• The Private Room
• SQ26 SIN-FRA-JFK Suites
• Luftansa Senator Lounge
• New York Marriott Marquis
• The Ritz Carlton New York Nomad
• Kimpton Eventi New York
• Conrad New York Downtown
• SQ25 JFK-FRA Business
• The Westin Grand Frankfurt
• Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Centre
• Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge
• SQ25 FRA-SIN Suites

I was excited about this stay as this property only re-opened a few months back after closing fully for an extensive renovation – so everything would be relatively new. This 5-night stay would also fit in nicely with the plans of using my balance of 5x Suite Night Award so I applied them about 3 weeks prior.

Address – Konrad Adenauer Strasse 7, Frankfurt, Germany, 60313. Website.

Contact – Tel: +49 69-29810. Email: grandfrankfurt@westin.com.

Location – I actually really liked the location of this property. It is 3mins walk to Konstablerwache station which takes you to pretty anywhere you may want to go since Frankfurt’s subway is rather easy to navigate, right smack in the Zeil Street which is the city’s major shopping street, walking distance to St Paul’s Cathedral which is an attraction by itself plus where the Frankfurt Sightseeing Bus starting point is. And if you visit end Nov to Dec, you are in proximity to the many Xmas markets which the city has to offer. The location is really hard to beat for first timers!

Frankfurt is considered the “smallest metropolis in the world” and combines one of the most important trading centers with one of the largest airports and the financial anchor of Europe. The nickname “Mainhattan” describes the versatility of this city: the metropolitan skyline and the breathtaking architecture, but also the green waterfront on the other side. For a city break in Frankfurt, the Museumsufer offers world-class museums in the smallest of spaces, such as the Städel Museum, the Schirn or the Filmmuseum or the Liebig Haus with its sculpture collection. At the Westin Grand Frankfurt, you can recharge your batteries by visiting other city tours and attractions. Most are just a few minutes walk away. Relax at the Westin Grand, your city hotel in Frankfurt and relax from your daily routine.

From the property’s website

Price – Redemption of 5nights for 129,000 points for a Guest Room (with the 5th night free benefit), 1 King, which was a steal. No need to pay for any taxes either as its all included. Yay.

Pre-arrival – There was no real pre-arrival email but my SNA cleared about 5 days out and I got this email:

Super excitedly checked my booking and I saw this! Oh boy oh boy.

Getting There – An uber XL from Frankfurt Airport to the property cost about EURO40 (shared with a friend) and took about 20mins. It’s useful to note that there is no signage at FRA on where the designated Uber pick up is and I later realized that all Ubers are only allowed to pick up passengers from the Departure Hall (not Arrivals) – you also have to key in the gate number of the Hall so the car knows where to stop.

Check In – The bellman very proactively assisted with our luggage once the car pulled up and we were invited to proceed straight to check in as they sort out the luggage so off we went. The check in area was empty as it was around 11:30am when we arrived and… we were met with the most clinical staff ever. No welcome no thank you for loyalty no nothing – just a matter-of-fact procedure and told that their check in time is 3pm and we’d have to wait. This is despite me chatting in-app to request for early check in but that didn’t seem to register.

Unlike the nonchalant reception we got from the staff, the lobby area is very welcoming with bright neutral colors lighting up the entire space, including its multiple seating options, living room-esque displays, and Christas deco.

Located right at the end of the lobby is a Grab’n Go counter where you can get simple snacks coffee, teas etc – open 24hrs a day which I thought was a neat feature although I never patronized it.

Room – After a torturous 3.5hours wait and almost about to faint with fatigue (and this is after following up with front desk in person), I finally got my Westin Grand Suite located on level 3. The space was huge! At 80SqM, the space although incredibly spacious, was unfortunately not my kind of preferred layout – cut-up blocks of segregated space. But I did very much liked the choice of white / grey / neutral tones.

But space it is still!

There is a super generous hallway once you step in, and you see 5 blocks of space laid out neatly in your line of sight.

First up is a guest toilet to your left adequately equipped with basic amenities and towels.

Further up on your left is the main bathroom – a generous open space.

It contains your toilet, a single sink with plenty of countertop space, generous stash of amenities, and a huge standing shower space. Plenty of towels here for sure, topped off with pump-sized White Tea toiletries which is a Westin signature. They seemed to have cheaped out on the body lotion though as it was a random Oliva brand instead.

Retracing the steps to the right of the hallway when you enter is a generously-sized bedroom.

Facing the bed is a wall-mounted TV, with a storage platform of sorts beside it. There is also a solo cushy chair I suppose for chilling purposes

The signature Westin Signature bed is the key feature of this space, flanked by 2 bedside tables each equipped with EUR ports and USB and reading lights. I liked the smart design of these ports which is also installed in the living area (more on this later) -first time seeing this!

Adjacent to this space is a brightly-lit walk-in wardrobe accompanied by an enclosed section which holds your bathrobe, laundry bags / and slippers.

Last of the space is a huge (and I mean really huge) living area, especially for 1pax.

It has a dining table + 4 chairs, a work desk + chair beside a display cabinet, a long sofa area for maybe 6pax, a giant wall-mounted TV with its own console area, and a mini bar. I did try my best to make full use of all this space during my stay!

