Doing Christmas shopping with a hotel room around? Right next to Germany’s largest shopping mall, the Westfield Centro in Oberhausen, Ruhrgebiet? This might sound quite cool to you (you can go shopping there any time of year, of course) and in fact there are even multiple options to have nap around that temple of consumerism. In December 2021, I wanted to check out one of them, the Holiday Inn Express at Centro. The key reason was my IHG membership and that the Holiday Inn feels to be even a bit closer to the Centro than its peers. Here are my thoughts.
Holiday Inn Express Oberhausen – Location & Transport
The hotel is located right South of Westfield Centro, across the road to parking deck 6. The hotel has an own car park, they charge you 5 Euro for the night. You may of course park your car for free in the Centro car parks. It should be noted that the system of one-way roads around the mall is very unfortunate, so that it is likely about a kilometer drive to “cross the road” from the hotel to the mall car park. You may also reach the area by public transport (bus and tram). However, it is a bit of a walk from the main tram stop if you have luggage. Unfortunately, the directions to neither of the hotels around is really well given if you are inside the mall.
The key attraction is of course the Centro itself – but you may also visit one of the concert and shows in the arena nearby or go for a theater play. The area also hosts the largest Sea Life in Germany and a Legoland Discovery Center, which you may only visit if there are kids in your party. The Centro promenade features nice restaurants and interesting places like the Gamestate arcade. During my visit the mall also drove their very popular Christmas market. If you need a bite, the mall offers facilities – but there are also some cheap and reliable supermarkets around.
Holiday Inn Express Oberhausen – Room
I booked a standard room at a refundable rate of 100.88 EUR, includiing all taxes. You have to say that the rate has definitely been rather above their average, due to the peak season in December (Christmas shopping). The room was as expected: functional and clean. For a one night stay, it really worked well, the design of the room was friendly. The room was not overwhelmingly large, but was fine.
The bathroom has been just in line with the room during my stay: not super-comfortable, but absolutely sufficient for the normal needs of a traveler. The bathroom only featured a shower, expectedly. Most amenities were provided in dispensers.
Holiday Inn Express Oberhausen – Breakfast
One feature of the Holiday Inn Express franchise is that breakfast is included. The one served at their Oberhausen outlet was really nice and came with a rather wide selection. I also enjoyed to have a reuinion with the IHG pancake machine – even though its pancakes are rather moderate in quality and there have been much better choices at the buffet. You may name the selection of warm dishes a bit limited – but you should vice versa not forget that HI Express is finally a budget hotel branch.
Holiday Inn Express Oberhausen – Service
The staff at the hotel has been really friendly. Check-in and check-out went efficient and I felt very welcome. The free hotel WiFi was in absolutely well range of reception as well. There was no gym or similar in operation during my stay.
Holiday Inn Express Oberhausen – My View
It is really a shame that the Centro is not promoting the hotels around too well – at least the Holiday Inn Express is really a nice stay and allows a very easy walk into Germany’s premier shopping ground. Good staff, good breakfast, nice traffic connections and a lot of shopping – do you dare to ask for more? I definitely liked it!
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