Please sign in to post.

Place to Stay near FRA

Hotel Alte Post, Gustavsburg

I don't like to stray too far from FRA after the long flight from California, but I'm not fond of airport hotels generally, so I've stayed in Frankfurt or in nearby Mainz on previous visits - and on my most recent trip too. But I found this place in Gustavsburg (which is actually part of Mainz) for my final night in Germany this time - and I only wish I'd found it sooner. It's a little closer to FRA than the Mainz Hbf station - 20 minutes on the direct S-Bahn 8 train from FRA airport's regional train station, with service every 30 minutes. Gustavsburg's station looks to be in the middle of nowhere - and it's small enough that it would be better called a stop than a station - expect no services here other than a ticket machine and a WC. But it's a flat, easy, nearly traffic-free walk to the Alte Post from the station exit, I'd say 2 minutes max, to the very modest-looking front entry.

https://www.alte-post-garni.de/welcome/

But this place is a gem wrapped in a plain cardboard box. My roomy "comfort"-level single with bath, balcony, workplace/desk + chair and settee was done with finely-kept wood doors and trim, the kind they just don't make anymore, and every square inch had clearly been immaculately maintained for decades. The room was spotless. The rest of the hotel was no different. I felt transported to some other era. It's a family-run place that shows intense pride of ownership - and that includes the personal interactions with very welcoming and helpful family-member/manager Anja, who should be giving lessons to hoteliers everywhere. Breakfast was terrific and included in the price of 93 Euros.

Gustavsburg itself isn't much. But with a walk of maybe 2-3 blocks to the main street (Darmstaedter Landstrasse) I found a Penny-Markt, a steakhouse, an ice cream parlor, a bar... If you plan to eat in town, check the options out in advance. The better choice would probably be to take the S-Bahn across the train trestle that spans the Rhine River into Mainz - it takes less time to get there - only 4 minutes to the next stop, which is Mainz Roman Theatre station - than my walk took to the Penny Markt. And the MRT station is adjacent to Mainz's old town zone, which is peppered with eateries of all kinds.

One more nice thing about Gustavsburg is the huge park in between the station and the Rhine River which the locals seem to use for dog-walking, bike rides, and similar. I took the trail through this park for about 1-1.5 km out to the point where the Rhine and Main rivers meet ups (called the Mainspitze.) Nice views of Mainz across the river from there.

https://www.regionalpark-rheinmain.de/erlebnis/mainspitze/

Posted by
19645 posts

Great find, Russ. I always try to stay near the airport when I have a flight out the next morning. I've stayed three times across from the Mainz Hbf, but this place looks nice, and it's less expensive. I had a little trouble confirming that breakfast was included, but I finally found that it was. I consider that important for my last morning.

Posted by
4720 posts

Thank you for recommendation.

I think people shall know that Gustavsburg is located in direct line with main runways of Frankfurt airport (FRA). So, between 6 a. m. and 11 p. m. planes from / to all over the world are landing / starting depending on wind direction. Landing seems to be the worse case (noise map). Also when starting to South using runway South (Startbahn West) the most flights to USA turn after start right and fly / gain height directly over Mainspitz-Dreieck. I remember taking a photo of the plane's window framing the Dreieck.

I lived some time in Wiesbaden directly at river Rhein and was in the pre-landing approach loop. At some days even this much more distance was no fun at all.

Posted by
2656 posts

I've used a number of the hotels in the area over the past 3 years and find I prefer the Marriott at the airport. If I arrive early I can easily drop my bags and go downstairs and take the train into the city. I rarely eat in the airport, it's too expensive and limited.

Posted by
12144 posts

Russ, that sounds really nice. Frankfurt is still on my list to get to, so I will consider that on my next trip. Thanks for posting this!

Posted by
8163 posts

Couple of additional comments...

  • The hotel is available at booking.com, hrs.de, and other booking sites as well.

  • My room had a bath fan. Many in Germany do not. I love bath fans.

  • The "free cancellation" period for my booking extended until 18:00 on the day of arrival, unusually generous these days.

  • Like Mark, I had suspected that there might be an airport-noise issue here - I am sensitive to that - but the reviews I checked beforehand were full of words like "quiet" and "peaceful", and that's exactly how my stay was. Not sure if the windows are of the sound-proofed type or not, but when they were closed, I heard nothing at all, either from the airport or the nearby railway; I had to go onto the balcony to hear anything. I was quite surprised. I suspect the lack of noise is due in part to the building's favorable orientation; the airport lies to the east and the railway to the south. The windows/balconies on the side where my room was all face north. And the hotel building itself is tucked away behind the large building on the street just to the south which once housed the Gustavsburg post office.

  • Like the vast majority of non-chain older hotels with a few years on them, this hotel does not have a/c.

Posted by
8163 posts

Lee writes,

I've stayed three times across from the Mainz Hbf...

At the Koenigshof, right? Very convenient to the station. I was there Saturday for lunch at the Italian place downstairs - had a life-changing "Pizza Popeye." There just aren't enough good Italian places like this in Mainz anymore.

It was weird at the Hbf this week, Lee. Every time I used the station or passed by it, there were sirens blasting and either police or ambulance action out there on the Bahnhofsvorplatz. I don't remember seeing much of that before.