Hetzel Hotel Loewen

Nice Hotel, good value, off the beaten track

Hotel was as described on their web site, no surprises. Staff was helpful. Hotel is not in tourist section, but only 10 minutes away by tram (close to Mercedes museum) which was a pleasant, safe 5 minute walk, with frequent trams. Trams are very nice. On site restaurant was Greek. Prices were very reasonable (pleasant surprise) and food was good. Family run and hospitable. Since the hotel is not in the tourist section, English may be hard to come by, (I speak German) but the restaurant and hotel are very eager to accomodate. Room had a nice balcony. Area is residential/town. Within 50 yards of hotel were two banks with ATM’s, and coffee/pastry shop. (A substitute for the extra cost breakfast) The breakfast seemed a bit pricey, especially when you consider you could get dinner for a few Euros more. If you are staying local, forget the rental car, buy the 3 day pass for trams. It’s not jammed like other European cities. This town really has it’s act together. Things happen on time, are clean, organized, not congested and people are accomodating. I would stay here again. This 3 star hotel was nicer than the 4 star hotel we finished our vacation at in Paris and 1/4 (yes 1/4) the price.

Traveller's tip on saving a few bucks

Breakfast at the neighboring coffee shop. Forget the rental car, take the tram. Buy the 3 day Stutt-Card pass at the I-Punkt (information centers). Stay at this hotel, being 10 minutes from the tourist downtown center will save you big time.

Location location location

The great thing about this hotel was the location, in that it was out of town enough to influence the price accordingly, but near enough to the excellent tram system to make getting into the centre quick and easy. It’s located in a ’town within a city’ so had good local amenities and is within 100m of the nearest tram stop. The local town is also quite picturesque and benefits from good traditional architecture. The hotel itself is in good condition, clean and comfortable, with friendly english-speaking staff. We would happily stay again.

Not what it seems in the pictures

Two double beds pushed together does not equal a "large" bed. This was the most uncomfortable part of the stay. The hotel was much older and worn down than it appeared in the photos. The room was not very clean. Most importantly, it’s in a very inconvenient location that isn’t close to anything in Stuttgart. For some reason, this was not reflected on the map that I checked out in advance. There are cleaner, cheaper, more convenient hotels in the area (which I luckily figured out on my own).