Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook or Twitter!
Emily Jablon: Daraius and I went to Europe in September to celebrate our 2nd anniversary for ~2 weeks. It was my first time in Italy so I was very excited! In Italy, we visited Varenna on Lake Como, Milan, Venice, and Rome.
Since we were in Europe, we visited a friend in Strasbourg, France and also spent a night in Zurich. We started our trip with a one day layover in Chicago to see friends!
Our Anniversary To Italy – Trip Report Index:
- Part 1 – Planning & Introduction
- Part 2 – Park Hyatt Chicago
- Part 3 – One Day in Chicago
- Part 4 – Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
- Part 5 – Virgin Atlantic Revivals Lounge, London
- Part 6 – Under the Channel to Strasbourg
- Part 7 – Hotel Cathedrale, Strasbourg
- Part 8 – What did we do in Strasbourg
- Part 9 – Eating in Strasbourg
- Part 10 – Park Hyatt, Zurich
- Part 11 – 10 Hours in Zurich
- Part 12 – Hotel Eremo Gaudio in Varenna, Italy
- Part 13 – What to do in Varenna, Italy
- Part 14 – Eating in Varenna, Italy
- Part 15 – Park Hyatt, Milan
- Part 16 – What Did We Do in Milan
- Part 17 – Eating in Milan
- Part 18 – Hilton Molino Stucky, Venice
- Part 19 – Around the Hilton Molino Stucky & Free Shuttle Boat Details
- Part 20 – What we did in Venice
- Part 21 – Eating in Venice
- Part 22 – Waldorf-Astoria, Rome Cavalieri
- Part 23 – Eating in Rome, Part 1
- Part 24 – Emily’s Best Meal Was in Italy!
- Part 25 – Rome Cavalieri Imperial Floor
- Part 26 – Activities in Rome
- Part 27 – Activities in Rome – Where to Go, What to See, How to Save Time
- Part 28 – Virgin Atlantic Flight from Europe to US
- Part 29 – Conclusion & Blog Giveaway
Hotel Cathedrale – Strasbourg
We walked to our hotel, which was about a 15 minute walk from the station. We got lost, but the French were very good at looking at us pouring over maps and asking us politely where we wanted to go!
Strasbourg is the home of the European parliament and other European agencies. More importantly, it is the capital of the Alsace region which is known for their hearty food and wine.
My French pen-pal lives in Strasbourg, so we changed our plans at the last minute to spend a few days with him and his brother! We started writing to each other 15 years ago and met for the first time in 2009.
Hotel Cathedrale is just opposite the Cathedral, which is one of the most popular sites in town. The Rick Steves’ France guide book (our Amazon link) recommended the Hotel Cathedrale, and it was a great pick.
Here’s some badly taken video of our hotel room!
We booked the hotel through Hotels.com for ~$125 per night for 3 nights, which did not include breakfast. But we applied credit from Hotels.com’s Welcome Rewards program, so our cost was ~$250 for 3 nights! You can even earn cash back or Chase Ultimate Rewards points for booking hotels through Hotels.com by seeing offers from evrewards.
The hotel’s location was perfect! You are literally across from the Strasbourg Cathedral and the touristy part of Strasbourg. It took us a few minutes to find the entrance to the hotel.
But this is NOT a handicapped accessible hotel.
There was a long staircase, but the staff showed us the elevator and got our bags to our room. You can’t use the elevator to get all the way to the room and still have to climb a flight of stairs.
And a long path to the bedrooms.
Cathedral View Room
We splurged $125 a night and booked a Cathedral view room.
The room had 2 twin beds pushed together, and a 3rd twin along another wall. The room had more space than we needed, but the extra bed would be good for families or friends traveling together.
The room had a writing desk…
and a hot water kettle and fridge. There was no microwave, so you can’t heat your leftovers. But you can certainly chill your drinks!
On the other side of the room was the bathroom.
The bathroom had a sink with a long counter-top…
and a partially enclosed shower/bath unit combination.
We also received various amenities.
The bed, carpet and furnishings were old, but we weren’t expecting this to be a Park Hyatt. It was a basic, clean room in a very convenient location, which is all we wanted.
We did have a somewhat nice view of the cathedral, but we saw much more of the old merchant house, which was directly across our room. In fairness, we booked at the last minute and got the last “Cathedral View” room which was right at the end of the hotel.
When we slightly turned our heads we could see the cathedral and the cafes outside.
The location meant that it was also noisier at night (we could hear people partying in the streets at 4:00 am). But it wasn’t noisy enough to prevent us from sleeping.
The air conditioning was on a timer, and we could only use a certain number of hours. It took us one day to figure this out!
We liked having the AC on at night while we slept, which also helped block the outside noise. So we had to make sure we turned it off during the day, or the AC would not work at night.
The hotel had bikes to use for free, which we wanted to use. But the rain and cold weather prevented us from biking.
Bottom Line
The Hotel Cathedrale was a great pick for our stay in Strasbourg. It was a basic, cheap & clean room which was very conveniently located opposite the Strasbourg Cathedral.
Looks like a decent hotel with a great location. Thanks.
No way! There was a small writing desk in the room!?!
I was born in Strasbourg and my parents actually got married at the Cathedral, so its always fun for me to go visit the city! I’m a bit spoiled though, as my grandparents host me for free 30minutes from Strasbourg and cook me amazing french cuisine when I’m able to make it over from the states. If you happen to be in the area again I recommend spending a few more days and visiting Obernai and Colmar.
@Aurelien W. – We visited Colmar in 2009 and loved it! We’ll add Obernai to the list.