Hotel Allegro

I have been traveling for decades. For business, for pleasure, and I have stayed in all sorts of motels, hotels, BNBs and resorts around the world. And every once in a while you come across a real gem, and the Hotel Allegro in Koln is definitely one of them. On our recent visit to Kola, we had a huge issue with the US Bank Travel Rewards center cancelling our reservation without our consent or bothering to inform us, and we arrived at their sister property to find out it was closing for Easter Weekend and suggesting we stay at the Allegro instead. The Travel Rewards Center inexplicable said that we didn't want to do that (they never asked us... but that's another story) and so we arrived in Koln, tired, cranky and without a place. To make matters worse, my wife had injured her knee running to catch the Metro in Paris, but that too is another story. After calling US Bank Rewards Travel Help Line wasting 30 minutes and resulting in no resolution whatsoever, we were offered some water by the owner, as well as any fruit we might want while we were trying to resolve the issue. After US Bank offered nothing in the way of fixes, we decided to take their offer of alternative lodging at the Allegro a fair price and Nick, the grandson of the owners, kindly offered to drive us over to the other hotel given my wife's condition. That was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the kind of Hospitality this family-run hotel. We stayed in a room facing the Rhine, right near where the Viking River boats land and a short walk to the Schokolade Museum (if you like Chocolate, this is definitely worth a couple of hours to learn about this addictive substance). Our room was cozy, with a coffee maker, modern euro-cool decor and was at a very comfortable temperature (which was not the case in our Hotel in Berlin, BTW). We opted for the breakfast, which is available at a reasonable price and had an excellent selection of breakfast foods including a groovy hand-cranked fresh orange juice maker that is a wonder to behold and the output is even more awesome. Nothing beats fresh orange juice, and there is something particularly satisfying of using their machine. Would love to have one in my kitchen but it is the size of our oven, so maybe not. After we got ourselves settled we went out and checked out Cologne. There is a lot to love about this City, and the big surprise for us was how friendly everyone was. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with friendly faces willing to help and tolerate my German that is on the level of a 3-year old child! On our way back we stopped at Møhler Kolsch which is one of the many brauerie gastro pubs serving traditional German cuisine and excellent Kolsch bier. When we got back to the Hotel, the delightful Turkish gentleman at the reception insisted on opening a bottle of sparking Pinot Noir from France and we enjoyed a relaxing chat and a Chocolate or two (or three, okay, maybe four. OKAY. Five!) in the cozy and welcoming lobby. The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast and went out for a day of museum hopping and shopping (Highly recommended: Manufactum, which offers high quality products from around the world with a style that is particularly appealing to my wife and I) only to return to another warm welcome, a couple of glasses of Pinot, and a good nights rest. The next morning we had another great breakfast that was cooked to order by May, the grand daughter of the owners, who shared the same warmth and welcome that the rest of the Kuepper family did during our stay. Upon departure (which included the owners coming out and helping us load our bags into our Uber ride... how is that for impressive??) we left almost with a sense of sadness that we were moving on to another City after such a warm and pleasant stay. We will be back to Koln, and we will definitely be staying at one of their two properties, and I would encourage you to forego the big chains and give their family-owned, sincerely warm welcome a go. It was a highlight of our trip to Europe and not one we will forget for a very long time.