I recently reviewed an Ibis hotel in Austria and a fellow Ciao member expressed surprise that I should write a review on this topic. Thinking about it I can see why; one chain hotel is pretty much like any other and if you want to know about the location well you can easily find out on the hotel website. All of which made me think I would probably not bother reviewing the Mercure Mitte Hotel in Hannover but some interesting points arose during my visit and I thought it worth voicing them aloud here.

The hotel is situated just on the edge of the centre of the city, a five minute walk from the central shopping area and pretty Old Town. The Christuskirche underground station is just around the corner. There are plenty of bars, eating places and shops in the immediate area and a small but rather pleasant park is directly in front of the hotel.

As I hunted in my bag for the papers, I told the receptionist in German that we had a reservation and she asked in what name it was. It had been a while since we had booked so I couldn't remember whose name it was in and motioned that I was going to check the paperwork, but the receptionist repeated the question in what seemed to me a rather irritable way. She confirmed the reservation and went about allocating a room, telling us that she was only able to allocate a smoking room - we had requested non-smoking. She said it wouldn't matter because we would not be able to smell the smoke. Keeping an open mind we trooped off to the room anxious to offload our luggage and grab a drink before the bar closed.

The receptionist insisted she had no non-smoking rooms to allocate but I held my ground. She said she could put us in a smoking room with a double sized bed but not a non-smoking room. I still held my ground. Then she found a non-smoking room and my partner went back to the first room to get the bags and meet me at the lift on the second floor where the new room would be.

So what of this room? Bland but comfortable, spotless en suite, television, built-in safe, desk, reading lamps - as much as you would need for a short stay. We were at the rear of the hotel and while the view wasn't spectacular at least it wasn't of a collection of bins but rather some nice apartments with pretty window-boxes. I needn't say any more about the room - it was fine and we slept comfortably.

When we were asked to order our drinks the barman visibly showed irritation when I had to ask him to repeat something; the bar was noisy and the music was far louder than was necessary - perhaps a chicken and egg thing as people shouted even louder to be heard over the music each time the volume was increased. We were asked whether we wanted to have the drinks charged to our room and when I said I'd pay cash, he quite openly sneered. Feeling quite unwelcome we didn't linger long in the bar; I have no idea what has problem was. The hotel is not exactly 'exclusive' but neither were we looking scruffy or out of place - the place was full of Germans wearing Hasselhoff style mullets for goodness sake!

I won't go into the other hotel facilities - these are listed on the hotel website.

The following morning we found that the new receptionist had been briefed as to what was going on and happily exchanged key cards. When we checked out she pointed us in the direction of the luggage store so we could leave our bags until later in the day. She was helpful and friendly and totally different from the first receptionist and I was left feeling much more positive about our stay.

Perhaps I took everything too personally? Maybe I expected too much? Perhaps I thought that paying more would get better service? The service was no better than anywhere else I've ever stayed - in fact it fell well below most places I've stayed before. The room was no better than other places I've stayed. There was nothing extra save a pen and a few sheets of a notepad. Anything that was over and above what I would get in a bed and breakfast or a hostel was charged additionally anyway.

Rooms for two people vary in price between 89 Euro and 119 Euro depending on size of bed (queen or king) or two single beds.