BillJ

Next spring, after two weeks leisure through the Benelux countries, we will drift into Germany trough Trier, down the Moselle, up the Rhine, and eventually board the return flight home, departing Frankfurt 10:30 am. I'm about to give up staying out in the country side somwhere on that final night. I have scheduled our final two nights of travelling joy at Castle Shoenburg, at Oberwesel. I'm just not comfortable getting up at dark:thirty, feeling rushed with a long drive to an unfamiliar aiport, I presume at rush hour, yes I will have a car to return. So after Shoenburg, and a leisurely last day on/near the Rhine, there must be a nice place to stay/eat in Frankfurt, where getting to the airport the next am won't be too much of a hassle.

Any ideas gratefully appreciated.

Russ

I haven't stayed here, but the location of the Favorite Parkhotel in Mainz, a modern place that I've wandered past many times, is terrific for a pre-departure stay. It's located within Mainz' meticulously manicured Stadtpark, a few steps from the Rhine, a few more from the Mainz Süd train station, and a little further from the pedestrian zone near the cathedral and the cobbled, half-timbered old town. You're about 20 minutes and $5 away from Frankfurt Airport from here by train -- drop the car in Mainz the day before and you won't have to mess with that on departure day. Mainz is a great place for a walk, some shopping, and a last meal before heading home, too. An additional treat is taking a peek at the archaeological work behind the Süd train station, where the largest Roman theatre north of Rome proper is presently being unearthed.

www.info-mainz.de/favorite/hotel/indexv.htm

Website is in German, but they'll undoubtedly speak English if you give them a call.

Bill

BillJ
Given the early time of your flight and the need to arrive ahead of time, check in, clear customs, and so on, I would strongly recomment that you stay right in the airport proper at the Sheraton. This hotel is direclty in the center of the terminals, has very nice sound proofed rooms, and makes it nice and simple to get up, have breakfast, and go to your plane. No stress, no hassle, no taxis, etc.

Now, granted, it is not a cheap hotel, but the way I look at it, it is your last night, you don't need the trouble of getting up at dark thirty, worrying about a taxi or hoping that the hotel shuttle shows up on time, and although it will cost more than off site hotel, the decreased hassle more than offsets that. We have done this and believe me I never regretted the few extra dollars spent. After two weeks of touring (and spending)what is a few extra dollars. Plus, you might get lucky and get an attractive rate. Check it out.

Steve

I agree with the above post to stay at the Sheraton. I will never forget the time we stayed in Stratford-upon-Avon our last night and then got up early in the morning to drive to Heathrow. Halfway there we ran into a huge chemical spill that closed the highway and forced us on to a small frontage road where it was bumper-to-bumper for two hours. Once we were back on the highway we had to drive our little Renault rental car 95 miles per hour to make it to the airport on time. Then we had great difficulty finding the rental return office. Extreme stress at this point. From then on we have always returned our car the night before our morning flight home and stayed next to the airport. The Frankfurt airport Sheraton is extremely convenient - it's actually connected to the airport, don't even have to step outside. The Frankfurt airport is actually not that bad a place to spend the evening. There are some decent shops and we found an excellent restaurant there for dinner.

Lee

Bill, Since it's the last night and we are essentially finished with our tour, we stay in nearby Langen.

We stay at the hotel Achat and they provide a good breakfast, have a decent restaurant and provide a shuttle to and from the airport free of charge. It's around $80.00 for a double depending on the season.

The hotel is about 10 km from the airport and accessable by either autobahn A5 or secondary highway. I used to live in nearby Morefelden and that's how I knew about it. Their website is at: www.achat-hotel.de

Good luck.

xxx

There is a Steenbergen (I'm not positive if that is the name, but it is something similar) hotel right near the airport. Our relatives in Frankfurt made the reservation for us. It is cheaper than the Sheraton and the shuttle service was reliable. It is right across from the Air Force Base and the customers seemed to be family of servicemen. Regardless of where you stay, give yourself plenty of time. Car rental return was confusing and the airline check in lines were long.

