Holiday Inn Express Muelheim

We booked this hotel expecting a safe stay. Instead, on our parents’ first night, someone entered their room while they were sleeping and stole €250 in cash. At around 23:18 on 2 August, my mother called us in panic. My parents had woken up after hearing rustling noises and loud sounds from the door. Their bags had been opened, and my father’s bag had been moved from beside the bed to the entrance area. At first, we thought nothing was missing. The next morning, my father discovered that €250 was missing from his wallet, although the wallet itself had been returned to exactly the same place. Then we discovered something extremely concerning: the door of Room 108 was not properly securing. When closed normally, it looked almost shut but could be pushed open from outside. It also made a different sound from the other room doors and required much more force to close completely. We immediately reported this to the hotel manager. 🚨 THE MANAGER'S STORY CHANGED That morning, the manager: • acknowledged the door problem; • said he would arrange for a technician to inspect it; • said he would check CCTV; • offered to change our parents’ room; • and said the police would be involved. However, when we returned that afternoon, the story had completely changed. The manager now said the door was not defective and claimed it had been checked 10–15 minutes after our report. This does not match what happened. After reporting the problem, we stayed at the hotel for a long time, had breakfast, arranged our parents’ room change, packed their belongings and prepared to leave. Nobody told us that the door had been inspected. We received no call or message. When we asked who had inspected it, the manager said the technician was on vacation. So who checked the door? And if nobody repaired or adjusted it, why was the door functioning completely differently when we returned that afternoon? The manager insisted nobody had touched it. We simply cannot explain this contradiction. ❓ MORE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS How did someone enter the room? If the door was never defective, how did they get inside? If it was defective, how did the person notice such a subtle problem so quickly? The door did not look obviously broken; you had to pay attention to notice that it was not fully securing. Our parents also later told us that someone knocked on their door twice during the night. They assumed it might be us and did not open it. Could these have been attempts to check whether they were awake? We do not know. We are not accusing hotel staff of involvement and have no proof of this. But the circumstances raise serious questions: Was Room 108 already known to have a door problem? Who actually inspected or adjusted the door? Why did the manager’s explanation change? Could this simply be an internal communication failure, or was someone aware of the door problem and able to exploit it? We have reported the incident to the police for further investigation. The biggest issue for us is no longer just the €250. It is that we still have no credible explanation for how someone entered a supposedly secure hotel room — and why the hotel's explanation changed afterwards. If you are staying here, please check your room door carefully before going to sleep. If you want to avoid the risk of going through an experience like ours, I would strongly recommend thinking twice before booking this hotel.We trusted the IHG brand and expected a certain standard of safety and security. Unfortunately, that trust turned out to be a mistake. A hotel room should be where you feel safe and protected. After this experience, we simply did not.

The room was nicely spacious and well-furnished. The bathroom also had a pleasant size. All hotel staff were very friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet had a good selection, and there were enough seats in the breakfast area. Therefore, I had an overall very pleasant stay. The only small disadvantage is that the hotel is somewhat awkward to reach by public transport. But with light luggage, the walk to the nearest bus or train station is also no problem.

I stayed in this Holiday Inn many times over the past few years. It is located close to the highway but far enough so it is not a noise issue. The rooms are sufficient and equipment with everything needed. The hotel staff is very friendly and welcoming. Rooms and breakfast area is very clean. There is a large assortment of fresh breakfast items. Plenty of parking on hotel grounds for a fee.