Leonardo Hotel Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe

First of all, the customer service at reception was impeccable. The staff members I interacted with were friendly, open and super helpful. The people in the restaurant were also lovely and the atmosphere downstairs was good. They did little extra bits around the reception area like a free sweets bar, which I found super cute. I cannot fault them at all for this part of the stay.

Unfortunately, housekeeping was a disaster. Upon entering the room I was immediately assaulted by the smell - a bit like old carpet/curtains meets febreeze with no fresh air in months. I thought about complaining but I knew that the hotel was fully booked and it was late. I was thankfully able to open the window and left to find some late dinner. When I returned the smell was more palatable but I did keep the window open for the entire stay (3 days). Nobody entered my room during my stay, not to make the bed or replace towels, which I find kind of funny considering they had a note about hanging any towels you don't want replaced for environmental reasons. Plenty of areas were dusty around the main room, and the amount of dirt on the hairdryer was a disgrace. There were also some unpleasant stains on the bathroom ceiling and on the carpet.

All in all, it's an old hotel that desperately needs room updates and better cleaners but has a really lovely reception and breakfast crew. The breakfast buffet, too, was good and plentiful.

After having stayed at the Leonardo hotel in Munich (which is quite modern) we decided to stay at their Karlsruhe hotel on our way back from holiday.

Let me first start by saying that the staff was super friendly and helped us resolve an issue with our room quickly. The service at the restaurant was also good.

The free candy, coffee and tea in the lounge were nice and we appreciated the welcome drinks.

This review is mainly about the state of the hotel and cleanliness of the rooms. While the entrance looks modern it is a really old and dated hotel. The rooms feel very tired and to be honest not very clean. One of the elevators was out of order and the other two were apparently built in 1964. Our original room had sewer flies (Psychodidae) everywhere, which indicates an issue with the sewer. Not a room I would want to sleep in. We were moved to a nicer room which didn't have a problem, but it's quite worrying that no one in housekeeping noticed this.

The beds in the new room were good though and the shower was fine after I got the water to drain properly. The toilet was dirty so I cleaned the seat before we could use it.

If I were in charge of this hotel I would find new housekeeping staff, gut the place and rebuild the rooms.

I do find it difficult to have to write this as the staff was doing their best and I realize it must suck to have to work in an environment that is this old / worn. So this review is mainly directed at the management of the Leonardo hotel chain: please refurbish this hotel!