The hotel is situated on the Bahnofstraße directly opposite the main railway station and on the U-Bahn line from the airport, as well as being a hop, skip and a jump from the centre of Nürnberg, it certainly has location.
I was greeted cordially at the front desk and we switched from my ropey German[0] to the young lady's excellent English. The hotel was in the throes of a 1920's reenactment night (oddly enough, Germany rarely has 1930's reenactments) and I was informed that a smoking room was not available, but I could be given a non-smoking room and an ashtray. I was offered a map, a wake-up call and informed of breakfast arrangements.
After the usual formalities, I found my way to my room on the fifth floor, which was pleasantly decorated (a common feature of many Le Meridiens) and of a good size. There was plenty of storage space, plenty of hanging space and a good sized bathroom - done out in a faux retro mode. The bathroom had the usual range of free toiletries (Le Meridien branded) and a window of its very own.
The room proved to be well heated, had a good sized proper opening window (out of which i smoked my fags) and reasonably quiet (rooms facing the Hauptnahnof might not be so quiet). The only fault I found with it was that the desk chair really wasn't suitable for sitting in for more than 30 minutes. The bed was very comfortable and I slept well.
There was a minibar, I eschewed it. I did look at the Room Service menu, thinking of being decadent, but apart from being annoyingly printed on semi-transparent paper, it was short and extremely uninspiring. The internet connection was a typical price for Europe (20€) and stuttered a bit, but was otherwise fit for purpose.
Breakfast is taken in the Brasserie restaurant. This is an extremely pleasant and attractive room to have breakfast in with nice furnishings and very pleasant decor. Oddly, the food is split into two, bread and cakes in the main room and the standard buffet off in a side room. There was an egg station, but I don't like eggs much, so I didn't bother with it. Good cheese selection, good bread selection and a fine selection of yoghurts. Fresh fruit was a bit limited as were pastries. I had a small variant on my usual hotel breakfast each morning, a couple of Nürnberger Rostbratwurst, some cheese, some tomato, some cucumber and some wholemeal German bread. I'd normally have fruit, but it was a bit limited and contaminated with slices of Satan's Globes (oranges). Coffee was, frankly, meh, although the Sunday I asked for expresso and got Illy (which isn't bad).
Check out was swift and pleasant, although no offer of taxi or assistance with luggage was made. I would happily return to the hotel.
[0] I am told that my German as well as being somewhat ropey comes with a distinct Ruhrgebiet accent, which can be a bit tricksy south of the Weißwurstäquator. I really must try and get some practise in, which will go with giving up the fags and cutting back on Chocolate as potential ideas for 2011.
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