A-Rosa Kurhaus Binz

Kurhaus Binz is without a doubt "the grand old lady" in so-charming Binz, on the beautiful island of Rügen on Germany's Baltic coast - established more than 100 years ago, situated at the very heart of the town, hardly a stone's throw away from the sea with its nearly 400 metre long pier and equally appealingly sandy beach. We - two couples at fully-grown age - spent three lovely days and nights at Kurhaus Binz in late April. Delights were abundant: Excellent rooms with balconies towards the waterfront (utterly pleasant to go to sleep and then wake up to the gentle backdrop of ocean waves!). Truly exquisite breakfasts, with hardly anything else to wish for, e.g. including sparkling wine as well as several seafood specialities, in addition to the usual fare of scrambled eggs end the like. Also a delicious dinner one evening, a generous mixed fish platter with trimmings which we (all of us seafood lovers!) found absolutely gorgeous. And not least the pleasant Kakadu bar with its friendly barman, where we enjoyed more than one nightcap. And surely not to be forgotten, the impressive in-house spa where some of us swam both in- and outdoors in the vast pool and were also treated to a unique chalk-clay-cum-tea-etc experience (at a quite reasonable price). Also, arriving by car as we were did we found ample space both at the back of the hotel and in the underground garage with convenient lift access to our rooms. And, very last, very nice indeed to receive a bottle of German sekt at out departure, as this happened to take place on my birthday (well spotted, many thanks indeed!). So why not 5 stars??? Well, for one reason only, Namely the reception desk. Hardly ever in later decades have we met such disinterested people as those we encountered at Kurhaus Binz' reception desk - not once, not twice, but all three times (with three different persons) that we had reason to contact them. They surely performed their paperwork duties (extensive they seemed), but did they ever even look at their guests? Maybe, maybe not. Did they ever offer a smile or a friendly word? No! To us they appeared almost as machines, putting their paperwork as a very unchallenged number one, followed by no number two, the poor customer resolutely put as distant number threes (or lower). Had it been one person, this would have seemed to be a personal matter. With three out of three, it appears more generic. One of us, who has a background in hotel business, noted that the reception is something of "the sales window of a hotel". So, after our generally so sweet stay at Kurhaus Binz, we nevertheless wonder: How do you want that sales window to look?

Wir waren Anfang Mai hier und hatten ein Zimmer mit Balkon und Meerblick, was uns sehr zufriedenstellte. Die Lage des Hotels ist ausgezeichnet, das gesamte Personal äußerst freundlich, und die Einrichtung spricht für sich. Man fühlt sich regelrecht in vergangene Zeiten zurückversetzt; die Bibliothek erinnert beispielsweise an Szenen aus Downton Abbey, mit ihren Regalen voller Bücher, die alle mindestens 30 Jahre alt sind. Das Hotel strahlt eine zeitlose Eleganz aus, ohne dabei altmodisch zu wirken. Kinder sind hier selten anzutreffen. Das Schwimmbad haben wir nur einmal besucht. Es war klein und kalt. Insgesamt kann ich das Hotel jedoch wärmstens empfehlen!