The Ritz-Carlton, Wolfsburg

The staff at the Wolfsburg Ritz-Carlton are kind and efficient, but the room we stayed in was a huge disappointment and nowhere near a five-star experience or worth the more than 700 Euros we paid for one night. Whoever designed the hotel must have felt that light switches were soooo last century, and instead the room is equipped with a number of touchpads to control the lighting. And since there are no switches to reach for in the dark, these tochpads (five in our room) are backlit when the light is turned off - which means that with the curtains drawn and all lights off the room is by no means in darkness, but cast in at sickly white glow. This badly disturbed my sleep, but then again, sleep might not have been possible even in darkness: The pillows of this five-star hotel were made of some nasty synthetic material, making them hot and uncomfortable to lay your head on while offering no support whatsoever for your head and neck. The duvet was also made of some sort of plastic and thus equally hot and uncomfortable. After my shower in the morning I was then astonished to find that the towels were thin, hard and scratchy on the skin. I can't say whether they were bought too cheaply or washed to many times without being replaced, but a tourist class hotel would be ashamed of these rags. I am tempted to give a one-star review for the blatant inconsistency between price and quality, but as mentioned the staff are very good, so for their sake I have added an extra star.

We came to see some art at a nearby museum for our anniversary and they made it a memorable experience. AQUA is sublime. The place is smack dab in the middle of Volkswagen Disneyland and there is a lot to do. I cannot over state how much we LOVED the service and the hotel.

A really great stay (made even better by the restaurant Aqua). Bonvoy Platinum status well recognized (by even more than is required by the terms of the Bonvoy program, while many properties try to go slightly under what the terms call for). They upgraded my room to an Executive Suite (the Presidential Suite was occupied, so I don't know if that was on the table if it was open) which is a really incredible room: huge, impressive view, 1.5 bath (with the main bath having a massive amount of counter space etc. with 2 sinks/vanities separated by a tub). Water and chocolates were in the room as well. Good high qualities toiletries. All the things you might need (shaving kit, toothbrush set, sewing kit, comb) are already in the room, so you don't have to call down for them. This one may sound weird, but I do notice it when it is bad at a luxury property, so I will mention it here where it is good - very nice toilet paper. These kinds of things make a difference. Marriott should pay whoever runs this property to consult the American Ritz Carltons on how to actually provide the luxury a Ritz Carlton should. Excellent breakfast. Excellent service throughout the hotel. Good public areas. If you have to go to Wolfsburg for business, this is a good opportunity to bring your family with you and your kids will actually have fun. If you can get a table at Aqua, I highly recommend it.

We stay at the high-end luxury hotels regularly. When you pay a high room rate and it’s a 5 star hotel you expect service I’m not saying this is not a good hotel only there is some room for improvement. Check in was not what we expected from past Ritz stays. Nobody in front of the hotel. Nobody to help with luggage or to park the car. We went in and the employee at the front desk was friendly. We had to ask for luggage assistance and valet parking though. Not what you would expect! (the Ritz in Berlin knows how this works so maybe they need some education) The room was very nice. Large layout with a very good balcony. The view was nice (both in the day and in the evening/night) Large bathroom and large shower. No bath tube (which was ok) The balcony had a large table with chairs so you could eat and drink wine on the balcony. Also large chairs for relaxing and the privacy was better than expected. The bed is comfy, I always sleep like a baby in The Ritz. The location is right in the center of autostadt. Very nice and the park is also good for evening walks. We enjoyed the park very much. Very clean. We had dinner on one night. The food was ok but not 5-star quality. The pricing was 5-star quality. Value for money is not in balance. The pool was great. Water temperature was a big plus (coming from hotels without pool heating) the view is nice. The service in the spa is above and beyond. The ladies working there are the best. Breakfast was good. Quality of the food is high. Most of the waiters are very friendly and pro-active. There was one guy who comes to mind. He stood above the rest with regards of proactive service. Very good coffee. Check out was better than check in. The manager reacted pro active on our comments. I will not say complaints though it was not the Ritz experience I’m used to.

We just had a short stay here to visit Autostadt and Phaneo since we had earned a free night through Marriott. Arrival was great and easy - everything went smooth. Our Marriott Gold status was recognized and rewarded with the discretionary upgrade. Unlike most places, the pool was a lot larger than expected and heated to a comfortable temperature. What stood out was the quality of the service. It was friendly and professional, without being pretentious. The front desk staff was top-notch. One person, in particular, made our stay memorable: Frau Vogel-Villanueva. She was able to jump from German to English without problem, and she was able to accommodate our requests without missing a beat with a great attitude to go along with it. The rooms are clean and well appointed. The location is great, as it is in the middle of Autostadt, and entry is included with the stay at the Ritz. It is also easy to get to the other side of the river using a bridge that connects to the Autostadt, There are a number of restaurants and the Phaneo in comfortable walking distance. The Phaneo is highly recommended for families with kids - the most interactive science museum we have visited. One could easily spend 8 hours here. If there was something to correct would be that all restaurants in the hotel were booked out upon our arrival, which forced us to find alternate dining arrangements. In the future, an email or message notifying guest would be nice once restaurants are close to being fully booked. We were already tired from our travel and then had to go looking for dinner, which was less than ideal. Overall, I can recommend this hotel for 2-3 night stay for families, with one day at the Autostadt and a second day at the Phaneo + pool time.