Humboldt1 Palais-Hotel & Bar

I have traveled to more than 100 countries. Never have I seen a hotel like this one or an owner so dishonest. When Joan and I arrived at 5 pm, the door was locked and there was no one there, so I followed the instructions, called, was given a code to punch in, and carried our bags up the two flights of stairs. After seeing the room (which was pleasant enough, with one glaring exception), I had Joan come up because I knew she would hate the room. She did--and I called the owner/manager to complain because the toilet was, with no door to separate the toilet from the bed, two feet from the bed. He came over and quickly gave me a credit on my card. Then we left and found another hotel--only to learn when I returned to the US the owner had blocked the credit. Unless you want NO privacy when going to the bathroom, STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOTEL AND THIS DISHONEST OWNER.

I stayed here for one night. The thing to note is that the desk is not staffed 24/7. When I arrived I had to go to the bar downstairs as the door to get into the hotel is locked at all times unless someone is up at the desk which is on floor 2. Check in was easy, but also note there is no elevator. I was in room 5 which meant walking up 4 flights of stairs with luggage. Some people may not be able to do that. At first glance the furnishings seem nice, but when you inspect them a little closer, they are kind of cheap. Note there is no door for the bathroom - so if you are with someone you could be lying in bed with them using the toilet practically right next to you. I was alone thank goodness. The place was clean, and had a great location to easily walk to sites, shopping and Christmas markets. On their website it says free shuttle to the train station, but when I was there they had to get me a taxi because only 1 person was working and couldn't leave to take me to the station.

I made the mistake booking this hotel through hotels.com at a non-refundable rate for 4 nights, which turned out to be much higher as their usual rate. The personal at the hotel are friendly, but I was shocked when I entered the room: the design is terribly campy; the room was so small that there was basically no room to leave suitcases open without tripping over them; there was an armoire for clothes (with a roll of toilet paper inside), but it was too impractical to use. There was just a small folding screen between the bed and the toilet and tiny sink (again, no room to put toiletries). I was glad I was alone since this setup allows for zero privacy when using the toilet. The room was cold (the fact that it is tiled does not help) and there was no option of turning on the heating. Since the desk is only manned intermittently, there was nobody to ask to turn on the heat. I was alone, so I could use both comforters on top of each other. The worst part was that I did not get a second of sleep due to the rumbling subway, which runs all night. This might not bother a sound sleeper, but if you have light sleep you're doomed. The next day I was given the option of moving to the hotel's suite on the top floor, which was a kind gesture, but I sat in the room to make sure I would not hear and be disturbed by the subway again and unfortunately I hear it even there! I moved to a much more comfortable hotel close to the Dom and lost a lot of money for the overpaid 3 nights I could not get reimbursed for.