Peter

I think XXX had this hotel in mind:

http://www.srs-worldhotels.com/germa...el_fraair.html

Which it's also within the airport providing shuttles every 20min (ride takes about 5-10min). I was in similar situation so I returned the car evening before and then took the shuttle to the hotel. This place had 2 restuarants (bar/buffet type and Italian), not so great, so have dinner in town. Breakfast was very good. Lines at the Airport are big, with a lot of confussion - so do give your self a little extra time.

Bob

The Steigenberger is where I stayed as an Army enlisted draftee waiting for my wife to arrive in Germany to join me in 1970. Fond memories! Close to airport.

We have also used the Sheraton on property and it works great. It is connected by walk way to one terminal. Just find out what terminal you are flying out of. We usually arrive late the evening before so as to enjoy our last day.

Another thing we have done is to stay in Heidelberg the last night at a hotel in the old town. Get up early and drive into the airport which is on that side of Frankfurt. Drive pretty easy and traffic not bad if you are leaving on a Sunday morning.

bo_jack

There is a Best Western hotel (sorry I do not remember its name -- perhaps, Ambassador??) fairly close to the train station and trade show area and a couple of blocks from the river. It's a good location for getting to the airport by Taxi. Cost was about $ 100 per night a couple of years back. If you happen to be renting from Hertz, an added benefit is that one of the Hertz offices is only a couple of blocks from the hotel. So, you can turn the car in a day early and Taxi to the airport.

BillJ

This is great! Thanks, guys, for the wonderfully informative responses. This helps my peace of mind immensely. Guess we've all been through the "last night near the airport blues."

And thanks, Fodor's, for this wonderful forum to exchange info.

Debbie

My husband and I just returned from Germany and stayed at the Hotel Schwan in Mainz. HUGE MISTAKE!!!!. The place was filthy, including finding the previous occupants toiletries in the shower. The Hilton was literally right next to the road leading to the road to the airport,and the traffic early in the a.m. is fierce, so give yourself plenty of time. Have a great trip!

Miriam

Hi Bill,

whatever you choose-avoid Mainz if you
intend to take a taxi to the Airport. My boss lives there and every time we fly in the morning, I`ll be alone on that flight because he misses it due to a large construction site on the Weissenauer Bruecke which will go on for another two years.
If you can afford it-stay at the Sheraton, otherwise I,too, would recommend the Steigenberger with a free shuttle to the Airport. Another, even cheaper but nice hotel is the Astron Moerfelden with a free shuttle as well.
If you want to be closer to the city, I would stay in the Courtyard by Marriott, which also offers free transportation to the Airport.

Have fun

Miriam

Paul

Wow! The Moselle - you will love and remember it always. Hotel near airport in Frankfurt - have had great stays at the Hotel Feger (also known as Comfort Inn Feger) in the little town of Waldorf (about two miles from the airport) and they offer a shuttle service. Very reasonable price, clean, secure, English speaking, all the good stuff. Being a part of the Comfort Inn Chain, reservations can be easily made in the US. The breakfast at the hotel should not be missed, called "fruhstuck", great way to start your day. A restaurant close by for dinner (five or less minute walk) is the "Gypsy" place (cannot remember the German word for gypsy. Great food, great price, good wine - yeah, and you will still think mostly about the Moselle. Have a great trip.

Lee

Hi, again.

This is an assist for Paul: That restaurant in Walldorf is the "Ziguener Eiche", right on the main street close to the hotel. Known to Americans as "The Log". Good food, good prices.

Across the street and down about 200' is the Italian restaurant "Ciao". They also have very good food and a nice atmosphere.

I used to live in nearby Morefelden and frequented both, while stopping on each of our last two Germany trips as well.

Have fun.

Terri

Can't recommend the Airport Sheraton enough. It's very comfortable and couldn't be more convenient. The train station is right inside the terminal, so you can go anywhere you want for dinner, etc.

Emily Connolly

I have stayed at the Sheraton and I have also stayed at the Steigenberger which is also at the airport. They have a shuttle to pick you up. I liked staying at the Steigenberger because it has a great restaurant, the Unterschweinsteiger, right on the property. As I recall, it was less costly than the Sheraton. Have fun!