The mini bar area is where you’d find 2 bottles of complimentary water – this is where the property was a bit inconsistent: my friend (who was staying in their Duplex Suite and also a Titanium) was told the water is only for arrival day and not available for the rest of the stay whereas the ones in my Suite got replenished dutifully. Not sure what’s the confusion but tad stingy of the property if it was indeed supposed to be limited, especially for Elites.

A platter of snacks was later delivered to my room as a welcome amenity.

I have to highlight that during colder months, the thermostat which only allows itself to be adjusted + or – 3 degrees Celsius does not make this huge space warm enough. I was freezing and ended up asking the hotel to bring a heater to my room which they very kindly did – it did the trick so take note!

Lastly, in-house guest have access to this facility called FitnessOnDemand – this can be found your TV and you scan a QR code to sign up for access to workout videos. Apparently Bonvoy members get a 7-day complimentary trial or during your stay. I tried to play around iwith it but never got to actually use it because I had my LesMills+ subscription anyways.

Westin Club – This as my hideout spot every morning and every evening and I also spent too much time here waiting for my room on my arrival day. I was excited to check out this space and while I think it was very decent and completely adequate to handle the crowd, I wish the same color theme from the room has been used here.

Timings:

• Breakfast (6:30am-10:30am) from Mon-Fri & 6:30am – 11:30am on Sat-Sun
• Snacks 12:00pm – 5:00pm
• Canapes: 6:00pm – 9:30pm

The space starts with a solid wooden door labelled Westin Club and you access via a key card – this system is a little slower so you basically have to tap and hold for a while before the light will turn green so be patient!

Once in, there is plenty of dark wood paneling with carpeted flooring – not sure if they are from its former life – alongside a decent amount of 2 and 4-seater options.

There is a lower mezzaine level with a cluster of chilling chairs and low tables which oversees the courtyard open space. A rather nice spot with a view but the low tables makes it a little hard for proper dining.

On this mezzanine level is a business corner with a communal high table and chairs, with one solo Mac screen. There is also a printer here but the equipment does not work as I tried to utilize them for printing and scanning – staff said they don’t quite work so oh wells. Weird that they have a nonfunctional business centre can’t even be used for simple functions – I ended up going to the front desk to my stuff sorted out.

Food and drinks are laid out in separate sections:

An entire assortment of drinks are available throughout, in a small layout. For thos who need your alcohol earlier, beers and wines (including a rather nice sparkling wine) are offered from 12pm onwards and stays on til end of the evening. Otherwise, chose from coffee, tea, bottled juices, tonic waters, and still / sparkling water available on tap from a single device. The angular layout while I understand is restricted by structure, makes it pretty hard to be functional for more than 2pax at the same time – especially so where they have only one coffee machines which results in a queue of sort during breakfast.

Food is laid out in an (thankfully) adjourning area and feels sufficient to manage the crowd in the lounge even during breakfast. I just realized that I have no picutres of the breakfast at all so my apologies – but the following 2 plates encapsulates what I ate most mornings. Great muesli they have!

Snacks: a more than expected assortment of fruits, cheese, breads, nuts and fruit infused water. This spread saved my sanity during my 3.5 hour wait for my room on arrival day.

Canapes: this session includes hot options but I found out to my dismay that they are usually overly salty (especially the soups) and I avoided them each evening – these can be just soups by themselves or with condiments and your choice of crabs to make it a meal. Otherwise, there is always a fresh salad bar, alongside maybe 1-2 appetizers. After a few feeble attempts, I ended up eating massive salad bowls every evening – not bad at all!

On top of that, the same bread, cheese and fruit selection from the ‘Snacks’ session continues on here, with maybe a change in different infused water flavor.

Facilities – During my wait for my room, I floated by the WestinWORKOUT (24hrs a day) and am happy to report that it is a big new space with plenty equipment but no rower. Bah. Why.

They also have gender specific changing rooms with showers, lockers facilities.

The hotel also boosts an indoor swimming pool accessible via the changing rooms but do note that once you exit the changing rooms to this area, it is mixed gender. This is important to highlight because this mixed-gender space includes the steam room / sauna facilities which some may choose not to partake if they are not comfortable.

The pool itself is not heated but comfortable enough for a swim on the night I tried – it has pretty but sometimes neglected day beds lining the surroundings, including one cosy cove which looks suitable for a swim date.

The steam room / sauna are located on a mezzanine level above the pool – nothing fancy – they do what they do. But again, consider if you are comfy with sharing this space with the opposite gender before you step in.

Check Out – rather painless for the actual check out but prior to that, I enquired a day earlier about my 4pm late check out which should be guaranteed as an elite. I was taken by surprise when told that they are now a ‘convention hotel’ and hence do not need to honor this benefit. I didn’t recall anywhere that their convention hotels status was mentioned and I certainly do not think they feel like one based on my own interpretation. I noted though that there is no official list of such properties nor is there a fixed definition for such hotels – I mean then in this case any hotel with a ballroom can call themselves a convention hotel right?

So I engaged the Titanium helpdesk requesting for help to clarify – and after some to & fro and after speaking to the hotel directly, the Titanium CSO told me that what the property said is true indeed, but no updates have been given to Bonvoy HQ, and she apologized for the inconvenience caused. I was accorded 30k points for compensation which I thought was decent.

In Summary,

a great base to explore Frankfurt and I didnt regret my choice at all. Obviously a few love-hate thingy about the property and its service but end of the day I did have a great stay in an almost too-big space with breakfasts and healthy dinners covered so no complaints!