Hotel Allegro

“5 Star Hotel at a 3 Star Price!”

I have been traveling for decades. For business, for pleasure, and I have stayed in all sorts of motels, hotels, BNBs and resorts around the world. And every once in a while you come across a real gem, and the Hotel Allegro in Koln is definitely one of them. On our recent visit to Kola, we had… more

I have been traveling for decades. For business, for pleasure, and I have stayed in all sorts of motels, hotels, BNBs and resorts around the world. And every once in a while you come across a real gem, and the Hotel Allegro in Koln is definitely one of them. On our recent visit to Kola, we had a huge issue with the US Bank Travel Rewards center cancelling our reservation without our consent or bothering to inform us, and we arrived at their sister property to find out it was closing for Easter Weekend and suggesting we stay at the Allegro instead. The Travel Rewards Center inexplicable said that we didn't want to do that (they never asked us... but that's another story) and so we arrived in Koln, tired, cranky and without a place. To make matters worse, my wife had injured her knee running to catch the Metro in Paris, but that too is another story. After calling US Bank Rewards Travel Help Line wasting 30 minutes and resulting in no resolution whatsoever, we were offered some water by the owner, as well as any fruit we might want while we were trying to resolve the issue. After US Bank offered nothing in the way of fixes, we decided to take their offer of alternative lodging at the Allegro a fair price and Nick, the grandson of the owners, kindly offered to drive us over to the other hotel given my wife's condition. That was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the kind of Hospitality this family-run hotel. We stayed in a room facing the Rhine, right near where the Viking River boats land and a short walk to the Schokolade Museum (if you like Chocolate, this is definitely worth a couple of hours to learn about this addictive substance). Our room was cozy, with a coffee maker, modern euro-cool decor and was at a very comfortable temperature (which was not the case in our Hotel in Berlin, BTW). We opted for the breakfast, which is available at a reasonable price and had an excellent selection of breakfast foods including a groovy hand-cranked fresh orange juice maker that is a wonder to behold and the output is even more awesome. Nothing beats fresh orange juice, and there is something particularly satisfying of using their machine. Would love to have one in my kitchen but it is the size of our oven, so maybe not. After we got ourselves settled we went out and checked out Cologne. There is a lot to love about this City, and the big surprise for us was how friendly everyone was. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with friendly faces willing to help and tolerate my German that is on the level of a 3-year old child! On our way back we stopped at Møhler Kolsch which is one of the many brauerie gastro pubs serving traditional German cuisine and excellent Kolsch bier. When we got back to the Hotel, the delightful Turkish gentleman at the reception insisted on opening a bottle of sparking Pinot Noir from France and we enjoyed a relaxing chat and a Chocolate or two (or three, okay, maybe four. OKAY. Five!) in the cozy and welcoming lobby. The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast and went out for a day of museum hopping and shopping (Highly recommended: Manufactum, which offers high quality products from around the world with a style that is particularly appealing to my wife and I) only to return to another warm welcome, a couple of glasses of Pinot, and a good nights rest. The next morning we had another great breakfast that was cooked to order by May, the grand daughter of the owners, who shared the same warmth and welcome that the rest of the Kuepper family did during our stay. Upon departure (which included the owners coming out and helping us load our bags into our Uber ride... how is that for impressive??) we left almost with a sense of sadness that we were moving on to another City after such a warm and pleasant stay. We will be back to Koln, and we will definitely be staying at one of their two properties, and I would encourage you to forego the big chains and give their family-owned, sincerely warm welcome a go. It was a highlight of our trip to Europe and not one we will forget for a very long time.

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“Little Gem in Cologne”

Lovely little hotel at a good price. Spotlessly clean, with very friendly and helpful staff. We had the smaller rooms with single beds which we were happy with but a larger person might find a bit uncomfortable. Great location for sightseeing and restaurants.

“Very pleasant stay in this charming hotel”

Overall, we had a very pleasant stay at Hotel Allegro. The staff is truly lovely, welcoming, attentive, and always happy to help. The hotel is very clean and has a cozy, almost old-world charm that makes it feel much more personal than a big, standard hotel chain. We also really enjoyed the new bar… more

Overall, we had a very pleasant stay at Hotel Allegro. The staff is truly lovely, welcoming, attentive, and always happy to help. The hotel is very clean and has a cozy, almost old-world charm that makes it feel much more personal than a big, standard hotel chain. We also really enjoyed the new bar. We had cocktails there, and they were great; a very nice addition and a perfect way to end the day. The location is also convenient, making it easy to get around. There were just a few small downsides. The curtains are quite transparent and there are no blackout blinds, so the room gets bright very early in the morning. The bed was also a bit too soft for our taste, and the water pressure in the shower was quite low. That said, these are minor points compared to the overall experience. A charming hotel with friendly staff and a great atmosphere!

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“A lovely hotel, very comfortable with clean air.”

A good hotel for a stay in Köln with mainly pluses and just a couple of minuses. My room was a double deluxe facing the river. It was spacious, very clean, had air conditioning, a decent sized balcony with seating, a separate toilet to the shower room and the view was good. There was a coffee mach… more

A good hotel for a stay in Köln with mainly pluses and just a couple of minuses. My room was a double deluxe facing the river. It was spacious, very clean, had air conditioning, a decent sized balcony with seating, a separate toilet to the shower room and the view was good. There was a coffee machine and a kettle but I could not see any coffee pods or teabags; fortunately I had brought my own. However the road below is very busy and noisy; the windows provide excellent sound insulation when closed but it was not at all restful to have them open. Apart from the road noise, I found the hotel nice and quiet. The bed was comfortable but I’d have preferred a double duvet to two singles. There were gauze blinds and unlined curtains. These blocked a lot, but not all, of the street lighting. If you prefer a dark room to sleep I’d recommend bringing an eye mask. Breakfast was very good with a decent selection, both hot and cold, and it was possible to eat healthily. Personally I didn’t enjoy the coffee but there was an excellent selection of teas and a machine to squeeze fresh oranges for juice. The service was great, the gentleman on duty during the afternoon and evening was especially helpful. I found the easiest and nicest way to access the Aldstadt was by walking along the river. You can simply cross the road and turn left onto a wide promenade. The main railway station is also easily accessed on foot this way, it is only a short distance from the river near the Hohenzollern Bridge. I was able to leave my luggage in a room just off reception after checking out as I was not leaving Köln straightaway. When booking you can select breakfast as an option but you only pay for the room. Breakfast and tourist taxes are paid for at checkout. I booked directly on the hotel website and this saved me about £100 for two nights compared to the best price I could find on comparison sites like booking.com and kayak. The most significant downside was the poor internet service. On occasion it was adequate but most of the time it was so slow that I was unable to access any websites. This was compounded by being an apparent black spot for mobile data. A big plus is that hotel has clean air and has not adopted the awful practice of some larger hotel chains of pumping unpleasant artificial scent into the air. Overall I’d recommend Hotel Allegro and thank all of the team there for helping make my stay enjoyable.

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