AMBER HOTEL Chemnitz Park, Chemnitz

WHY DID WE BOOK THE AMBER HOTEL CHEMNITZ?

Requiring a convenient hotel to stay in overnight on our return from Poland in May, we discovered the Amber Hotel whilst searching for hotels adjacent to E40 (the main East / West continental route) in the Chemnitz area. Last year we stayed in a hotel called the Drei Shwanen, previously reviewed - about five miles to the south west of here. The Amber looked perfectly situated (and easy to find) ...
...office block - the words Amber and Hotel not being very prominent at all!

Indeed, on the wall above the entrance Hotel Plaza is what it said, a tad confusing we thought.

Reinforcing the office theme was the car park, where we had taken the precaution of pre-booking a space. Apart from the novelty of seeing our (in Germany at least rather unusual!) surname in print (on two spaces!), the parking reservation turned out ... more

WHY DID WE BOOK THE AMBER HOTEL CHEMNITZ?

Requiring a convenient hotel to stay in overnight on our return from Poland in May, we discovered the Amber Hotel whilst searching for hotels adjacent to E40 (the main East / West continental route) in the Chemnitz area. Last year we stayed in a hotel called the Drei Shwanen, previously reviewed - about five miles to the south west of here. The Amber looked perfectly situated (and easy to find) very close to a motorway junction.

The fact that it was a four star hotel offering a double room on the Saturday night for a mere 68 Euros made it all the more attractive!

HOTEL DESCRIPTION / OUR PERCEPTION FROM HOTEL PUBLICITY

From the hotel website this looked like a "Eurostandard" (read bland!), modern, business hotel. A four star hotel with 103 rooms, I have to admit that it was the very reasonable price that actually caught our eye.

The information given showed it to be situated on the edge of Chemnitz Centre, a large "Freeport" style shopping centre, which we have driven past a dozen or so times, next to the E40 motorway. My only reservation, before arriving there, was that this could be one very noisy nights stay!

BOOKING PROCESS 6 / 10

Whilst on the hotels own site this looked - and at the time of booking, around six weeks prior to our stay - very simple indeed, when we arrived, there were not only TWO (named) parking spaces reserved but also two rooms. This was a first; we had assumed that we had made a single booking for a double room.

As both my wife and I are very experienced at booking hotel rooms, usually using the internet, I can only assume that this site was rather less easy to use and understand (even in English!) than is the norm for German hotels.

LOCATION 10 / 10

My fears, having viewed the website, regarding the location of this hotel were completely unfounded.

Yes, it was very easy to find, just two minutes from the motorway outside Chemnitz, but once you arrived you could neither see nor hear the motorway traffic. Located on the edge of the Chemnitz Centre, which on Saturday evening was open until 9.00pm gave this hotel an added attraction too. Opposite the hotel was a Chinese restaurant, just in case the hotel is not able to satisfy your taste buds……we thanked our lucky stars that we decided against a Chinese that evening……

For the purposes of an overnight "transit" stay in Germany travelling through to Poland, the location of this hotel actually could not be beaten. In the morning my only worry was that being SO close to the motorway the cars engine would be nowhere near the required full operating temperature upon joining this stretch of very fast (de-restricted) motorway!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS 5 / 10

To be honest, we wondered if indeed we had arrived at and parked outside a hotel! It looks far more like a modern office block - the words Amber and Hotel not being very prominent at all!

Indeed, on the wall above the entrance Hotel Plaza is what it said, a tad confusing we thought.

Reinforcing the office theme was the car park, where we had taken the precaution of pre-booking a space. Apart from the novelty of seeing our (in Germany at least rather unusual!) surname in print (on two spaces!), the parking reservation turned out to be 6 Euros entirely wasted. The car park is large, completely flat and fully surfaced with brick paving. Small trees are dotted around, but all in all it looked very much like any office car park anywhere.

The entrance was obvious and the menu board posted very discreetly outside the door was the first indication that we had indeed arrived at a hotel!

In a four star hotel I would expect the convenience either of electrically opening doors, or a good old fashioned revolving door - here we struggled with luggage and opening a very heavy glass door.

Stepping inside, the Amber could hardly have been more different to its outward appearance. The reception and large seating area around it were every inch what we would expect in a modern four star German hotel.

CHECKING IN 10 / 10

The receptionist spoke quite acceptable English and we had no problem whatsoever over correcting the double booking, she simply cancelled the second room.

