CM CityClass Hotel Europa am Dom

The CM CityClass hotel group has three hotels in Cologne's city centre but I chose "Europa Am Dom", the one closest to the station as we would travel by train a lot that time. I was glad I did as the second closest was caught up in the middle of an underground extension and would have been very noisy! Europa did turn out to be just as ugly on the outside as its website suggested but the inside was actually not that bad. The reception area was far better than the rest but our rooms were still quite nice, just very worn but that was to be expected just by reading TripAdvisor reviews (I found nothing on VT) and looking at the CM webpage. Some of the receptionists could do with a crash course in English which surprised me since they were young and in a major tourist city and it was easier for me to speak German with them than for the rest of the family to converse, but you will make yourself understood sooner or later. They were friendly in any case. I just wonder why the reception was full of timetables for Köln-Bonn and Düsseldorf airports rather than tips for Cologne sights. Surely business travellers stay elsewhere...? Breakfast was what you would expect in Germany - nice and with a good mix even if I am spoilt with German breakfasts and like to get pots of yoghurt rather than take from a bowl with just one flavour. If you are prepared for a run down hotel interior, the rooms are still clean and en suite with TVs at a price almost unbeatable considering the great location. I was also surprised that they had well glazed windows so that once you closed them, you heard nothing of the rather noisy street nor the Dom itself (some rooms face the two). Just be prepared that it is the sort of place which blocks money on your credit card even if you pay cash and then release the money afterwards when all is OK. An annoying habit.

Unique Quality: The interesting thing with this hotel is that rooms come with different themes. Thus, my parents stayed in a "18th century" looking room and we stayed in a Japanese themed room...

Directions: Cross the whole Dome square from the railway station and it is in a street just behind it, down towards the river.