What People are saying

great location - that's all, well, and lousy food

Serge Bon 27/06/2017 07:55

The location is on the outskirts of Dortmund, very quiet and lots of green.

The room was spacious but poorly designed. Just a small clothes rack in a very dark spot. No drawers. Seems like they are expecting only traveling salesmen staying one night. Lighting in the bathroom also in the wrong places. Very few toiletries and the cheapest they could get.

Service is non-existent, be prepared to haul your luggage to your room by yourself.

Room service comes from their supposedly better restaurant. My wife had spaghetti bolognese which was pretty tasteless. And there was still cooking water on the bottom of the plate underneath the sauce totally ruining the already poor dish.

We had dinner at their other restaurant, white asparagus which was in season. Unfortunately, it had lost most of its flavor due to overcooking. We had ordered one serving pf asparagus to go with scrambled eggs and Büsumer shrimps. The eggs were also overcooked and the shrimps were missing. When we complained, they brought us a serving of shrimps separately which is not the same thing as the advertised dish at all.

After that, we didn't expect much for breakfast. The bread was ok, very limited choice of cold cuts and other stuff. The smoked salmon was squeezed together in a tight dish and you had to rip it out. I have nowhere seen such an appalling presentation.

The staff, especially the kitchen staff seem totally unmotivated and poorly trained. In view of the quality of the room, almost non-existent service and the lousy food this place is hopelessly overpriced.

Expected a bit more

akazimirovaon 06/05/2017 11:31

I would def not give this hotel 4*. There was no minibar in rooms, no toiletries and the food at the restaurant was awful.
Customer service not bad, but could be better.
More like a 3* hotel.

But me and my husband have decided that we will not return to this hotel.

Restaurant good, but service not ~quite~ up to standard

Dagmar Bon 13/03/2017 12:30

We visited the restaurant "Vivre" on February 14th because it had the best selection of vegetarian food of all the high-end restaurants in the city, to celebrate a birthday. To make one thing clear, the food was excellent throughout, both vegetarian and 'regular'; so was the service once we were seated.

However, we'd booked a table for four two weeks earlier, and when we arrived no table for four was ready. We were asked to take a table set with only two places, and while the rearranging went reasonably fast, it was still an inconvenience to have to wait. (No matter that it was Valentine's Day; there were other parties of more than a couple, and the reservation should've taken care of the matter.) Once the staff was done, we were still left with decorations that were off-center, and some of the glassware didn't match 100%. Also, we'd specified at booking the table that one of our party was vegetarian -- had even pre-ordered a set menu. Why, then, were we served four amuse-gueules that all contained meat? Granted, the mistake was quickly rectified, but still ...

I realize this is nit-picking, but L'Arrivée lays claim to a certain standard. While they managed to fulfill most of it, they unfortunately fell somewhat short in a few of the finer details. Pity.

Lost our patronage

osburnrosson 27/12/2016 13:12

My husband and I have enjoyed L'Arrivee for the last several years on our way to and from Berlin. Our stay this time, however, has convinced us never to return. Upon our arrival, the woman behind the desk refuted our promised breakfast in our reservation, even though we showed her the confirmation email from Orbitz. It was as though she accused us of lying. When we got into our room, it stank of raw sewage. There was no soap in the bathroom and their bathroom amenities have been downscaled. They also no longer provide robes or slippers in the rooms. The spa was littered with dirty towels thrown on the floors of the sauna and steam rooms and no fresh towels were available. To top it off, a man and woman were having sex in the public spa. This morning, a woman behind the desk told my husband they had made a mistake and we were, indeed, entitled to breakfast. It was, however, after the end of their breakfast service. They hadn't bothered calling us in our room earlier and only offered an insincere apology and 12 euros off our bill. The breakfast costs 17 euros each. L'Arrivee has seen the last of us.

Gone to the dogs

Bob Son 26/12/2016 21:28

Been staying here several times a year over the last 4 years. Used to be a top notch though expensive hotel and spa. In the last year the management must have decided to cut costs because it is all cheap, cheap, cheap now. The bathrobes are threadbare, the toiletries low quality. The restaurant food has also taken a dive. For three days the spa did not have any towels and they do not clean the place during the day with used towels lying all over the floor etc. , the showers keep changing temperatures so you burn yourself, there was no soap in the bathroom and room smells of sewage.