Leonardo Royal Hotel Koln - Am Stadtwald

I paid €300 for two nights, including parking, and booked this hotel several months in advance. What a huge disappointment. The hotel is an extremely old and completely run-down building. I honestly did not expect that in a hotel of this size, the electricity would not even work with the room key card. The entire building feels neglected and badly in need of renovation. The bathroom had a strong musty and stale smell. There was no kettle in the room, so I asked reception for one. What they gave me was absolutely disgusting — the inside was covered in what looked like decades of limescale. How could anyone think it was acceptable to give a guest something like that? The cleanliness of the room was also far from satisfactory. The shelf above the coffee machine was covered in dirt. It was not something that could easily be missed — I genuinely don't understand how the cleaning staff could have overlooked it. The shower was another problem: even with the shower door properly closed, the entire bathroom floor would end up covered in water after taking a shower. When we checked in the room, I specifically selected on the tablet that we wanted daily cleaning. Nobody came to clean the room the following day. Yet on the day of check-out, when check-out is until 12:00, someone was already knocking on our door before 10:00. Why? They should know that we are checking out that day and simply leave us alone until the check-out time. It would have made much more sense to clean the room the previous day, when we had actually requested daily cleaning. Finally, when we checked out, nobody even bothered to ask whether everything had been okay. For €300 for two nights, especially with a booking made months in advance, I expected a completely different standard. I would definitely not stay here again.

This hotel is a great choice for travelers looking for a quiet atmosphere, nature, and nice walking paths a little outside the city center. There is a fairly large pond and a walking path right behind the hotel, and you can easily see people running there every morning. I also went for a run every morning during my stay, although mainly because this was the first hotel I have stayed at that did not have a gym. The price was reasonable, and the breakfast had a decent selection, even though there were not many options. There are not many places to eat or drink nearby, so the hotel restaurant is a convenient option. The same space turns into a lounge bar after 9 p.m. I stopped by once for a beer. Sitting at an outdoor table right in front of the pond was especially peaceful and beautiful. The room was not very large, and the interior was quite basic rather than modern or stylish. The building seems to be quite old, and the elevator was small and sometimes felt a little unstable. Unfortunately, on my last day, I was actually stuck inside the elevator for about five minutes. I pressed the emergency button, but there was no response. It seemed that the door was not properly aligned, so I pushed it hard several times myself. Eventually, it seemed to move back into the correct position and finally opened. What surprised me more was the response afterward. When I explained what had happened to a staff member, they simply acknowledged it without asking any further questions or taking any noticeable action. Considering that I had been stuck in the elevator and received no response from the emergency button, I found this quite concerning.

Nestled on a lake beside a beautiful green public park, the Leonardo Royal is a quiet location in the city, close to public transportation. The daily breakfast offers a grand and fresh variety. The space in room 407 was adequate for a couple and the bed was comfortable. Despite Room 407 having concerning issues, we did enjoy our stay.

Great breakfast! Great service! Except location a little out of city. Hardly get anything nearby not even fast food. However, the peaceful and quietness creates a place for a good relaxation time after a long day!