Although we spent Saturday, the 16th, in Frankfurt, our big business trip to Poland officially began on Sunday, November 17th. We spent a luxurious anniversary night at the Jumeirah Frankfurt Hotel, for which I have already written a TripAdvisor review. I tried to upload my photos with that review, but it was taking way too long on the hotel’s WiFi.
The Jumeirah Frankfurt hotel is part of a chain based in the United Arab Emirates, so it’s a very Muslim friendly hotel. Personally, I found that a very interesting touch. It was definitely not like typical upscale German hospitality. Everyone on staff spoke English and all seemed very eager to please. From the moment of our arrival until we checked out, we got great service. The only real hiccup was when we ate dinner in the dining room, Max One Grillroom. Our waiter was very kind and hardworking, but seemed a bit inexperienced and unsure about wine service. However, having waited tables myself, I know there’s a first time for everything. I have faith he’ll catch on and do just fine.
I prepaid the room, which was about middle of the road for what they offer. It was about $400, but less expensive options are certainly available. Remember this was for our anniversary. Adding in dinner and drinks the bar, plus valet parking and taxes, we had about 300 euros left to pay at checkout.
The Jumeirah Frankfurt is attached to a shopping mall. On the top floor is “Foodtopia”, which is supposed to be some kind of high powered food court. I wasn’t impressed by it, mainly because it was very loud and crowded. However, Americans might be interested in it, because that’s where Chipotle Grill is. I have never eaten at Chipotle myself, but I do remember when we lived in Stuttgart, people spoke of driving all the way to Frankfurt to get their “fix”. Seems a bit extreme to me!
We didn’t manage to eat lunch before we left the house on Saturday, so we made a quick stop at Buena Vista Restaurant, which is right across from the Jumeirah Frankfurt Hotel. We chose it because they serve tapas and wine. I didn’t want a lot before dinner, just enough to chase off the low blood sugar blues. We ended up with too much, anyway… but here are a few photos. I had garlic soup, which was pretty good, but a little too rich.
After we checked out of the hotel on Sunday morning, we made our way to hellish Frankfurt Airport. Bill had pre-arranged parking in a business lot. That was a real blessing, since trying to park in other areas can be quite the nightmare. I had booked a business class seat on our flight, while Bill was booked in coach. Had I known we’d be on a tiny airplane, I would not have bothered. As it was, I got bumped from business class and sat with Bill in an exit row. Supposedly, Lufthansa will give me 90 euros back on my credit card someday.
Having the business class ticket was useful in that it got me through security quickly and it got my bag off the plane first. Unfortunately, Bill and I got split up, since the economy security line was loaded with people. He got to the gate before I did, since I waited for him not knowing he was already through the line. Then, we had to take a long bus ride all the way out to the cargo area to get to our rinky dink airplane… which happened to be full of people who were also going to Bill’s conference in Wroclaw. In fact, there were so many Americans aboard that the staff at the airport asked Bill what was up.
The flight itself was okay. It took about an hour. I was glad I at least got to sit with Bill. I suspect I’ll be bumped on the way back to Frankfurt, too. One thing I do miss about Stuttgart is the airport, which is much smaller and less chaotic than Frankfurt Airport is. Frankfurt Airport generally puts me in a bad mood because shit just doesn’t work there. We had to use self check in and self baggage drop, and neither worked properly for me, so I had to find a customer service person anyway. I wish they’d just employ people and not force the clueless to try to use their poorly calibrated machines that need more printing ink. Oh… and I wish they’d not oversell their flights, too… but I guess everyone is doing it.
More in the next post.
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