I tried out the Me And All Hotel in Ulm, Germany, part of a chain of Lindner hotels that has joined Hyatt as a JdV property.
Me And All Hotel Ulm, Germany Review, A Hyatt JdV Property
Hyatt has many brands within its portfolio of hotels. Its JdV (joie de vivre) brand is described as:
The JdV by Hyatt brand is a collection of original hotels with a deep respect for the neighborhoods that make up each destination. Each hotel is uniquely inspired by its surroundings and is a story about the communities we call home.
Lindner Hotels AG recently joined the Hyatt family and with it about 30 properties were added, with many in Germany. Within the Linder chain is a hotel group called Me And All Hotel. With locations in Dusseldorf, Hannover, Kiel, Mainz, and Ulm, the brand within a brand is simply described as “inexpensive hotels in central locations.”
Location
And indeed, the location in Ulm, Germany…at the Hauptbahnhof (central railway station) could not have been more central.
We arrived late on a Saturday evening and found the city a bit more quiet than were here expecting. By 11:00 pm, it seemed as if most had gone home for the night. No complaints from us: we just wanted to go to bed.
Our nightly rate was only $89, which was indeed inexpensive.
Check-In
We checked where a friendly agent in a black t-shirt greeted us in English (she did not appear to be a native speaker). There are no suites at this hotel: we were assigned a room with one king bed (there are also queen rooms available, but no rooms with single beds).
The lobby included an area with a coffee machine (coffee available for purchase) and limited seating.
Room
Heidi and I agreed that our room felt like a glorified hostel. Not that it was bad at all, but it was very small and we each had our own duvet (a German thing). The bathroom was part of the room, with only a small separate water closet.
The fake plant was actually a nice touch.
I chucked at the box on the sink counter that fit in well with the hostel theme in that it included body lotion, mouthwash, and a condom.
We slept well – the beds were comfortable and the duvets breathable.
And I will say that unlike a hostel, there was a Nespresso machine in the room and also complimentary soft drinks and water in the refrigerator (the hotel added two large bottles of water, noting my Globalist status).
Another positive: plenty of power outlets with USB ports (though USB-A, not USB-C) and an alarm clock with wireless charging.
Breakfast @ Uber
I quite like the breakfast buffet in the morning, which included a respectable mix of hot and cold dishes and certain fruits I loved like avocado, peaches, and plumbs. The streaky bacon was good, the scrambled eggs just okay, and the humus terrible. No omelets or anything a la carte.
The orange juice tasted freshly squeezed, which was very much appreciated. I even had a warm croissant, which was excellent.
The coffee, however…
I’m a picky coffee drinker, I know, but the coffee via automatic machine was really bad (German companies tend to make things well, but I have never found a decent WMF coffee).
There was a large “manual” coffee machine at the bar, but it was turned off for breakfast…totally absurd.
The ladies working in the restaurant were very nice and also coffee aficionados and offered to turn it on for me and make me a “real” cappuccino, which was a very nice gesture. In fact, that gesture alone makes me highly likely to return to this hotel. However, I will note that this machine should be turned off and dispensing coffee for all guests…why have it if you are not going to use it?
By the way, the buffet is placed over the bar…Uber transforms into a restaurant and bar the rest of the day.
There is also an outdoor bar area that was closed due to inclement weather.
Fitness Center
A very respectable fitness center includes an assortment of strength training and cardiovascular equipment. It is open 24/7.
I missed a sauna and steam room, which would be my biggest reason not to return.
Parking
The hotel does not have its own car park or valet service – you’re on your own. But being the center of Ulm, there are plenty of parking structures (though do note there is quite a bit under construction right now). We had no trouble finding street parking (complimentary on weekends).
CONCLUSION
Not only was this my first stay at Me And All Hotel, it was also my first stay at a Lindner Hotel and first stay at a Hyatt JdV. The central location, friendly service, nice fitness center, and respectable breakfast make me very happy that Lindner has joined the Hyatt family.
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This looks like it has a Moxy vibe to it
Interesting how often the locals switch over to English for you. I know you have a slight accent in French; but I thought your German was clean, with a slight touch of Bavarian.
It wasn’t a native German. I think she was more comfortable English. We see more of that in Germany. I also wouldn’t say this happens often. The ladies up in Uber spoke German.
Was the condom of good quality?
Once I gave George a condom made by a factory where my friend Bob Sacamano worked (you know my friend Bob Sacamano, right?), and he later informed me that the condoms were defective.
It’s amazing how budget hotels are, for the most part, leaps and bounds better in Europe. And it used to be the reverse years ago. I wish U.S. franchises would take a lesson from these properties in how to actually present basic but clean rooms. And a decent breakfast that is not processed crap. The only one that does it well in the U.S. on this level, and fairly consistently, is AC Hotels, but of course its roots are in Europe.
This looks almost identical to a Moxy or a Tommie in the US, except those properties don’t charge budget prices.
I have stayed in Moxy and found the rooms to be not well kept, service to be very limited, food offerings to be processed Sysco packaged crap, and the staff to be less than trained or even the least bit hospitable. And as you said, for a lot more than you seen this post as a rate.
Not to pick on Moxy but have seen it across the board, including at Hyatt Place and Hilton Canopy. Franchises in America are lost at sea.
Why didn’t you tell them the condom was so small you couldn’t get it on?
Oy.
Pictures please!
The plants and greens placed around the facility gives it an extra layer of perceived comfort. Gives the place some character. This is the type of hotels I shoot for when I stay in Europe. I don’t often comment on hotel posts but I really like this one, thanks
More on Elm please….I used to live there and it’s been years since I’ve been back.
oops meant Ulm of course….
Hi Cairns, just these two stories from our last trip:
Photo Essay: Ulm Minster
Great Coffee In Ulm, Germany
This trip we just slept in Ulm enroute to Stuttgart.
I see “free drinks” and 2 bottles of water and 3 of soda with glass bottles. That’s very nice.
Do you mean Lindner, not Linder Hotels?
Correct.
We spent a night at the Linder Frankfurt Hochst in July for what wound up being 2,800 points, which earned a free night in Vienna this month (about a 400€ deal) as we hit five brands with WoH. Really liked it, except for lousy German AC that would have been complained about if it were a longer stay. But our hotel was definitely older and looked to cater to German businessmen. That said, our room was huge. Bathroom large too. Can’t recall if we had free drinks in fridge or just water.
Your hotel looks absolutely like a MOXY in almost every way. Much smaller and trying to be hip for the 26-year-old TikTok crowd. That said, I’m enjoying MOXY more than I probably should. Had a great stay at brand new one in village next to Disneyland Paris in early July. Difference is, I actually feel loyal to Hyatt.
I think that you are being unfair blaming the WMF self serve machine for your disappointing coffee. As a hotelier let me say that we generally put cheap coffee in such machines and use a better grade for the barista machines. You are noticing the difference of €8 / Kg coffee beans as opposed to €20-25 / Kg coffee beans.
I have no doubt you are often correct about inferior beans in the autonomic machine, but take the Lufthansa Lounges in Frankfurt or Munich. Both the automatic WMF and the manual machines have the same coffee beans from LavaZZa, but the WMF machine can never dispense a good coffee, IME. We also had a WMF machine in my office in Frankfurt and the coffee quality was good…the machines just cannot cut it. I find the same true is for Jure. There are far better automatic machines, like Thermoplan.
Looks a “Little” Better than Moxy, not much,just a little. Moxy at Vienna Airport is a Joke! Mgmt tries,But it is still a Joke.
Hyatt’s version of Moxy