Van Der Valk Hotel Hildesheim

Huge downgrades due to having completely unusable Wifi. Was told to use the Free version, and it was completely unstable and couldn't be used at all. After asking the front desk twice they finally told me there is a better "Pro" network and provided a password - I had the same results. For reference, I'm technically savvy and we had the same performance across all 4 of our phones, both iPhone and Android, as well as 3 iPads. The issue was not due to user error. International travelers rely heavily on having reliable Internet access, and not being able to meet that absolute basic necessity overshadows what is otherwise a nice hotel. It is in a perfect location by the way.

The hotel looks great on the outside but it’s a bit dark and worn out on the inside. We stayed in the family room on the 5th floor. The room smelled so bad and the kids beds were beyond uncomfortable. The double bed also wasn’t great but at least didn’t have springs sticking out. The gym (albeit small) and pool were the nice parts of the hotel. The breakfast was alright, what one would expect from a 4* hotel. The location of the hotel is lovely and parking conveniently located right under the hotel.

​Unfortunately, we saw very little of the hotel's stated goal of combining the high quality and reliability of a large chain with the personal commitment and consideration of a small family hotel. ​It started with us being assigned a room without working air conditioning. We were told it would be fixed in 20 minutes, but it resulted in us having to change rooms. The alternative room proposed was located in a remote part of the hotel, accessed through winding corridors, giving us the distinct feeling of being placed in an attic. In addition, there was a humming sound coming from the ceiling in this new room, likely from a ventilation shaft. By that point, I was understandably angry. Only on the third attempt were we given a reasonably comfortable room that we could actually stay in. The host who assisted us apologized for what happened, but what good is that when we lost two hours of our time? We were "generously" compensated with a voucher for two drinks. ​The series of unfortunate events continued at dinner in the hotel restaurant. We sat down at our table, and the waitress – a young lady – threw two menus onto the table. Her tone and body language belonged more to a prison for condemned inmates than a hospitality establishment. We simply got up and left. We complained to the head waiter, who also appeared saddened and apologized for what occurred. Once again, we were compensated with a drink, though unlike before, we didn't need a voucher to get it. ​Overall, a very disappointing experience that completely fails to live up to the hotel's beautiful words regarding customer service and guest well-being.

First time for us in a Van der Valk hotel and we were very gladly surprised about the high quality of the rooms, facilities. The food and the service involved were amazing. We ate too good and consequently too much. Recommendation: Let the gentlemen at the reception (check in and out) to smile a bit when dealing with guests.