Althoff Hotel Fürstenhof

This hotel is indeed 5 star, but only ‘in parts’ - it really does not merit more than a 4 star rating. We were allocated a double room in the ‘old part’ of the hotel - which certainly lived up to its description and led to rapid disappointment. Whilst the booking details online did mention that there was no lift to the rooms there, and that the location was not suitable for the handicapped, we still felt that this was understated when we got to our room. We arrived just 30 minutes before ‘check-in’ and our room still wasn’t ready which was fair enough but the (polite and efficient) receptionist took our luggage and arranged for it to be delivered to our room, which was a nice touch. We were invited to take a seat and she would let us know when our room was ready, so we sat outside and ordered a drink which was promptly delivered with some thoughtful cushions for our deck chairs. So far so good. We made our way to our room shortly afterwards - up to join the gods in the attic - using the very steep, winding staircase, a climb that was a physical effort for both of us to make. We were just thankful that our bags had been delivered earlier or we would not have managed the daunting ascent of Mount Fürstenhof. The top floor landing had 4 rooms - 1 in each corner and this is where the words outdated and old fashioned really sprung to mind. Using thrvold fashioned mortice lock key and turning the old doorknob, gained us access to our very dark room. It was mid afternoon and very bright and sunny outside. The decor reminded me of a dated old English country Inn of the 80’s, with its beams, wall paper and equestrian prints hung on the walls. The room did have a modern (static) wall mounted flat screen TV however, with a mini bar underneath - but devoid of the fresh milk that I specifically requested a week or so before. There was a writing desk but no dressing table or mirror to sit in front of. The windows were so old and overpainted that we had to really force them to get them to even remotely function. A coffee machine and a kettle were provided as you might expect, with a couple of small mugs, glasses etc plus a complimentary bottle is still mineral water. The room also had a hideous portable aircon unit in the corner that had its extractor hose channelled up through the ceiling. It was an absolute eyesore and to cap it off - extremely noisy to boot. None of the power sockets had any USB Ports in them, so guests staying in the old part of the hotel will need to bring their own plug adaptors. The old door knobs into the room and bathroom proved occasionally to be awkward and were stiff to use. My wife even got stuck in the bathroom because she couldn’t turn the handle and had to call on me to let her out. The bathroom was very serviceable with lots of toiletries and a hair dryer - but once again, very out of date and disappointingly had cheap, worn, thin towels that were also a bit small for the larger frame. There was no handy inf

A fine, clean hotel, nice people, perfect service, superb breakfast! Fine food in the restaurant with a great service.

It started out very promising Nice helpful receptionist, a lift, which is always a plus It was started by a German returning from Italy and very impressed with it There is a restaurant attached Palio. We booked for dinner at 7pm, as the World Cup was starting on tv at 8pm My only course, some pasta and rabbit didn’t arrive til 8.30, I left most of it The restaurant was very cold, likewise reception AND our room It was beautifully decorated but the plus side ends there Also the room was €180, it didn’t include breakfast Breakfast was another €30 EACH We didn’t have it. We were travelling by car and stopped at the first Aldi and bought fresh rolls and cheese Incidentally Aldi in Germany are much cheaper than the UK