I was in Kiel on a business trip where I had stayed at the Kieler Kaufmann before. Unfortunately, this hotel was booked so I decided to go for the Steigenberger. The hotel is close to the harbour and to the pedestrian zone in the city center. There is a parking garage (with very high prices though - expect to pay 18? per night) with direct access to the hotel. The personnel at the reception was very nice and helpful and also, breakfast was very good. Unfortunately, this is where the positive story ends and the terrible story of my room starts. I was shocked by the interior. Not only was it very old (I'd say from the early 60s) but also in bad condition - lots of scratches on the furniture and dusty chairs. The TV was probably from the early 80s, the matress just as old and the bathroom was - although clean - small and without a shaving mirror. It was sunny all day which heated up the room to probably 30 centigrades. However, the room didn't have AC and when I opened the windows at night to get some fresh air, I looked into huge spider webs. In the morning, the room was hot again and I didn't feel rested at all. I was very disappointed as I wouldn't have expected this from a hotel belonging to the Steigenberger chain.

This hotel has a very nice location just opposite the harbour and the service as well as the athmosphere is nice. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but a bit sterile. The restaurant and bar are fine. It is a good spot to spend the night while waiting to get on one of the ferries leaving for Scandinavia.