Holiday Inn - the niu, Welly Kiel by IHG

Checkin was extremely slow (almost 20 minutes), but otherwise the stay was fine and as expected.

I have stayed at this hotel more than 5 times before. This time however it was not up to the normal standard. There was a terrible heavy and strong smell especially in the reception/dining area. Whether it was an air freshener, cleaning products or something else I don't know. But it was nauseating, and not a smell that has been there the other times. It gave us a headache and killed our appetite when eating breakfast. The Chromecast in our room didn't work. Check-in took a long time as we had to write all our information down by hand and then the receptionist typed it into the computer, why don't they have our information from the booking? The breakfast buffet was half empty and we had to ask for things to be refilled.

The room assigned me was on the first floor; except for a sleeper car on a train I have not slept in such a small room. The presence of ear plugs did not bode well either. But even though a Christmas Markt was being held just outside of my window, I did not hear anything, and the blackout curtains prevented light from being an issue. The room had just enough things for an hotel room to be functional: no obligatory alarm clock, no abundance of drawers that no one uses. It was very austere and pleasant.

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