After a 5-hour drive from Germany with my family (including two children), we arrived late in the evening to find no staff present and no way to check in properly. When we used the self-service check-in machine, it clearly stated that our reservation was not valid and provided a phone number for assistance. However, when we called that number, the staff member was unable to find our reservation at all, even when we provided the booking ID and all confirmation details. We were repeatedly told that no booking existed in the system. We ended up spending over 3 hours outside the property at night, trying multiple phone numbers listed in the confirmation. None of them led to a solution. Even the assistance number provided by the machine did not help. Other guests tried to assist us, but there was no proper support from the hotel. Eventually, we had no choice but to abandon our stay and drive all the way back home, completely ruining our family trip. Later, the hotel responded claiming: The reservation was in their system A late check-in with a key lock had been arranged They could not contact us because no phone number or email was provided However, this explanation does not reflect what actually happened: The check-in machine itself rejected our reservation as invalid The phone number provided by the machine led to staff who could not locate any booking We were physically present and actively trying to resolve the issue Their own team confirmed multiple times that no reservation existed We received no instructions, no access details, and no support This situation shows a serious failure in coordination and guest support. Regardless of the internal issue, leaving a family stranded at night without any solution is unacceptable.
