Sheraton Düsseldorf Airport Hotel (Lodging)
Address and Website: Terminal Ring 4 Düsseldorf, Germany 40474; www.sheratonduesseldorfairport.com or you can go to the Starwood link here.
Location: The hotel’s location had mostly positives. It was right across the street from the airport (literally, you walk outside of the terminal and cross the street and you’re there). It was sitting on top of the S-Bahn station that takes you to the Dusseldorf Hbf station in the city center in 10 mins. (From there you could either walk—a bit of a distance, but all flat—or take a taxi to Konigsallee, the main shopping street or down to the waterfront promenade.) The only negative is obviously being outside of the hustle and bustle of the old town and the waterfront, but for spending a night between flights with only one day to enjoy the city anyway, it was ideal. It also worked out well because we arrived and spent our first day in Dusseldorf and then rented a car early the next morning from the airport right there for the day and drove to Burg Eltz Castle and easily returned the car before our flight that evening.
Overall: Overall, the hotel served its purpose well. There was nothing “above and beyond” about it, but for a night at an airport hotel it was pretty nice. The entrance was nondescript for a hotel. It was just a sign on a door across from the airport and a hall with elevators that you took up to the lobby. The lobby wasn’t huge, but it had some couches and a few computer terminals in it for guests’ use. I wouldn’t recommend the breakfast since it didn’t look very exciting and the price was exorbitant for what it was (we skipped it).
Hotel Staff: The staff didn’t go out of their way to be helpful, but if asked, they provided whatever information you needed. No one was rude, and check-in and out were fast and easy.
Room: The room was fine for one night (the bed was a bit hard for a Sheraton but otherwise nothing really wrong with it). It was clean, as was the bathroom. The room wasn’t huge, but once again, fine for one night. It had a window looking out on a little grassy area planted outside of it which was actually kind of pretty. I was just happy to find that it was quiet considering that it was right across from the airport!
Ham-Ham Bei Josef (Restaurant)
Address: Kurzestraße 5, Düsseldorf, Germany
Location: The restaurant’s location was very central to the Old Town area, only two blocks up from the riverbank.
Overall: Overall, the food was quite good—typical pub-style food, large portions. The prices were also excellent. The Wiener schnitzel that my husband got was tender and juicy. I had the Bratwurst with homemade kraut and warm potato salad. That and a German beer would make anyone who is not a vegetarian quite content in Germany!
Atmosphere: The restaurant wasn’t overly atmospheric. It did have some outdoor seating out on the pedestrian street, but we chose to sit inside in a booth. It was quite small, with only a few tables, but locals seemed to flock to the place, and I could see why. The food was delicious with very good prices for being in the Old Town. There was a counter where you could order take-away which many people also seemed to be doing.
Uerige Brewery (Bar)
Address and Website: Obergärige Hausbrauerei GmbH, Berger Strasse 1, D-40213 Düsseldorf; www.uerige.de/en
Location: Located right in the center of things, 2 blocks up from the riverbank in the Old Town; it was an ideal spot to grab a drink… or two.
Overall: Overall, this beer garden was a fun place to have a drink. The servers wandered around with trays full of glasses of their brown draft beer, selling them as people waved them down for one. They only served one beer on tap—as do many German bars—but they had other bottled options that you could order, as well. I have no complaints. It was a shady place to relax after a long day of wandering the city on foot.
Atmosphere: The outdoor beer hall was situated under several leafy trees with long, wooden picnic tables to sit at, a bar you could stand around (where the bartender was constantly tapping new barrels), and spots along the stairs and walls that you could prop yourself to enjoy a beer. The entire street was abuzz with people out enjoying the nice weather and a beer with friends. The overall atmosphere of Düusseldorf overall is like one big, relaxed party.
