Hotel Schweriner Hof

Location: Centrally located in the downtown area, within a 15-minute walk from the main railway station.

The hotel has been here for nearly 150 years, situated right on one of the two main squares in the old town of Stralsund. With a recalcitrant suitcase it's about 15 minute's walk up from the main railway station. The room we had (I think a sort of junior suite) had no view, but it had been carefully and recently fitted out (some of the other rooms were being refitted on the other side of the landing). There were a couple of small steps down into the room, and one into the bathroom (I think the steps may be because they'd fitted underfloor heating). The bed was effectively two conjoined single beds with separate duvets, but it was very comfortable, and we felt a degree of thought had gone into the design. The shower was the best I've seen in a hotel room - no chance of water going everywhere. One very small suggestion: a couple of curtain puller rods would help with the very tall windows. We had a bed and breakfast deal; we'd recommend it heartily. The breakfast selection was very good - cereal, yoghurt, ham, sausages, cheese, rolls and bread of course, but also salad and fish (this is the town that invented the Bismarck herring). A big pot of coffee was provided when we came in. There is a restaurant attached to the hotel, but it doesn't open every day: it serves very acceptable Italian food. There's also a sun terrace on the third floor (we didn't use it, but there's a good view across to the Marienkirche), and a vending machine for drinks (including quarter bottles of wine), snacks and sanitary needs. Staff were very helpful and polite (my German is limited, they made generous allowance for that). One warning is that the door is normally shut at 10pm, so they checked by email with us when we were arriving. There was no issue with us leaving at an early hour (we had a 7am train to catch), we asked and they made it easy for us. Thank you Tom and your colleagues. I think that it'd be a shorter stay next time (there's a lot to explore along the coast) but I'd be more than happy to go back.