Review Innside Hamburg Hafen by Melia

For a short two nights stay in Hamburg in late summer last year I booked the INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen due to the reasonable price tag and it being a new hotel in a central location that I thought would be nice to check out.

From the pictures I could see that this hotel is following a very basic, northern sleek style, which I usually like. While the style was as expected everything else was unfortunately quite unpleasant.

I arrived by car and found a few select drop-off and short term parkings right in front of the hotel which I highly appreciated. The check-in was done swiftly by the friendly front desk staff.

My double room was on the second floor facing the rail tracks and a small river, while the tracks were active there was no noise pollution from it. Unfortunately though there was plenty of noise from inside the hotel as apparently all/most walls are dry. I could hear doors opening, people using the bathroom next to my room, chairs moving etc. There were also constant vibrations from stuff being moved and at some point it was so loud that I called the front desk and asked them to check. This proved to be a real problem and the noise isolation in this hotel is pretty much non-existent, I am not sure how that can be for a newly built hotel.

The room as small but not too small, from the door there was an entry way with a wardrobe and mini bar.

Entryway with wardrobe and mini bar in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

The wardrobe was decently sized and completely open, while the mini bar featured some mineral water and select soft drinks which were all included.

Wardrobe in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen double room

From the entryway towards the right was the integrated bathroom of sorts, with a sink, big mirror and a shower cell with rain shower. The toilet was in a separated room, again with dry walls and zero noise isolation.

Open bathroom with integrated shower in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen
Separated toilet in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

There were a few basic amenities in the bathroom, like cotton buds and a sewing kit. Dental kits were available on request but nothing else, no slippers, not even a comb. For a 4 star hotel that is just very disappointing.

The hair dresser was in a drawer under the sink which was clearly not cleaned since opening, it was full with hairs.

Hairdryer and tissues with uncleaned hair in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

The housekeeping did not do a good job in general, on the second day no tissues were refilled and one of the key cards from the holder next to the door mysteriously disappeared. I can appreciate if they want to safe electricity but it is the guests room and the guests decision, the hotel can encourage to take the key card out but not just “steal” it while servicing the room.

The room featured a double bed in a very weird constellation, it was a double mattress on 2 single bed-frames with 2 single duvets. Doesn’t really make sense to me and is absolutely not convenient, for 2 people to sleep with separate blankets is weird (at least for me) and for a single person you have a big bed and a tiny duvet.

Double bed (2 combined singles) in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen
Double bed in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

Besides that the bed was fine, not incredibly comfortable but decent enough. On each side of the bed was a basic side table and a small reading light. Sadly only the left side of the bed had a socket under the side table.

Side table in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

Right opposite the bed was a flat screen TV and a table with two chairs, again the style and quality was very basic. There is sleek basic style and then there is just basic style, this hotel was sadly the latter one.

Another weird thing was that there were lite and blackout curtains on the windows, normally the light ones are the first and then on top the black-out ones, this hotel has it the other way around and it took me a day to actually realize there are blackout curtains. It’s a small thing but it shows as in many other places the lack of care for details.

Flat screen TV and table in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen double room
TV and wardrobe with minibar in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

The table had a phone, another reading light and a row with sockets next to it. Unfortunately none of the sockets were international outlets which seems a bit of a miss given that this is a new hotel and at least one socket should accept all plugs.

Phone and sockets in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

As mentioned the hotel follows an open room concept of sorts, so the bathroom was open and completely visible from the bed and the rest of the room.

Integrated bathroom with shower in INNSIDE by Melia Hamburg Hafen

While the room was not breathtaking but decent there were lot’s of issues with the service and the noise coming all the time from all over the hotel. I can appreciated that this is a new hotel and not everything works as smooth as it should, but there were just too many things. For example there was drilling at 7pm in the evening on the first day, for roughly an hour. I think construction should be absolutely limited in hotels and especially not during a time when guests are back into their rooms.

Also the air conditioning did not cool at all which was quite unpleasant given it being still summer and hot. The hotel insisted it worked which was technically right, just that doesn’t help when the AC is on and working but not cooling the room more than half a degree.

The housekeeping went into the room once despite me saying multiple times no and have the DnD sign on, which is an absolute no go. The front desk apologised more or less for that but provided no explanation. In general the front desk staff was well intentioned and friendly, but mostly did not speak German to a level you could have normal conversations. The front desk was also always understaffed and wait times were easily 5 minutes and more for everything except the initial check-in.

Upon checkout the computer systems of the hotel were completely down and a huge line was forming around the front-desk, ending in a 40 minutes ordeal just to leave. It was an impressive final proof that there is a lot wrong in the INNSIDE Hamburg Hafen by Melia and this hotel has a long way to go to catch-up with the standard it should provide.

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