On this Saturday afternoon the Amber was very quiet and the booking-in process was an unusually leisurely and chatty affair, we asked about the shopping centre and its opening hours and also, of course, the hotel restaurant.

Clear instructions were given as to how to find our room and assistance offered, and declined, with our luggage.

ON THE WAY TO THE ROOM i.e. how easy is it to find your way around? How accessible is if for less able persons? What condition are the public rooms and passageways in? 8 / 10

There is a lift to all floors, as is usual we took the exercise and climbed the stars. Finding the room was easy enough - albeit a long walk down a rather depressingly dark corridor to get there. Our room - number 121 was a non-smoking room on the first floor.

The décor on the stairs and corridor floors and walls was plain and rather dull, although one can only say that the whole place was spotlessly clean.

THE ROOM 8 / 10

The only reason that this room drops two points is the fact that in a four star hotel in this region I would hope to find air conditioning. We know from previous experience in the area that the weather can be unbearably hot, especially in June and July. In early May it was as hot as we would comfortably have wanted it to be here - that with the window left open.

The décor and room layout were absolutely typical of similar hotels in which we have stayed in Dresden. Compared to the average English hotel room, this is large and airy with two opening windows. A double bed created from two singles is also the norm, individual duvets being provided.

Sitting on top of the well stocked mini-bar was a full sized television, offering many satellite channels - the only English speaking one that I could find being CNN news, again very typical in East German hotels.

A proper desk, two chairs and a small side table were provided, along with a bedside table. The lighting in the room was plentiful for all purposes, whilst the immaculate cream walls and white ceiling also enhanced the air of "modern cool" here. This room may have lacked character somewhat, but the colour scheme and layout were well thought out and restful in nature.

The view from the window was one of leafy suburbia and countryside - our room was located at the rear of the hotel and was I suspect rather nicer - and quieter - than the rooms at the front overlooking the large car park.

THE EN-SUITE 9 / 10

Apart from lacking in "freebies" which so many seem to delight in taking away from a hotel, the en-suite was everything that you could wish for. Spotlessly clean, well stocked with (amber coloured - the ONLY connection found!) fluffy towels, everything worked exactly as it was designed to do.

Very pleasant smelling liquid soap dispensers - of a brand that we did not recognise - were attached to the wall next to the basin and over the bath. Both bath and shower are provided; I enjoyed a relaxing bath before going to bed.

After some years of travelling abroad, it still takes me by surprise to find an electric plug socket sited immediately adjacent to the hand basin, in this case there was a powerful hair dryer located just above it.

DID WE GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP? 10 / 10

As is so often the case, only one squashy pillow for each side of the bed was provided. After dinner we requested and were given two extra pillows by the receptionist.

The room proved quiet, the curtains kept out the light, but allowed sufficient air to flow through the open window, whilst the bed was as comfortable as any that we have slept in in Germany. I am not the best sleeper when away, especially in a strange hotel, but here, at the Amber Hotel, there was nothing to interrupt a good nights' sleep.

FACILITIES ON OFFER - No score here, different grades / prices of hotel understandably have different facilities.

The Amber Hotel Chemnitz offers a wide range of facilities, as would be expected and in line with its four star status.

During an over night stop we do not have time to actually use the Sauna and "Wellness" facilities, nor indeed the cosy TV lounge off to one side of the reception area.

Unfortunately in the evening it was rather too cool and breezy to sit out on the lovely little terrace behind the restaurant, but food and drinks can be served outside - particularly useful for smokers in the summer who are banned from the restaurant.

Unlike a couple of other four star hotels in which we have stayed in Germany, the Amber had a very attractive bar, as well as a very well kept billiards table. As business hotels go, this is a very relaxing one in which to spend time - either networking or purely relaxing after the day's work is done.

BREAKFAST / OTHER MEALS, FOOD & DRINKS 10 / 10

The food was superb!

Oddly, we had looked at the menu board outside the entrance and not really been attracted to any particular dishes. However, after a days driving followed by a long walk around the Chemnitz Centre shops we were looking forward to a good meal. Fortunately, for the sake of this review, if nothing else, we decided to "eat in".

As is my tradition now, I am not going to give you a blow by blow description of the food that we ate that evening, suffice to say here that it was all of the very best quality, perfectly cooked and beautifully presented.

