Innside Düsseldorf Derendorf
The Inside Düsseldorf Derendorf is located in Derendorf, which is half way from the airport to the city centre. There are currently two other Innside hotels in Düsseldorf, the Innside Düsseldorf Seestern and the Innside Düsseldorf Hafen.
This hotel is located in an area which is a re-developed former industrial area and has been converted into an area with offices as well as apartments.
To reach the hotel from the airport by public transportation, one has to change buses or from S-Bahn to tram. A tram stop is 200 metres from the hotel with direct service into the city centre of Düsseldorf or to S-Bahn station.
The most major motorways are easy to reach from the hotel without need to pass downtown Düsseldorf.
The hotel itself is a white modern building with five floors. It is set back from the road. The hotel has five floors and 160 rooms which are on floor one to five with the ground floor being occupied by meeting rooms, check in area and restaurant and bar.
After stepping into the lobby through a sliding glass door one is right at the check in desk, which could be staffed with three persons assisting other guests. During times of regular demand, there are usually one or two agents on duty, during times of low demand there is only one agent. To the right are the restaurant and the bar. To the left is a hallway to the meeting and board rooms. The two slow elevators are opposite the check in desks.
The Bar and restaurant share the place with the bar being in the front part and the restaurant being in the rear part with the bar as kind of divider. The area is only divided by a glass wall from the lobby.
In front of the bar are some armchairs and tables and it tries to offer some sort of lounge feeling. The interior is modern with special light effects but the atmosphere is not really cosy let alone chilly. The room is simply too big and the ceiling to high.
The VEN restaurant offers international dishes but it also not very cosy and has more a feeling of a cantina. The ceiling is too high and the tables and chairs appear to be meeting-room-style and are also not very comfortable.
However staff is friendly and the cocktails list offers an unexpected large variety of different cocktails which are freshly mixed.
The hotel offers 160 rooms in two categories: 120 single / double rooms and 40 single / double premium rooms.
The standard Innside room measures 27sqm and provides twin beds or queen size beds. The rooms are fitted with an armchair, a desk and a minibar with four free soft drinks and come with a rain shower.
The Innside premium rooms measure 34 sqm, 42 sqm or 54 sqm, depending on the type. These rooms differ and offers either only a shower or both, shower and bath. Some rooms have a seating area and more the feeling of a junior suite. According to the floor map the layout is not a matter of the room size. They offer also a desk, minibar with free soft drinks.
All rooms have an open plan bathroom.
The hotel offers also a small wellness area.
The six meeting rooms of the hotel have natural light and a capacity for up to 140 people. WiFi is available throughout the hotel and the usual equipment for a meeting like projector, audiovisual equipment and flipchart is available.
Stays December 19, 2013
Direct link to hotel: Innside Düsseldorf Derendorf
Arrival Date: December 19, 2013
Departure Date: December 20, 2013
Room type booked: Classic room
Rate Plan: Club Melia Rewards Rate
Room Number: 209
Room Rate: 68.40 EUR
Status of Guest Program: Base
I entered the lobby through the sliding door and approached the check in desk, where two agents were on duty. While one of them was assisting other guest, her colleague asked me for my name and retrieved the reservation from the system.
She handed me over the guest registration form and to my surprise it was not prefilled with other than my name. I made the booking through the homepage and during the booking process I even had to enter the number of my ID, so I do not really understand why this information could not be prefilled. This seems to be unnecessary and I was even more annoyed as the agent refused to accept a business card with the details but asked me to fill it out as otherwise she had to do this. This is a not very customer orientated
approach. While I was filling in all missing details, the agent was preparing the keycard for my room and mentioned the breakfast time in a way, that one could have the impression, that it was included. Since I was sure that I booked a rate without breakfast, I asked if it was included in the room rate, but the agent confirmed that it was not and I would have to pay for it. I had to inquire about the price which was 19 EUR per person.
Overall this was not the best performance and has room for improvement. That I was addressed by name did not really make any difference.
My room was on the second floor.
The hallways are a bit dark and also have a modern light concept with some spots and modern light elements. Nevertheless I would prefer to have a brighter light in the hallway.
Like mentioned in the overview about the hotel the room design is open plan. Unlike in many other hotel rooms, there is no real hallway; the area after the entrance door could be seen already as part of the room. Next to the entrance door is the closet. Not so much space to place clothes but only hangers.
The bathroom has no door and is open plan, divided partly by frosted glass, while the toilet is divided by a frosted door from the bath area. The sink is in one corner of the bath and it is possible to pass to the left and right. There is enough space to store the necessary utensils but there are not many hooks to hang towels or other items.
The shower was a larger standalone shower stall with rain shower head and additional hand shower. A hairdryer and a vanity mirror were next to the sink. There was a switch for the floor heating in the bathroom, but it did not work – at least the floor never became really warm.
Towels were provided for two persons in medium and large size, I missed two smaller towels. Bathroom amenities (Shower foam, shampoo and lotion) were the colourful Innside brand.
There was a large scratch in the glass panels in the shower which looked worse and definitively in the need to be replaced, especially since the glass panel was not plan with the other elements anymore.
The room had a queen size bed with two mattresses on the one side of the room along with two nightstands. There was a dark grey frame behind the bed with a hidden indirect lighting. There were button for the lights in the room and also plug on each side. I missed a reading lamp at the bed and it would have been nice to have a phone at the bed.
The desk was opposite the bed and large enough to use it for working though one had to rearrange a few things. Next to the desk or part of the desk was a small sideboard with the flat TV on it and the minibar in it. Three drawers were the only place in the room to store things. One drawer could be locked with a key. There was no safe in the room.
An armchair was placde in a corner of the room.
The room had large floor to ceiling window with electronically operated blinds in addition to curtains.
The room appeared to be quite dark and the used colours were mostly grey or black for furniture and bed linen with white painted walls. There were no paintings or decorative elements in the room. The design was modern but the room lacked somehow some cosiness.
The mattress is firm and comfortable.
The furniture has a few scratches and so had the wall but nothing as serious as the large scratch in the shower.
Check out in the early morning was quick with no other guest ahead of me. Since my rate was prepaid I had to request for a printed folio, it was not offered. The agent wished me a nice trip but did not ask how my stay in the hotel was.
Overall I have mixed impression. Check in has room for improvements and I dislike that the breakfast was mentioned in a way suggesting it was included in the room rate. The room design is open plan, which is something I like and I have no problems with, especially if I am traveling alone. The large scratch could happen. On the other hand, the hotel was not full; in so far, it could easily have been avoided to give this room to a guest. After all, these are the things the guest remembers.
The design of the room is modern but a bit dreary. It would for sure help if some decorative elements are added.
Check out was okay, but they tend not to offer anything more as they have to. An agent should be aware, that it could be possible that I need a folio for my expenses and offer to print it instead to wait till I ask. On the other hand the rates are often very competitive and only half of what I usually pay and thus let me ignore some of the above mentioned glitches.
I will stay there again to see if the attitude of staff I have experienced have been a one-time exception or the rule.
