Our flight was with Aer Lingus, pleasant as always. We left very early in the morning and arrived well before the official check in time. A taxi brought us to the destination within twenty minutes. The hotel was well prepared, because we pre-alerted them. Our room was ready. It was a room with Regency Club access.
The design was unusual, and I wasn't sure if it would work out. When entering the room one steps immediately into the bathroom. The shower stall is right beside the entrance door. On the other side is a separate room for the toilet. In front of the hallway are a small desk, where you can apply make up, on the right and the sink. The bath tub is between sink and the desk, the weighing scale rests in front of the bath tub. There are no curtains or any other form to have privacy. The tapestry is beautiful with flower prints and one can look outside through a glass partition to the bed room and from there to whatever view the large floor to ceiling windows offer (we had views over the Rhine and the Rhine Tower), which we liked. The bed room was surprisingly small with a writing desk, a queen sized bed, even though, it is described as king size, and a chaise lounge. There is also a wardrobe and a mini bar. It looks very luxurious and modern. In all honesty I don't think it's suitable for more than one person based on the size of the room. For example I could of course sit on the chaise lounge or on the bed, when my fiancé used the writing desk, but if I wanted to do something else, like use the bathroom, I had a hard time getting through between the bed and the writing desk. When the housekeeper came later (I wasn't there), he had to jump over the bed to turn down the room.
The TV is placed in front of the bed and the windows. I didn't figure out how you can swivel it. It's probably possible, but I don't have a clue... International channels are available, but of course dominated by German speaking programs. There are also automatic blinds and curtains available.
We were in the mood to go exploring and taking photographs. It was a mild and sunny day. The hotel is located in the Media Hafen (Media Harbor). The area and the hotel are very creative, for example there is a building, where huge neon colored figures are "climbing" up or down the house. Another building has been designed with different colorful glass (red, green, yellow...). The Rhine Tower (Rhein Turm), the North Rhine Westphalia parliament building, the Frank Gehri Buildings and one of the regional TV channels are within walking distance.
We went up the Rhein Turm and enjoyed brilliant views over the harbor, the Rhine and the parliament. The tower has a world clock. It's in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest. Entrance was slightly under 4 Euro. Not very expensive, compared to many other viewing platforms. There is also a restaurant at the top of the building, serving fine cuisine or a cafe, serving snacks and cakes.
We were hungry ourselves and went to look for a restaurant. We had something specific in mind. The Radisson Blu Media Harbor is also easy to find. The architecture is interesting. People can see from the street inside the rooms, so if a guest wants privacy, they need to draw the curtains. The stones look inside and outside the same. Exterior and interior were designed by Matteo Thun, an Italian.
The hotel's restaurant is named Amano and serves Italian cuisine. We were famished and decided for a three course menu including cocktails. Our starters were Caesar Salad with grilled chicken for him and fish soup for me. He had gnocchi’s as main course, I tagliatelle with duck ragout and both a pear dessert. We were more than full, when we were finished, but happy. The staff was attentive, friendly and genuinely interested in our well being. They are great ambassadors for the Radisson brand.
Having good rapport with our waiter, he offered to show us a few hotel rooms. First we went up to the Meeting Suite, which is beautiful. It has a large bed, open bath room, but it seemed more comfortable than the bath room in our hotel, dining area, two TVs and much more. The Business Rooms were all occupied, so we couldn't have a sneak peak. The Standard Room was also very good designed and was comfortable. All rooms came with Anne Semonin amenities.
We also learned originally the Radisson should have been a Cerruti Hotel (there are two chandeliers of note, one is by Cerruti, the other by Bulgari, one located in the Private Dining Room, the other is in the lobby, but Radisson decided at the last moment not to go ahead.
We had enough explored for the day and enjoyed our hotel. On the way to the room I booked an appointment at the Rive Spa later in the evening. On return to our room we had received a few amenities, on each side of the bed was a glass with four chocolates and a fruit plate. We were delighted.
When I prepared for my spa treatment, I realized we didn't have any bathroom amenities beside a soap and body lotion by Portico. I decided to deal with it, when I came back.
The spa is modern, Asian and calming in effect. It offers a wide range of treatments.
I arrived a bit early and had to wait, so I was offered to read German celebrity magazines. Normally I prefer more hard hitting stuff, like The Economist, Time or Newsweek. Reading Bunte was quite amusing and the time passed quickly. My therapist was male, and he worked wonders. After the massage I felt like new born. All my tensions were gone. I also loved the Hawaiian music in the back ground.
On return to my room the key card didn't work. I knocked on the door, but my fiancé didn't hear me. He is hard of hearing. I went to the club lounge. The hostess remembered me from earlier and said, it was no problem to get my key card working again. She accompanied me to our room, because I mentioned the missing bath room amenities. The key card worked again, I had a double check, if there really weren't any amenities and confirmed it, so the hostess contacted house keeping for me and within a few minutes we received a full set.
We enjoyed the Club Lounge for drinks and had in room dining, Spaghetti Bolognese, Wiener Schnitzel with Salad and Potatoes and Crème Brulee. The floor was so narrow, it was difficult for room service to navigate the tray. The food was pricy, but excellent, so worth the money spent.
We had a restful sleep and when we went to breakfast, we asked if we could have a late check out. It wasn't a problem at all.
The club lounge breakfast was very good with a wide range of cold cuts, cheese, fruits (they were arranged the same creative way like our fruits on the room, just larger), yogurt, tea, coffee, juices, two types of salmon (smoked and gravad lax), smoked trout and condiments, bread, cereals (my better half says they are especially yummy) and pastries. There weren't any hot items, but we didn't miss them.
After our check out we explored the harbor further and had a stop at the Courtyard by Marriott. It is going through a renovation, but the lobby is already finished to the new standards including a 24 hour shop, replacing the minibar.
We liked the temporary restaurant and bar. The hot chocolate was very good.
Through the concierge at the Hyatt Regency we requested limousine service to the airport. There was a choice of BMW 7 or Mercedes S Class, coming from an outside company. We chose the BMW, which caused quite a stir in front of the hotel and at the airport. We already had experience with Mercedes and wanted to try something else, so we opted for the BMW, and we loved it. It's extremely comfortable, luxurious and quiet. There was also water provided and if we had wanted to could regulate the temperature individually.
At the airport we had dinner at Bon Marche, a Moevenpick concept. It was pasta with artichokes, tomatoes and cheese and salad. We enjoyed it very much and whenever possible, we try to make it to one of the Moevenpick outlets. Our flight left punctual for Dublin and it was again a pleasure to use Aer Lingus.
Verdict: The Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf is a new hotel, soft opening started in December and the grand opening was in February. There were a few glitches, but I think one can overlook them, because the hotel still hasn't found its own rhythm. After having informed ourselves a little bit about how the striking buildings came to be, we could understand, why the rooms are small. The twin towers (one is the hotel, the other is used for offices) are built on reclaimed land, so there wasn't necessarily a lot of space. The hotel is vertical instead of horizontal and easily reached via a bridge. The hotel also has the DOX restaurant and bar and the Cafe D.
What I loved about the hotel:
- the creativity
- details (pot for plant looked like it was a palm trunk and the plant finished the image of a palm)
- Portico bath room amenities
- the club lounge
- the art in the hotel and on the rooms
- the staff, very helpful and thoughtful, can do attitude
- the bed.
We are planning to go back soon, and we are going to try one of the suites.
©2011
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