Grand Hotel Heiligendamm - the Leading Hotels of the World

Positives: The location of this hotel is absolutely stunning, with great facilities and beautiful, spacious rooms that exceeded our expectations. The breakfast offerings, both a la carte and buffet, were very good. The kids club is a brilliant addition, providing a kindergarten-like environment where children can spend the day with great staff and enjoy lunch. Some negatives (not all): Having stayed at several Leading Hotels and as frequent guests of other 5-star establishments, we found numerous drawbacks at Heiligendamm. The service staff lacked a “can-do” attitude and authority, often communicating poorly among themselves. The hotel had hired a lot of teenagers for the peak season, which might be financially smart for them and could have been great for guests if they were properly trained. During our eight-day stay, the phrase we heard most from the staff, aside from greetings, was “I’m so sorry.” So sorry for e.g.: our kid’s pasta with tomato sauce being an hour late, a salt shaker collapsing all over a main dish, bringing a club sandwich instead of the ordered dish after half an hour, and the valet leaving the front trunk (frunk) of my car open overnight in the pouring rain. This was the first thing I saw in the morning as I removed the curtains, and given that my car is quite expensive, this should be a complete catastrophe for any hotel. Well, not Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. We paid €30 for valet parking per day, and this is what they accomplished. Apologies were abundant, but solutions and suggestions of compensations were of course not. It took us almost 30 minutes to get a drink order at the pool every day, which was absolutely ridiculous and frustrating. Additionally, there was about a 50/50 chance that you would need to call out to waiters to get service while seated. Forget the concierge; we asked for help with booking a ferry, and they asked if we had tried Google. You meet teenagers at breakfast, reception, concierge (which is just the people at reception), lunch, and other areas throughout the day. While most are very pleasant and smiling, they lack the experience to handle situations effectively and seem unaware of what the standard of the hotel should be. Complaining to them felt like a waste of time, so at checkout I didn’t even bother. We stayed for seven nights, and there was no “How was your stay with us?” because the clerk probably didn’t know that this is a question you normally ask a guest when they’re about to leave and pay an additional several thousand euros for food, drinks, and parking. We had hoped this could become a new summer holiday spot, but the beautiful surroundings were overshadowed by constant frustration over poor service. We observed obvious frustration from several other guests as well, every single day. This was a major letdown for a hotel that should be performing far better given its heritage and as part of Leading Hotels. For the hotel: You need to be way, way better than this. For potential gue

My stay at this luxury hotel was lovely and I would definitely return here. The breakfast buffet in the Kurhaus restaurant was the best I have ever experienced and the Michelin-starred restaurant Friedrich Franz exceeded my expectations (with a shout out to Sommelier Kevin Lorenz and Maitre'D M. Schaefer who were lovely to keep me company during my solo dinner). Spa service was top notch and the hotel beach access was very private and quiet (and the beach bar very convenient). Only drawback during my stay was the lack of staff which precluded the spa bar/restaurant and the food truck from opening, which was a disappointment because no advance notice was given and I had planned to lunch there before my spa treatments . . . I would definitely return with extended family - there was a LOT for children to do including a lovely KinderVilla club.

The Hotel is ok, the Spa is in fact up to standards. There was no hot water in the morning, took an hour to repair. Please avoid the Kurhaus restaurant. I had a watery Bisque, followed by what was called a Pilzstrudel. It turned out to be a soaked through filo filled with an unidentifiable stodge, served on a sour brown mush; plus three fried mushrooms… The desert was another desaster called warm chocolate cake, in fact another half cooked mush.