We are fans of Leading Hotels of the World and ever since seeing the
Althoff Hotel am Schlossgarten in one of the catalogues we wanted to
stay there.
Being in contact with the hotel before our stay we
were very satisfied how warm, prompt and professional the e-mails were
answered. They even sent us the in room dining menu, because it hadn't
been available online.
The Althoff Hotel am Schlossgarten dates
back from the 1960ies and was opened as a competition to the other Grand
Hotel, the Steigenberger Graf Zeppelin.
The Hotel am Schlossgarten has around thirty rooms fewer than the Graf Zeppelin.
The
Althoff is located opposite the main train station and allows easy
access to the airport, all over Stuttgart and other destinations within
Germany and neighboring countries.
The castle, a park, museum and shopping are just around the corner.
We
had a pleasant journey with a slight delay from Berlin Tegel with Air
Berlin. We took the S-Bahn from Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport. It took
around thirty minutes. We took a wrong exit at the train station, but it
wasn't a problem since Stuttgart is planned in such a way you can't get
lost. When taking the right exit the hotel can be reached within 5
minutes.
Check in was pleasant and quick. We received a room on
the 6th floor out of seven. When we tried to enter our room the key card
didn't work. I went down to the lobby again. We found out that the key
card was working, but the receptionist had given us the wrong room
number. On our floor again we tried to open the new room and voila we
could enter.
The Superior Room, which we had booked, was very
large with its own hallway and a door to close off the bed room. A door
to the right led to the bathroom.
The bedroom was kept in classic
dark brown, black, red, gold and grey colors. We overlooked the main
train station and the hotel's entrance. There was also a massive
building site near the station. We couldn't hear any noise, so that was
good and we liked the view.
There were two paintings depicting plants and flowers of the season they grow in. We had spring and summer.
The bed was large and comfortable.
We liked the seating area with a coffee table and two club chairs.
It was ideal to have in-room dining there or to chat. There were also German magazines.
The
swiveable flat screen TV was above a credenza and allowed watching from
the seating area or the bed. TV channels were mostly German, but there
were also international ones like BBC World and Bloomberg.
The
minibar was well stocked with Vaihinger juices at 3.10 Euro, ca. 3.50
USD, other nonalcoholic beverages and spirits like Moskowskya Vodka or
Monkey 47 Gin from the Black Forrest at 5.50 Euro (ca. 6.20 USD).
Complimentary bottled still / sparkling water had been provided and restocked daily, often twice with turndown service.
There was also a large wardrobe and a big safe.
The bathroom was small, but had double sinks, toilet and a bath tub / shower combination.
The bathroom amenities were by Penhaligon Raquets. We know Quercus, which we really love, and Raquets was not an exception.
We enjoyed spending time on our comfortable room and had in-room dining a few times.
Dinner included Wiener Schnitzel and Maultaschen (Swabian ravioli), Alsatian fish soup and Crème Brule.
The quality was of a high standard and the cost worth paying for it.
We generally paid between 40.00 and 42 Euro for two main courses. That's between ca. 45.05 USD and 47.30 USD.
We had breakfast twice during our two night stay.
Once at the dedicated breakfast restaurant and once in our room.
The
restaurant offers continental breakfast in buffet form. It costs 25
Euro per person, ca. 28.20 USD. A la carte hot dishes can be also
ordered against a surcharge. For example the Eggs Benedict we had were
7.50 Euro per person, ca. 8.50 USD. They were a bit unusual, because the
poached eggs came on toast bread and with spinach. It was delicious,
though.
The buffet was small, but the choice was big enough to satisfy nearly every taste. It was also a trip down memory lane.
There were some cold cuts I loved as a child.
The presentation was beautiful too and had an Asian understatement to it.
The staff was very attentive and friendly.
When
we had in room breakfast the next morning all our favorites were
included, so the staff must have noted our preferences and prepared the
meal accordingly.
There are other restaurants and bars of course.
The
Zirbelstube by Sebastian Pruessmann is the fine dining Michelin starred
restaurant, while the Cafe am Schlossgarten is the all-day dining
outlet. There are also the Vinothek and the John Cranko Lounge.
Once we had drinks and a dessert at the John Cranko Lounge. A review will follow.
Soon
check out arrived. We realized on the day of departure that there was a
public transport strike. The staff was very good, giving us a late
check out on very short notice and advising us that a few trains were
still running to the airport, including timing.
One of the
biggest assets of the Althoff Hotel am Schlossgarten is the staff. They
are all very intuitive, friendly and professional.
Special thank
you to Frau Manamat (Hope I have spelled it right. Apologies, if it
isn't correct.) and Frau Ernst for the tips, chats and making our stay
very memorable.
We are looking forward to stay again at the Althoff Hotel am Schlossgarten in the heart of Stuttgart.
©2015
