Recently we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express Nurnberg-Schwabach in Schwabach, Germany. There were similarities and differences compared to staying in a US hotel. It was our first experience staying in a German hotel and we left satisfied with the experience. The room was $115 for 1 night and included a free continental breakfast.
We were looking for a hotel near Ansbach because we had to travel there for some basketball games. This hotel was about 30 minutes from Ansbach but so was the hotel that the basketball team was staying at so I was okay with that. I had also researched the town of Schwabach – the goldsmith town, and I wanted to check it out while we were there as well.
The hotel was clean and modern with great customer service. We had great service checking in, checking out, and with requests for information.
There is wi-fi available for 6€ for a 24 hour period. We got it so I could look up a few things online for sightseeing but truthfully the service wasn’t that great and I probably could’ve just used my cell phone to get the info I needed. That was probably the one downfall of the hotel.
There is free parking all around the building and on the side street. If your unable to find any free parking you can us the parking garage under the hotel but it is 8€ per night. We arrived back at the hotel late from the games, around 11 pm, and we were able to easily find free parking to use.
The rooms were small but adequate for our family of 4, Boo was staying with his team in another hotel. The queen bed was comfortable but the sofa bed was not and is probably best left to letting the kids use it. Mr. B woke up with a sore back after sleeping on it.
There was a TV in the room but the only 3 channels that were in English were news channels, for us we weren’t in the room long enough to watch TV anyways.
There is no fridge or microwave (we did not need these things for this trip) and there is a safe located at the check-in desk.
The bathroom had a shower, toilet, & vanity. There were no free toiletries like in the US but there was a sign up saying that if you needed any they were available at the front desk. Germany is much more concerned with waste and excess than we are in the US. Recycling is mandatory here.
You also had to put your room card into the light switch to get the lights to turn on, as soon as we realized this we had to go back down and get a 2nd card otherwise we’d be in the dark while someone ran out to get something. Another example of how energy conscious they are here.
The free continental breakfast was wonderful! Way better than any free breakfast we’ve had in the US. There were breads, meats, cheeses, pastries, cereal, eggs, fruit, coffee, expresso, oj, & water. Normally I leave the free hotel breakfasts feeling hungry, not at this one!
I would happily stay here again if we are ever passing through the area. Also make sure you check out the town of Schwabach, there are some great treasures there like the golden egg, the gold roofed building, the goldsmith museum, and a cafe with delicious waffles!
Know Before You Go
What: Schwabach, Germany ‘The Goldsmith Town’
How To Get There: Approximately 3 hours 57 mins from Spangdahlem and 2 hours 47 minutes from Ramstein. This is also only 30 mins from Ansbach so if you travel for your kids sports teams this is an option to stay here.
Parking: For free if you can find it on the sides of the hotel or the street, which we did easily. Otherwise there is a parking garage under the hotel for €8/night.
Cost: We paid $115 for 1 Queen bed & 1 sofa bed with continental breakfast buffet for 4 people.
Traveling with little kids: Rooms & breakfast were kid friendly.
Quick question: What cell service provider do you use? Do you use your smartphone (i.e. iPhone) from the U.S.?
I brought an unlocked iPhone from the US. We use a month to month service with TKS for 50€ a month with unlimited calling, texting, and data. Hope that helps!
That helps a lot, thank you! Is that price a family plan or individual?
They don’t offer family plans here, they are all individual.
Not really a German experience other than pricing and continental breakfast.Nurnberg-Schwabach’s city website has a hotel list http://www.schwabach.de/touris/uebern/00248.html with competitive prices. Since you seem to travel, go see the Saar River region and stop at the outlet stores in Metlach (my wife says the deals on china are exceptional) and get away from the chains by trying a place up the road from Metlach in Saarburg http://villa-keller.de/ It’s a family run hotel in an 18th Century villa with gourmet dining and a weinstube only 100 ft from the Saar River with a view of a castle. This is indicative of the unique experiences you can have in Germany. Holiday Inns, Ibis and the other chains have their uses on a trip but you miss alot by not getting off the beaten path.
I agree, we do love getting off the beaten path as well but for the purposes of the basketball games and last minute booking this hotel was ideal. Also we did want to experience a chain here in Germany & compare it with a chain in the US, so far we’ve been happy with the German version of it 🙂 I will have to add Saar River region to my ‘to-see’ list, thanks so much for the info! We also plan on staying in Apartments soon and I will post about that experience as well.