My Hotel In Kassel
I stayed in the Golden Tulip Hotel Reiss, by the Hauptbahnhof.
On my checklist it scored three negatives.
The worst failure, is that although it is close to the station, the Hautbahnhof is now no longer the main station for Kassel. So I arrived at the other one and needed a taxi to get between the two.
Perhaps, this explains why the hotel wasn’t very busy.
My Hotel Checklist
I have started using a checklist by which I judge hotels.
- Is the tea and coffee facility in the room adequate? There must be at least two proper tea-bags, milk or creamer and a kettle that is obvious to use.
- Can a 67-year-old man, who needs glasses and has a gammy left hand, run the bath or shower without glasses?
- Are the towels numerous and big enough? I’m only small, so big for me in small compared to say Eric Pickles
- Is the wi-fi free and doesn’t require a complicated password or your e-mail address?
- Is the security good but not obsessive? You shouldn’t need a card to work the lift.
- Is the hotel by the station or on a simple tram or bus route from the station or airport? Taxis should be unnecessary.
- Does the television have BBC World or even better BBC1?
- Is the bed comfortable? After all that’s the main reason you booked the hotel.
- Does the hotel have a friendly bar, that might be showing some important football?
- Are the staff knowledgeable and helpful?
- Is the room temperature sensible and controllable? I’ve stayed in a couple of top floor rooms, that were unbearable.
- Is the lighting adequate? In too many hotels, candles would be brighter.
- Does the hotel insist on giving you a paper bill?
- Does the hotel give out a good map of the city centre and the area around the hotel?
- Can you walk from the hotel to the city centre?
- Does the hotel give you complimentary soap and shampoo? I never take any.
- Is there a table or desk, where I can lay out a paper or work flat under a light?
- Is there anything that means you will never go there again?
I’ll probably add a few more to this list. I haven’t put in anything about value for money, that is covered by 18.
Other people will have their own pet hates.
London To Kassel
When I left the UK, my aims were to travel to Kassel, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg and a few other cities, I’d not visited before as a tourist.
I was also intending to see and ride on some of the tram-trains that seem to be used in the area.
I started my journey on a 73 bus and finished it in a taxi. More on why I used a dreaded taxi later.
These pictures tell the story.
In some ways it was an easy but boring journey, which because of the extremely dull weather past Liege there wasn’t much to see.
Personally, I can’t wait for a direct London to Frankfurt train, which would make trips like this so much easier.
The Anonymous Widower 