Hotel Garni Casa Chiara, Trier

Advantages: Fantastic location by the river
Disadvantages: No lift

...The Hotel Hansablick is a three star hotel based in a lovely 100-year old Berlin town house. It has 29 rooms over 4 floors, and was refurbished in 2005. ~~~ Location ~~~ The hotel is set in a quiet residential area right next to the River Spree. It is on the north west corner of the Tiergarten, and only a couple of tube stops to the main shops on Kurfurstendamm. The nearest U-Bahn station is Hansaplatz (approx 4 minute walk) and the S-Bahn station Tiergarten is about a 2 minute walk. Tickets for public transport can be purchased at the reception, although I found it pretty easy to do this directly at the station, despite my limited German. ~~~ Reception ~~~ From the quiet street you enter the hotel through a large door (sometimes open, sometime you have to buzz for entry). This leads to the foot of two flights of stairs... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: A unique and quaint hotel...
Disadvantages: Lacking a few mod-cons...

...We stayed in this hotel for a few days while on a little tour of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, including visits to Cancun (don't bother), Playa del Carmen & Cozumel (much better) and the amazing ancient Mayan ruins at Uxmal, Chitzen Itza and Tulum. (I'll try and get round to reviewing all these later...) We arrived by taxi from Merida airport (a short journey), having flown in from Cancun, where we had arrived in Mexico the day before, and were delighed with what we found, a massive improvement of the brash touristy-ness of Cancun ! The Casa del Balam Hotel was formerly the family home of Fernando Barbachano Peon, pioneer of Mexican tourism. A blend of Mexican tiles, terracotta and wrought iron, it has a small pool in a walled courtyand, complete with a stone carved fountain and tropical plants, a restaurant and bar, along... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Historical, Beautiful & Friendly Place, Relatively Inexpensive
Disadvantages: Not a lot for kids

...the city. For the booze fans, Trier, especially in the summer is paradise. Every month, there's an alcohol related festival, with the Europa Fest, the MoselFest, AltstadtFest and SektFest going on through the summer. The latter 3 festivals are held in the main part of the city, the moselfest by the river, the altstadtfest in the town and the sektfest in the wine growing area. All are fun and attended by people of all ages, when I was at them, I didn't see any trouble. In addition to the above, Trier has a number of cruises which sail up the Mosel, city tours for those with a small interest in the historical side of things and many great hotels, bars and restaurants. The town has been well preserved and the central part is completely pedestrianised. Many older buildings remain and the city is worth exploring. It's also very safe and clean... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful