Hotel Berliner Hof by Coffee Fellows Hotels in Kiel

My Personal Experience

We were looking for a simple overnight stop to rest before continuing our trip home. We found this hotel on Booking.com, where the rooms were advertised with newer photos as “modern and new,” priced at €94. By the time we arrived, however, the price had gone up to €100 — and that didn’t even include breakfast.

The real disappointment came when we saw the room. Instead of the sleek, modern space shown in the photos, we were given one of the old, outdated rooms. Yes, it was spacious, but far from the standard advertised. It felt misleading — showcasing stylish, renovated rooms online while assigning guests the complete opposite is simply unacceptable, especially at €100 a night.

On top of that, we had to pay extra for parking. I’ll never understand this: you’re already paying to stay at the hotel, yet you’re charged again just to park your car on their property?

Breakfast wasn’t included, which only added to the sense that the price-to-value ratio was way off. And then, the irony: the hotel is named after the well-known coffee chain “Coffee Fellows.” You’d expect at least easy access to good coffee. But the branded coffee machine in the lobby was broken, so the only option was to enter the breakfast hall — where I was immediately asked for my room number and whether I had booked breakfast. All I wanted was a simple takeaway cup of coffee. After asking the staff, they kindly provided one, but the fact that I had to push for it in a coffee-themed hotel is absurd.

To be fair, the breakfast staff were very friendly and helpful — but friendliness can’t make up for the overall shortcomings. For €100 per night in an outdated room with no breakfast, extra charges for parking, and obstacles to getting a coffee, the experience simply wasn’t worth it.

I’ve stayed in many hotels, both cheaper and more luxurious, and almost always the experience matched the price. Unfortunately, this hotel fell far short.

Important to note: none of this is the fault of the staff, who were consistently friendly and welcoming. The issues lie entirely with the hotel’s management and misleading presentation.

The check inn took forever. Our room was crooked, felt like a hill from the door to the corner of the room. The bathroom was full of spiders and limescale. The carpet looked dirty. The crib was poked holes in the sides. Nice staff.