Courtyard Hotels in Hamburg

Sometimes we are in hotels where you somehow get a strange feeling right from the moment you check in. You don't feel comfortable and welcome. The Courtyard Hamburg City is one of them. It started at the reception during our very early check-in. The staff member told us in a supercilious manner that we had received an upgrade. But the ”better” rooms had not yet been cleaned. But because we were getting an upgrade, it would certainly be worth waiting for the room. Our question about when we could expect the room was only answered with the statement that the actual check-in was at 3 pm. We could go into town in the meantime, it's not far and we shouldn't come back too early - 3 pm. We could leave our luggage at the hotel. There is still room for improvement! And so there were a few similar little things during our stay. None of them big issues. But just a lot of little things where you keep asking yourself: ”Why? Why don't they just do it better?” The stay ended as it had begun. After our online check-out, we discovered that the bill was not correct. However, this was corrected immediately after a complaint by e-mail. No comment. Without apology or the like. A word about breakfast, as there were many comments on this: The restaurant in the hotel is run by an outside company. This is not noticeable at first glance. Nevertheless, this constellation has disadvantages. For example, the restaurant is closed one day a week (breakfast is of course available all week). Is that a good thing for a hotel? That's something everyone has to decide for themselves. But now to breakfast: Cost: 25 Euros, if not already included in the room rate. The breakfast is extensive. Nevertheless, there are some things that are not there. For example, freshly prepared egg dishes. Here, you are treated to prefabricated fried eggs, scrambled eggs and the like, some of which look rather adventurous. There are also no pencakes or waffles. On the other hand, there is a large vegetarian/vegan corner. Most of the dishes are of very high quality, often even organic or Demeter. The service is prompt, attentive and friendly. The ambience in the restaurant is also quite good. Is the breakfast now worth its 25 euros? Yes, because the restaurant is run by a third party and the operator also has to earn money. Yes, because the ingredients are of very high quality. Yes, because the selection is quite large. No, because certain things such as egg dishes prepared on site are missing. No, because the selection is large, but not outstanding. In our opinion, a price of 19 euros would suit the breakfast better.

I was not planning on staying at a hotel near Hamburg airport but because of a flight disruption I made a last-minute reservation at Courtyard. I was pleasantly surprised by the room which I found to be quite nice for airport hotel standards, or for any Courtyard for that matter. The hotel is only 1km from the airport and there is a pedestrian path which makes it somewhat walkable if luggage is not too heavy; the lone challenge is that there is a small hill to climb as the path passes above another road. The hotel has a shuttle bus available every 30 minutes however it’s only available mornings and evenings, not between 12pm and 6pm. I showed up at the hotel barely 15 minutes after booking and I was already proactively upgraded to a suite as Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Elite guest. The room looked great for Courtyard brand standards and I would have almost nothing negative to note except perhaps that air conditioning was disconnected for the winter, but the room was hot so we had to open the window to get some fresh air. To open such window, interestingly there were two windows so soundproofing (when closed) was hard to beat. I wish more airport hotels had such high quality windows. I am not a regular at Courtyard hotels but the very few where I stayed were cumbersome in their management of the Marriott breakfast or food credit benefit for guests Platinum and above, and this one hotel was no exception. I asked to receive the 10 EUR food & beverage benefit per person per day instead of welcome points. Perhaps this is standard at all CYs, but when I asked if I could combine the credit for both nights into an order made on a single day, the answer was no, the credit is only per day and cannot be carried over to another night. On the last day I did not really plan on ordering anything so I went to the bar for a drink but it was closed in the afternoon and would only open at 5pm. The receptionist told me that I could use the credit for wine or beer from the pantry near reception so that was my choice. However the next morning upon departure they did not apply the credit because they said the pantry was not eligible to the credit (unlike what I was told). After discussion they removed the charge, but all in all it was a lot of hassle for the management of this credit compared to hotels that simply provide free breakfast, period. In theory there are many situations where I prefer a credit because I might not want hotel breakfast so I am not opposed to the concept, but the execution seems to be lacking. In any event, the one time that I ordered room service, food quality was excellent. Overall the hotel was quite nice for a Courtyard near an airport and I can recommend it for a short stay between flights. There is not a lot of competition from large hotel chains near HAM airport, I saw a Radisson but that’s pretty much it, so upon returning to HAM I would book a room at CY again without second thoughts.