Excelsior

It would be easy for the Hotel Excelsior to rest on its unbeatable location facing the train station’s southern entrance, but the three-star property also throws in a friendly staff, terrific rates and various extras. Lap of luxury it ain’t, but the Excelsior is a welcoming spot and a terrific, affordable base, especially if you can score one of its recently renovated rooms.

All of the Hotel Excelsior’s 195 small rooms are equipped with a private bathroom, soundproof windows, a TV, phone, mini-fridge and minibar. The spotless renovated ones sport immaculate white walls, outshone only by sparkling bathroom tiles. Older rooms, on the other hand, have worn carpets and brown mosaic tiles which may have been stylish once but now seem dated.

When we say “small,” we mean it. A quadruple room, with two twin beds and a bunk bed, is barely larger than a regular double, and some singles are cramped with convertible sofas that turn them into very tight doubles. In other words, this is a budget hotel and makes no pretense otherwise.

But the Hotel Excelsior sets itself apart with little extras, like free coffee, tea and cake, available around the clock in the lobby. Phone calls within Germany are free, minibars are stocked with non-alcoholic beverages (all gratis) and guests have free access to the conference room at the neighboring Hotel Monopol.

Wi-Fi is also free throughout, and a buffet breakfast is included in the room rate. (And the hotel is very accommodating—at the time of our visit, the hotel started serving breakfast at 3:30 a.m. for Muslim guests observing Ramadan.)