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meine Reise nach Frankfurt : my trip to Frankfurt29 Oct 2014
Frankfurt is Germany’s fifth largest city with a population of 680,000. It has many tourist attractions such as The Old Town, Skyscrapers,St. Bartholomäus Imperial Cathedral (Kaiserdom), the Christmas market and much much more. Experiencing Frankfurt from a corporate perspective with its Finance District is very different and almost feels like another world. Hospitality Guaranteed got to experience both. Stepping one way to the cultural historic Frankfurt and stepping the other way and being surrounded by modern skyscraper buildings. It was a phenomenal experience.
Friday 24th October: Hilton Frankfurt Airport
Hilton Frankfurt Airport is literally situated next to Frankfurt Airport with a very unique set up. You’re in a building and Hilton Frankfurt Airport Hotel is in that building (I’m probably not making sense here), basically a building within a building; located in the iconic ‘The Squaire’, which looks like a glass ship from the outside, means that the hotel is sitting on top of the InterCity Express train station, 15 minutes journey from downtown Frankfurt. You have immediate access to the airport via Terminal 1 as well as a connection to the intersection of the A3 and A5 motorways.
My suite was larger than most flats I’ve been in. There was a coffee station and mini bar and to top it off I had both a bath and shower in the main onsite bathroom. This makes a massive difference for me whether I’m traveling for leisure or corporate because you never know when you're going to have a long day and all you want to do is soak in the bath. As soon as I seen the size of the tub I could have ran a steamy bubble bath and ate my complimentary chocolates and grapes like a true queen in her tower.
The staff and service at the hotel were brilliant. The staff truly went that extra mile for you. I, not surprisingly, forgot my adaptor and even though there was a UK plug in the room it was attached to the business desk for using your laptop and it wasn’t near a mirror. I asked at reception if they had any adaptors and unfortunately they didn’t have any left, but they didn’t stop there. The receptionist rang the Hilton Garden Inn next door and managed to get an adaptor from them. And the good service continued throughout our stay; at our evening meal the staff were extremely polite, we didn’t have to ask for anything as they were already by our side topping up our wine glasses or asking if we needed anything else. They served a local white wine which was to die for. The meal itself tasted amazing! I’ve not had a meal like it in a hotel before. If this was a local Hilton Hotel close to home I would want to go to this restaurant at my own leisure even if I wasn’t stopping at the hotel.
Saturday 25h October: Hilton Mainz Hotel/ Hilton Frankfurt
I had a lovely sleep, and it wasn’t because of the wine we had, but because the bed was big enough to sprawl out and sleep like a baby. Also, the hotel was very quiet. I was not disturbed by any doors shutting, traffic or public noise all night. A little touch which makes the biggest difference is the fact the bed had a built in reading light so in the morning I could just flick the light on, without any difficulty in reaching for a light/ lamp switch, and it only lit up my side of the bed.
Having a show around the hotel after breakfast we established the hotel can hold maximum capacity of 570 delegates in the main ballroom, with 10 meetings rooms in total. The hotel is only two years old being built in 2012 which means the pictures you see of the hotel actually look exactly the same as the hotel as it does now.
Before I move onto Hilton Mainz Hotel, I will tell you a quick fact about the hotel, which being a huge fan, I was very impressed! Justin Bieber actually stopped at this hotel! Ok, so it’s not the best of facts but imagine going to Frankfurt for business and telling your teenage daughter you stopped in the same hotel as Justin Bieber- major parent points for you!
Hilton Mainz Hotel is similar to Hilton Frankfurt Airport in terms of its modern feel. However it is very different and unique in style; not every Hilton hotel is the same. There is one meeting room in the hotel that has a lot of character with a classic ballroom style decor perfect for awards ceremonies or a private dining function. The hotel is also attached to the Mainz Congress, which has a lot of space for larger events such as exhibitions, making the hotel very flexible in delegate numbers.
My favourite part of the trip was definitely visiting Mainz Old Town. As the Hilton Mainz Hotel is situated on the edge of Old Town on the picturesque banks of the River Rhine there is so much to do and all within walking distance. We took a tour of the town and there was a market going on with fresh vegetables and homemade crafts and there was one stall selling eggs with a rooster. This was a real life rooster- I kid you not! It took me 22years and a trip to Germany to stroke a rooster but it was definitely worth it! The Old Town gave you a really good feel for the culture of Frankfurt and it’s perfect for having a break from your corporate business travel if you get an hour or so in between meetings.
On the Saturday evening we checked-in at Hilton Frankfurt. This hotel has a lot of character and history located in the heart of Frankfurt city centre. The hotel used to be the City Pool and still has a half size Olympic swimming pool. The hotel has kept a running theme throughout of water and waves. You can see this in the lighting fixtures in the meeting rooms as they look like waves and there is a fountain in the reception area that you can hear the running water. One of the staircases is also the old frame of the diving board which was used for the pool.
I’m not a massive fan of heights, in fact I’m terrified! As my suite was on the 12th floor I resisted looking out the window for as long as I could however my curiosity always gets the better of me, which I’m glad as the view was amazing. I could see Frankfurt’s Skyline, including the famous Main Tower and the roads leading into the city. I wasn’t so scared after all as the comfort of my welcoming slippers with my name on them and also some complimentary chocolates definitely helped me feel right at home.
Before heading into the city centre to experience Frankfurt at night, we had a lovely meal and a cocktail making class. This was a brilliant idea for a team activity and we had a lot of fun trying out recipes- my favourite being the Jack Daniels Lynchburg Lemonade. At night we experienced the Main Tower first hand. This tower is 200m tall and to get to the top you have to take a lift which gets you there in about 60 seconds or so. At the top of the Tower you have a panoramic view of Frankfurt, which was breath-taking!
Sunday 26th October
Again, I had an excellent night’s sleep. I think it was the deep purple colour of the room. Purple always makes me quite sleepy to begin with and with good black out curtains and the warmth of the room I slept the full night without stirring. We had the Sunday pretty much at leisure to ourselves so we had a quick sweep of the Business Centre and 16 meeting rooms with a restaurant that has a terrace outside perfect for BBQ style lunches in the summer. We then took a walk into the city centre and passed Frankfurt’s Goethestrasse which is just a block from the hotel and has shops the likes of Tiffany’s, Prada and all the juicy expensive brands! Our trip was truly unforgettable and I would recommend Frankfurt as a great location for a business trip and for leisure…
We would just like to say a massive thank you to Valentina and Barbara for their very kind hospitality and showing us the corporate and leisure side to Frankfurt as a key location for travel. If you would like to see some more images of our trip go to https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.561995293889797.1073741833.105731372849527&type=1
Emma Hall