September 5, 2024, 7:38 am | Read time: 6 minutes
For the second time in a row, a Dresden hotel has made it to the top of Germany’s best hotels and received the coveted Traveler’s Choice Award from Tripadvisor. The award is based on the ratings of more than 1000 hotel guests. TRAVELBOOK wanted to find out what the secret of the hotel’s success is – and, therefore, tested it for one night.
If you look at the reviews on the Internet, an overnight stay at the Swissôtel in Dresden should not be a risk. On the contrary, no other hotel in Germany was rated better by its guests last year. And now this has happened for the second year in a row.
From a total of 1167 reviews on Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel community, 936 guests rated the hotel as “excellent”. A further 196 also voted it “very good”. The 5-star hotel in Dresden was thus able to maintain its top position and once again received the Traveler’s Choice Award for Germany’s best hotel. The Swissôtel also scores very well on other portals such as booking.com and Holidaycheck.
But what does a night in “Germany’s best hotel” feel like? What makes the Swissôtel Dresden, which only opened in 2012, better than other hotels? We wanted to find out and went to Dresden.
The location
The hotel is located in the historic old town, directly opposite the Royal Palace, which houses the Green Vault. The Zwinger Palace, Semper Opera House, and Frauenkirche are just around the corner. The location could hardly be more central, which should please pretty much every visitor to Dresden.
The first impression
When the cab stops, I first have to look closely to recognize the hotel as one. It is located in a stately building, newly built according to old plans, with chic stores lined up downstairs. But a small sign on the front wall of the building tells me I’ve come to the right place. From the outside, the hotel looks quite small. But this impression, as I will see later, is very deceptive.
Through the entrance, which is somewhat hidden between the archways of the building, I enter the elegant lobby, which is furnished with lots of marble and modern details, in which an impressive open staircase awaits and an oversized table lamp in elegant white forms the visual centerpiece. I mistake its base for a bench and settle down on it with my luggage. The professional hotel staff overlook my embarrassing faux pas and act as if nothing is wrong.
I’m a little ashamed that I only took my small sports bag with me instead of the fancier trolley, which is far too big for one night. But this worry soon turns out to be unfounded. Because although the hotel has five stars, even the “average earner” feels at home here. In other words, the ambience is chic but not over-the-top.
I receive a very friendly welcome, and despite my protests, a porter takes it upon himself to bring my tiny bag to my room. I notice this in the foyer, and it continues throughout the hotel: Both Swiss and Saxon elements can be found in the decor. As the hotel manager explains to me later, the concept of the hotel a the fusion of both cultures. This is the case in both the decor and the food.
The room
The hotel turns out to be surprisingly large and spacious once you enter the guest floors. There are 235 rooms and suites here. My room is on the top floor – with a view of the dome of the Frauenkirche! I enthusiastically open the window and look out over the rooftops of Dresden’s old town. The room is spacious, with a large hallway and a huge bed. Above it is a huge wall tattoo, which takes some getting used to, given my tastes. But the interior designers have had an intention here: the tattoo shows decorative elements of Meissen porcelain, which in turn is a visual reference to the location.
The bathroom is narrow but elegant, and the shower is at ground level and surprisingly large. Only the shower head could have been a little larger given the amount of space, it is not appropriate for a five-star hotel in my opinion. The bed is extremely comfortable, you can even choose from a pillow menu and order the right pillow for your room without having to pay anything extra. Also perfect for dark sleepers: there are extra external shutters on the windows.
The spa area
Unfortunately, the Swissôtel Dresden does not have a swimming pool. It does, however, have a small but attractive 500-square-meter spa area in the basement, the highlight of which is a stone vault from the 15th century. The ancient stonework has been converted into a very cozy relaxation room, where I almost doze off after a soothing massage with herbs from Switzerland.
The service
In the reviews on Tripadvisor and other portals, the service at the Swissôtel is one of the points most praised by guests. And it’s true: The hotel staff are indeed very attentive and always concerned about the well-being of the guests without being intrusive. Only at breakfast was I asked, a little too often for my liking, whether I had any requests.
There must have been six or seven waiters buzzing around the breakfast room, even though not all the tables were occupied and breakfast is served as a buffet. If you’re a morning grouch like me, that can be a bit exhausting. I’m delighted that the friendly receptionist gives me good tips on how to make the most of my very short trip to Dresden. She tells me where to see the best parts of the city and also provides me with a city map.
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The prices
For a five-star hotel in such a central downtown location, I was clearly expecting higher prices than those offered by the Swissôtel. Over Easter, for example, the double room (27 square meters) costs 106 euros per night, a large room for three people (45 square meters) costs 175 euros, and the 60-square-meter suite for a maximum of four people 202 euros – that is significantly less than what the other five-star hotels in Dresden’s city center cost during this period.
Conclusion: I stayed comfortably at the Swissôtel Dresden and felt very well looked after – sometimes almost too well. The absolute plus points are the central location, the large rooms, and the comparatively moderate prices for a five-star hotel. The decor, with its mix of Swiss and Saxon elements, is original and well-thought-out, even if it is certainly a matter of taste in some places.
The trip was supported by Swissôtel Dresden Am Schloss. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at www.axelspringer.de/unabhaengigkeit
The original version of this article was published in 2015.