Courtyard Schwerin

One’s first experience of any hotel is almost always the checkin desk, and a good or poor initial impression often colours everything. Here I arrived 20 minutes before the official checkin time and was told to wait. The hotel bar was not open, so it wasn’t even possible to get a coffee. The receptionist was absolutely correct in her demeanour and in the information she gave, but it felt somehow slightly curt and cold. The reason became obvious as a succession of other early arriving guests were told the same thing, as well as all kinds of other information in answer to a plethora of questions. It was evident that the experience was for her, quite exasperating. Nevertheless, the essence of good service in the hospitality industry is to show charm and genuine interest in the customer and their needs at all times, however exasperating the customer may be. Better staff scheduling is probably all that is needed to make her job tolerable. Having got that tiny ****** off my chest, I’m happy to report that all of the main services worked a treat. The room was spacious and comfortable, with efficient, modern and regulatable air conditioning. Car parking was quite adequate despite the annoying extra charge (why not just bundle it into the room rate as a free extra, surely avoiding VAT issues?). Breakfast was good, as was the dinner buffet. Despite the rather limited choice at dinner there was something for everyone, including nice vegetarian fare. Those who complained here about the 27 € price for the 3-course buffet have obviously not eaten in a restaurant recently. The same receptionist was on duty the next morning at checkout and was as charming and genuine as could be. Perhaps all the awkward customers had either left at the crack of dawn or were delaying till the last moment.