We will be arriving in Frankfurt around 5pm (from Athens) and are scheduled to fly out around 2pm the next day. Has anyone found a hotel/pension they like that has an airport shuttle or easy train access? I have researched booking.com but all seem very expensive or sterile.
Thanks!! Cathy
Thanks...your comments are very helpful. We have decided to stay in Frankfurt... will close this post! Cathy
Thanks... but that will have to be another time. We aren't arriving until 5pm or so... would rather stay nearby!! (Coming off the Rick Steves Greece tour, btw)
I normally stay in Mainz when I fly out of Frankfurt. It's a nice place for a meal and maybe a bit of shopping and sightseeing if you have the time, and it's 25 minutes by direct train from the FRA airport train station (departures every 20-30 minutes.)
I like the "old town" part of Mainz best - right down by the cathedral, the main square, and the Augstinerstrasse (main pedestrian artery through the old town.) Options in the general neighborhood and in my wheelhouse include the IBIS (sterile) and the Hof Ehrenfels (more like what you are looking for.)
The Mainz Roemisches Theater train station is the closest to this part of town - just walk out Augustinerstrasse from the market square and you are headed in the right direction. The MRT station is close to the river Mainz' city park and one stop closer to the Airport than the main station.
There are hotels around the main station too, but that area has less atmosphere.
Downtown Frankfurt is a very short train ride to the airport, so don't think you need to limit yourself to the very uninteresting area immediately around the airport.
Frankfurt is 12 min. away by train. Come into the city where there is a wider choice of hotels, you can have a great dinner and do a bit of sightseeing in the evening. The Alt Stadt is great for an evening stroll as is the river which is right next to it.
Try Motel One by the Römer, Ibis on the Friedensbrucke, Hamburger Hof, Holiday Inn Express Hauptbahnhof, or for more budget, Hotel Monopol or Excelsior Hotel.
Thanks.... I’ll extend my search to Mainz and Frankfurt!! Cathy
Also note that there are "airport hotels" (i.e., hotels advertised as such) from which it takes at least as long to reach the airport as from the central train station. They might be closer geographically, but this does not help you if you have to wait for a shuttle to drive you around the entire airport :-)
If you really want to stay AT the airport, we have used Hilton Garden Inn several times for early morning flights -- just a walk to the gates.
In Frankfurt we stayed at Fleming's Express which is right next to Hauptbahnhof, very nice with extensive breakfast, reasonable rates.
Just wanted to add my recommendation to the previous reply mentioning the Hilton Garden Inn in the airport. It doesn't sound like you'll have any time to really explore the area so if you're just wanting to sleep it couldn't be more convenient. I don't think it would be classified as inexpensive but factor in no taxis or trains. Before our return flight to the US we took the train from Munich to the Frankfurt airport, walked across the terminal to the hotel and the next morning walked over to our departure gate. Couldn't have been easier after two weeks of exploring Germany. It is truly right in the airport. In if you can swing it, sometimes simple and easy is better than inexpensive.
I would definitely stay in the city. Mainz sounds a bit far. I stayed at the Ibis Centrum. It's a 10-minute walk from the train station. Yes it's sterile, but it's comfortable and clean. Or stay in the historic center, just a short tram ride from the station. Will you have a lot of luggage? There are lockers at the train station where you can stash your stuff, so you only need a small overnight bag.
Frankfurt is underrated as a tourist destination. The historic center is what I imagined a typical German town to look like, enjoy the evening and maybe take a walking tour in the morning or visit one of the excellent museums.
Fully agree that a stay in either Mainz or Frankfurt is far preferable to an airport hotel. There is a wide variety orf hotel categories, even very cheap ones (if budget is an issue), close to Frankfurt Hbf. The train ride is short and costs a couple of Euros only, and no need for a taxi. With your arrival time, you will be able to have a nice dinner in the city, and at least walk a bit through the city in the evening or morning.
Thanks to all.... I have researched my options and decided we will take a train into Frankfurt and stay at the Hamburger Hof........ across the street from the station. I will let you know how it goes after we return June 13.
Thank you for all of your suggestions.....Cathy
Perhaps Mrs. Jo can comment specifically about the Hamburger Hof... but in general, the area immediately around the Hauptbahnhof is not exactly Frankfurt at its best. Lots of brothels and gambling parlors.
Three times I've stayed at one of the four hotels (AC Marriott, Hammer, Königshof, and Schottenhof) just across the Bahnhofplatz from the Mainz Hbf. The first time, 1988, there was a chain restaurant, Wienerwald, right on the Platz, but it's no longer there. My third time, in 2008, I thought there was a lack of places to eat in the area (I waited until late to look, and the restaurants in the Hbf were all closed). Looking at Google maps, it appears that there are now a variety of places, from very nice restaurants to Kabob kiosks, plus many places to get food in the Hbf. Hotel Königshof, where I stayed in 2008, has comfortable rooms, a great breakfast buffet, including American breakfast food, if that's what you want, and is conveniently located minutes from the Hbf, from which the S-Bahn goes to the airport in 26 minutes every half hour. There are also several regional trains to the airport every hour.
Hamburger Hof is great! It has a Flemings and a Steigenberger next to it. Walk out the N. exit of the HBF and you are there.
The only area of Frankfurt that people usually don't want to go is a couple of blocks away (unless you are following that RS walk that is in the guidebook) The RLD is a 2x3 block area and if you don't go there, you will never know it is there.
The architecture on many of the streets near the station is beautiful, turn of the century style, mostly built in the 1890s. Lots of cool restaurants, ethnic markets on Münchener Str. as well as on Kaiserstr. A new large grocery store called Tegut is on Kaiserstr. too and on Tues and Thur. there is a nice little farmers market on this street. Walk over to O'Reillys Irish pub and find the plaque that shows you where Oskar Schindler lived from 64-74. The river is about 3 blocks away and is perfect for an evening stroll or early morning if you like to watch the sunrise.
It will be light out until almost 23:00 so enjoy the evening.
Thanks Mrs. Jo...... I have been in communication with Hamburger Hof about our arrival and they seem very helpful. I will take your ideas with me. I especially want to see the "stumble stone" of Oskar Schindler. Last year when we were in The Netherlands a shopkeeper was outside her shop early in the morning polishing her brass plaque..... she said she wanted it to "shine in the sun so people would notice"...... nice.
Cathy
It isn't a stumble stone for him. Those are for people who were murdered by the Nazis.
This is a big, brass plaque on the wall of the building. It is about 2-3 foot tall. On the street looking right at the main train station.
I stayed at the Hotel Miramar near the Kaiser Dom and the Römer in November. It is less that 10minutes from the Hauptwache Sbahn station with direct connections to the airport (~15 minute ride). It looks like a small business hotel in a big city but was quite comfortable and friendly. Prices go much higher when there is a trade fair in Frankfurt.
I also had a chance to meet Jo, the highlight of my stop.
