DoubleTree by Hilton Frankfurt Niederrad

DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad

3.7

Rating

3.7/5

Flyctory.com Pros

Very nice location
Good connections
Nice breakfast
Nice gym

Flyctory.com Cons

Maintenance and service issues

As I typically prefer Hilton Hotels, the situation at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is rather comfortable to me. With the Hilton Frankfurt Airport and the Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport, the group is operating two options right at the long-distance rail station with direct access to Terminal 1. The Gateway Gardens at Terminal 2 also feature the Hampton by Hilton Frankfurt Airport. However, the price for all of these options as well as parking can be bothering. The DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad is potentially a nice alternative. It has a reasonable location close to the airport – and is typically significantly cheaper than the options right at on or around airport grounds. Here is a review, based on two visits.

DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad – Location

Niederrad is a borough of Frankfurt South of the River Main. The hotel is located in a rather commercial area with a lot of companies located around. However, the residential part of Niederrad are not too far away so that you can stock up at a local supermarket and also find alternatives to the hotel restaurant in reasonable walking distance.

The Frankfurt-Niederrad local train station has a short, direct connection to Frankfurt Airport (FRA). The walking distance from the hotel is slightly less than a kilometer, roughly ten minutes, though. Bürostadt Niederrad is the tram stop closest to the hotel (a few minutes of walking). Without the necessity of changing trains., the tram right to Frankfurt Main Station is roughly 30 minutes. Driving distance to the airport is roughly 10 km. The hotel is driving a car park (21 EUR / night), which is a bit limited in size. However, street parking is very popular. If you arrive at the later afternoon already, the road is likely already packed with parked cars. Hotel parking is very narrow. For both stays, we did not have to pay the parking fee, though.

DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad – Room

For both stays, we booked a Queen Guest Room. I do have Hilton Honors Diamond status – nonetheless, it is quite remarkable how different the two rooms have been. The first stay has been in April 2023 for one night, Thursday to Friday, for 72 EUR. That stay has been in a rather modern room. A rather remarkable feature was the glass shower in the middle of the room, which might be bothering to some guests if you are not a couple. Overall, the room was quite nice. It had a sufficient size and I also liked the long desk for working. However, I just cannot understand how house keeping did not get that the dustbin in the bathroom was broken. Furthermore, one chair had a really big stain. The dispenser holders (which were not used anyway) were visibly crooked and looked odd.

The second stay was end of April 2023, one night from Friday to Saturday, for a rate of 69.80 EUR (both rates semi-flex with a five day cancellation period). The style of that room had some significant differences. For example, it had a separate bathroom with a combined shower / bathtub. Moreover, though, it also came with a cooking area / basic pantry, which absolutely surprised us in a DoubleTree hotel.

DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad – Breakfast

The breakfast at the DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad is really nice. However, you may be exposed to coach travel groups – which is a bit of surprising at first sight, as the hotel and the narrow street is not at all suitable for coaches. Especially after the bus groups have left, the service was good and the staff finally managed to re-fill the buffet items, which even includes more fancy items like sparkling wine.

DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad – Service

Regarding the service, we had a rather mixed experience. The first stay was rather on the poor side, with a not that welcoming check-in and the fact that the complimentary bottle of water had already been opened by a previous guest. At the second stay, the front desk and maintenance experience has been significantly better, though. Remarkably, at both stays we did not receive one of the signature features of DoubleTree, the warm cookie at check-in. At the second stay, there was house keeping in our room – on check-out day without knocking on the door before.

Almost a hidden gem of the hotel (the desk does not really point it out) is the lovely gym area in the hotel. There also used to be a sauna – I at at least did not spot it during my visits. While we had issues with the air conditioning during both stays, the WiFi was overall fine.

DoubleTree Frankfurt Niederrad – My View

Obviously, I cannot quote the WiFi password of the hotel in here – but it was something you could interpret as “perfect rating”. No, DoubleTree Niederrad, you are even quite far away from perfection. There were too many minor and major issues during our stay. Nonetheless, the location is great, it is nice that you can do grocery shopping around as well. The hotel comes with a nice location and typically beats its peers (including the Hilton Hotel ones) in pricing.