If I have to single out a particular dish it would be my main course - chosen from the "Regional Specialities" menu, roast wild boar with mushrooms, served with potatoes au gratin. I eat wild boar in Poland and enjoy its gamey flavour and meaty texture. Here it had all of the flavour, but the meat just literally melted in the mouth, it really was an extraordinary culinary experience.

We both ate three courses here; the emphasis was most definitely on quality rather than quantity, the meal being rounded off by the most divine Tiramisu that we have ever tasted! In England I would have expected to pay around £40 to £50 per head for a meal of this quality - depending on the location. Here at the Amber Hotel in Chemnitz the food bill came to a mere 43.00 Euros, a further 9 Euro being added by the consumption of four superb multi-vitamin juice drinks.

Equally matching the quality of food was the standard of service offered in the smart, but relaxed restaurant. The manager was a true professional - who spoke very good English and took an obvious pride in ensuring that all of his guests were completely satisfied with their meals. The two waitresses (one being the receptionist - presumably bored with nothing to do on the desk!) were equally attentive and efficient.

I have read several reviews praising a great, paid for, evening meal, and then going on to criticise the "free" breakfast. Here at the Amber that simply was not the case. Breakfast started early - 6.30am, even on this Sunday morning and finished well after we had left. A typical continental buffet spread in appearance, in fact, again, all of the food presented was of the best quality.

A wide range of cut meats, cheeses and some cooked sausages, eggs and bacon were all sampled and enjoyed. I did not actually indulge in one of the many cereals on offer, but fresh fruit salad and as much of that superb multi-vitamin juice as you wished to consume were provided.

Coffee was brought to the table in a flask, whilst a box of speciality teas was provided on the buffet, where boiling water could be obtained from a samovar. As is the norm in Germany, a superb range of bread and pastries was on offer and I also discovered a wonderful nutty chocolate spread in a dispenser, I have no idea what the brand was - it was not Nutella - but it was the best spread that I have ever applied to bread!

OVERALL VALUE FOR MONEY 10 / 10

Anyone that has read my previous hotel reviews will know that I very rarely walk away from a hotel totally satisfied. Value for money and English hotels are a direct contradiction in terms - in Eastern Germany it would seem that this is not the case.

The very unassuming looking Amber Hotel, all things considered, probably offered the best value for money of any hotel that we have stayed in anywhere. It would thus be unfair to award it anything less than top marks here.

HOW LIKELY AM I / ARE WE, TO USE THIS HOTEL AGAIN?

Almost certain to is the answer to that.

Thanks to its ideal location, travelling east or west through Europe on E40 and the excellent value for money - especially bearing in mind the quality of the food - we actually look forward to returning to the Amber Hotel in Chemnitz.

RICHADA'S HOTEL RATING 86 %

I am starting to feel that I am on some sort of crusade here, but the Amber Hotel in Chemnitz really highlighted for me just how poor the standards in many English hotels have become.

Not only that, but over priced too.

We have on two recent occasions paid somewhat more to stay in Lodges in this country, which frankly have been so far below the standards set here that it is pitiful.

The very low key Amber thoroughly deserves its place at number two in the table below - behind another, truly exceptional (German) hotel.

In order to put that score into some kind of perspective, here are my current hotel rankings - all reviewed and scored using identical criteria:

Ringhotel Friederikenhof - Lubeck - Germany - 92%

Amber Hotel - Chemnitz - Germany - 86%

Swallow Bower Hotel - Chadderton - 83%
Grand Hotel, Torquay - 83%
Innkeeper's Lodge, Chester Northeast - 83%
Innkeeper's Lodge, Stockport - 83 %
Innkeeper's Lodge, Hull - 81%
Preston Swallow Hotel - Samlesbury, Lancashire - 74%
Hotel Drei Schwanen - Hohenstein-Ernstthal - Germany - 72%
Hotel Viktoria, Cologne - 70%
Innkeeper's Lodge, St Albans - 65%
Hotel Piast, Boleslawiec (Poland) - 64%
Chadwick Hotel, St Annes - 63 %
Innkeeper's Lodge, Lichfield - 39%

CONTACT DETAILS:

Amber Hotel
ChemnitzPark
Wildparkstrasse 6
Chemnitz-Rohrsdorf

Tel: +037 22 513000
Fax: +037 22 513100 

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