facing a major intersection. Go high to avoid road noise. Room amenities are sparse and it has an 80’s/90’s feel, in dark wood and green furnishings. Two smallish singles adorned the room, and an inbuilt radio adorned the headboard à la 70’s. There is a chair and small table. The bathroom didn’t have a bath and the plug in the sink didn’t work. I called for it to be fixed. The guy spent 20 seconds and declared it fixed. It wasn’t, of course, so I did it myself, although I am not a big fan of putting my fingers in hotel drains... Amenities are two fixed soap containers and two small bottle of body lotion. There is a hairdryer and a magnifying mirror as well as the usual behind sink one. The bathroom is well lit. There is a complimentary 750ml bottle of water and an empty minibar. The main restaurant is bright and lacking in any atmosphere. The breakfast area is slightly more welcoming. The buffet I tried was sparse but was probably contracted on a budget by cathays agents. International plug adapters are available, which isn’t always the case. There is no iron or ironing board in the room…although there is an ironing room on the third floor. Novel. The bar is the best bit. Classically styled and comfortable in an “old money” style.

A perfect place for a family reunion: beautiful rooms, the park, the food, the forest. You can stroll, have brunch on Sunday, relax in the shade of the trees or linger in the small beer garden. We were looking for a place where our small family, who live well spread out across the globe, could meet up again. Where we could talk, eat, enjoy ourselves, walk in the forest, relax in the park, read a book or just get out of each other's way. The proximity to Frankfurt Airport is both a blessing and a curse: there are planes all day, but it's also a short journey for family members who have to travel from other continents. The rooms: beautiful, clean, well equipped. The rooms directly behind the castle are very nice, especially numbers 201 to 206, as 207 and following are at the front, towards the main building, where the kitchen can't be missed if there's a wedding on Saturday evening. All the other rooms: perfect. And if you want even more peace and quiet: in the armoury, a beautiful, huge, solid natural stone building from ancient times, just a few minutes' walk through the forest, you will find the quietest rooms in the middle of the forest. For dog lovers: you can bring them with you. And they are well integrated: when we arrived there were two dog blankets on the floor, two ceramic feeding bowls, and we were not the only ones with dogs. The surrounding forest means you are immediately surrounded by greenery, even at night when a dog needs to go out. For non-dog lovers: the rooms of our dogless family members were spotlessly clean, no dog hair, no smell. The food was excellent. Breakfast is served in the main building and is as extensive as I have rarely seen: not just scrambled eggs and bacon, sausages and eggs, but also Kaiserschmarrn, various types of muesli and cereal, all kinds of bread, honeycomb honey, plus various really good types of tea, a samovar, and all kinds of coffee. I could have spent the day in the breakfast room. On Sunday there was a brunch: a huge buffet, not too much, but everything: fish, meat, vegetables, pasta, salads, desserts. Of really very good quality. There was also pleasant, very beautiful piano music, played live by a friendly pianist, just loud enough to be heard and quiet enough to have a good conversation. In the evening we had reserved a table on the terrace, and here too there was a wonderful meal, from salad with salt marsh lamb to veggie plates to fish or meat. Hotel, food, service, it was wonderful. Were there any less pleasant things? A few minor things: the main road behind the castle can be heard, but not very loudly (if you sit outside on the terrace). You can't hear it in the rooms. I've already mentioned the airplanes, but that didn't bother us at all. The rooms are easy to ventilate, but are not air-conditioned.