katzen

I am contemplating staying at the Monopol Hotel right across from the train station in Frankfurt. 1 night only. My flight leaves at 11:00 the next morning. I will be arriving from Paris. Has anyone stayed here? If so, could you give me some feedback?

I've read the reviews on Tripadvisor and they are all good. Few people were concerned about it being across the street from the train station and not in the most appealing area of Frankfurt .. but as I said I'm only there for 1 night and only plan on hitting some shops and that's it. I'm not there for sightseeing.

katzen

oh, and I also wanted to ask if anyone was familiar with how far the shopping streets (zeil) were from the train station .. whether walking distance or train ride.

Thanks again!

adeben

Can't advise about the Monopole. However the streets immediately behind it (and between it and downtown) are pretty sleazy. There's a variety of sex establishments, and occasionally some overt drug-taking, so it is a less desirable area in Frankfurt, though I've never found it particularly threatening.
The Zeil is about an easy 15 minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof, but you could catch a U-bahn from the HBF to a stop in the centre of town. I always walk.

katzen

Thanks Adeben. The more I read the more I lean away from staying in Frankfurt. I keep going back and forth on where to spend my last night in Germany ... I'm now leaning towards Mainz. Thanks again!

ben_haines_london

Yes, Mainz has more appeal than Frankfurt, and good shops (though I admit Frankfurt has better). If you do choose the Metropol in Frankfurt you can pretty well ignore the station district by going to and from shops by underground train, S-Bahn.

Ben Haines, London
[email protected]

katzen

Ben, I'm curious as to why you think Frankfurt has better shopping than Mainz. I originally chose Frankfurt for that same exact reason until after reading so many posts and books saying Frankfurt was sooo modern, not charming, nothing but a big ol' city ... which in truth be told, I'm not a fan of. So I started toying with the idea of Mainz. Shopping is the priority for my last afternoon in Germany before I fly out.

On this trip I will be hitting Cochem, Beilstein, Rothenburg, Munich, Fuessen, Meersburg, Appenzell, Luzern, Freiburg and parts of France ... so charm wasn't an absolute must as I will have already had that (not that it ever gets old ) .... so I'm figuring why not choose a place that has great shopping and charm (Mainz) over a place that has just great shopping (Frankfurt)?

So of course when I read your post above ... I'm wondering why Frankfurt has better shopping ... is it specific stores or just the fact that the bigger cities have a better selection of stores?
Thanks!