For my February ’19 jaunt to try to fly on LATAM Chile’s Dreamliner between Madrid and Frankfurt, I had to nightstop at Frankfurt airport in between flights.  Years ago, when I was about 15, I stayed in the Sheraton at Frankfurt Rhein/Main airport, and, being a member of their loyalty programme (now called Marriot Bonvoy), I decided to book to stay there again.  I booked a “Standard Plus king room with Runway view” through their website for the quite expensive sum of €299 (room only).

The hotel was not very well sign-posted after I cleared immigration, so I had to ask for directions (I speak reasonable German).  And of course Frankfurt airport and the hotel have undergone significant changes over the past 40 years. Where once you entered the hotel directly from the airport concourse, now it’s separated from the terminal by a road, though it’s reached via a covered walkway.  And the hotel seems to be a completely new building, with a very spacious shiny marble-floored lobby and reception.

There wasn’t a queue at reception and I was dealt with very warmly – even given an upgrade to an “Executive Room”!  But it really wasn’t anything to be excited about – quite a staid, generic business hotel bedroom, without any pictures on the walls.  And while it was good of them to upgrade me, I think they should consider guests’ original booking choices in any upgrade offer, because this room didn’t have a runway view.

Upon entering I found the room to be too warm and dry, so I turned off the aircon.  But later when trying to sleep I realised the aircon in the bathroom was still on (presumably it was centrally controlled) and all night it was “buzzing like a fridge” to quote Radiohead.  And like most airport hotels I wasn’t able to open the window for ventilation. The bed was fine, but unremarkable, but I found the pillows far too soft, so I got no support for the sore neck I was suffering with.

There was a large wall-mounted TV screen, with some less popular British TV channels amongst the selection available (ITV2+1). The writing desk was large and sturdy and the wi-fi worked well.  There was a mini-bar and next to it two 330ml glass bottles of mineral water.

The bathroom was clean and very white, but the shower was in the bathtub. Hotels should consider how their less mobile guests cope with this scenario; I certainly felt I needed more than the one small grab rail provided.  The quite basic shower worked well, however the towels provided were small, thin and quite hard.

In the morning I had a sore neck and I was very thirsty, and I needed to call for help to get the espresso machine to work.  I had deliberately not booked for breakfast, because I was planning to eat in the Lufthansa Senator lounge before my flight to London.

Overall the Sheraton Frankfurt airport was pleasant, the staff were good and friendly, but it all seemed a bit too ‘basic’ for the €299 price tag.  I guess it’s a question of how much you need or value being less than 5 minutes walk from check-in.   5/10