Le Méridien Stuttgart (Stuttgart, GERMANY)

We’re staying in the fourth city in the last four days. It’s my second visit to Stuttgart, the first since 2012. Despite being the 6th largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has very few accommodation options close to the city centre. I managed to find a few possibilities — mostly boutique hotels in the area but in the end, I chose to stay at a reliable international chain instead. The decision was mainly about its underground parking, something any boutique hotel couldn’t have offered. And with heavy construction going on in the area, that’s an important factor to consider.

We arrived in Stuttgart from Ulm by car in the late afternoon and immediately noticed the ongoing construction of the "Stuttgart 21 central railway station" project, which I heard has been going on for years. Luckily, we didn’t have to search for parking.

Le Méridien Stuttgart was pretty empty when we arrived, so the check-in process didn’t take very long.

Most of the rooms here are the same size (30 sq. metres), but our superior room looked a little smaller than what they indicated. 

Especially with the designer chair, coffee table and desk, there was no room for our luggage and the walking space to the window.

The building that houses Le Méridien Stuttgart was first built in 1988 and later underwent a couple of major renovations after it was rebranded from an InterContinental hotel to a Le Méridien. Nevertheless, its age is starting to show — particularly in the finishes on the walls, among other things.

The bathroom in particular looked as if it had missed the recent renovation (2016). It’s the first part of the room that’s due for a major facelift.

The hotel itself is within walking distance of some of the major attractions in the city, but with multiple major construction sites around, getting there was a nightmare. Instead of a straight line walk, we had to navigate around construction, past Schlossgarten park, and over connecting stairs and footbridges while also avoiding bikers.

The only thing worth reporting was the breakfast buffet, which was outstanding. 

They offer a really good mix of hot and cold dishes, including an egg station where scrambled eggs were prepared to order.

This wasn’t an ideal stay. When I asked my team members to identify their least satisfactory accommodation of this trip, not surprisingly, Le Méridien Stuttgart ranked near the top of everyone’s list. The numbers don’t lie.

P.S. The “Not bad” rating also takes into account the overall experience, including service from the front desk, location, facilities, parking, and breakfast so they kind of counterbalance the negatives.

Rating: ❤❤❤

Price: €€€€

Address: Willy-Brandt-Straße 30, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany

Tel: +49 711 22210

Website: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/strmd-le-meridien-stuttgart

BellaVista (Ulm, GERMANY) ★★☆☆☆

The fact that Ulm is the birthplace of Albert Einstein had nothing to do with us stopping for lunch here this afternoon. With the historic city right in the middle of Kempten and Stuttgart, it simply made perfect sense to stop by for food, gas, and a little bit of sightseeing.

Our friend AI told me that Ulm is a tourist city, but the tourism part didn’t really register during our visit as we were the only notable tourists in the city centre. After parking our car in the heart of Ulm, we emerged from underground looking for our lunch spot.

BellaVista is a popular café, bar, and restaurant in Ulm, famous for its rooftop terrace that looks directly at the Ulm Minster, one of the tallest churches in the world and the undisputed top attraction of the city. The restaurant sits on the top floor of a six-story building on the edge of a plaza right next to the church. It was the main reason I booked this place in the first place.

With the hope of getting a closer look at the Ulm Minster, we decided to sit on the terrace.

Needless to say, we began taking selfies the moment we sat down at the corner.

The food menu is very short, highlighted by a couple of salad bowls, ramen noodles, and the daily specials.

This was when my day took a wild spin for the worse. While I was going through the menu, there were a few (under 10) wasps and bees 🐝 circling around me and little nugget (Jelloman was away to the toilet). It’s safe to say my boy has never been a fan of little flying objects and when he was constantly interrupted by them, he got really irritated and a little upset. He started swinging wildly with the menu, and this probably got one of the wasps upset. It settled on my arm (but why me? I had no clue) and bit me.

When I first saw the wasp on my arm, I didn’t react immediately. Two seconds later, I was already bitten. There was obviously excruciating pain at the spot where I’ve been bitten, and it quickly started to swell pretty badly.

I quickly told little one to go inside the restaurant and asked for help. One of the servers came and sprayed some chemicals on my wound, and without consulting Jelloman, we moved indoors. I was then handed an ice pack to keep the swelling down.

So, yes I didn’t really get to enjoy this meal as much as I would have liked.

Yatai ramen (€13.5) — Both ramen options are vegetarian. This one came with enoki mushrooms, pak choy, leeks, sugar snap peas, and fresh coriander in a soy sauce–based broth. The broth was very strong, with a rich soy sauce flavor. We were joking that with the broth already pretty salty, the chance of the bottle of soy sauce being used was probably next to none. 

Fried calamari (€17.9) — The fried calamari (which was really squid rings) was breaded and served on a bed of salad made with garden greens, rocket leaves, tomatoes, and capers. There was a Parmesan aioli on top to add to the flavors. Overall the dish was fine, although I thought the calamari would have tasted better without the added batter.

There were a few firsts for me today. First time visiting Ulm, first time having Japanese ramen in Germany, and yeah — first time being bitten by a wasp. I have to admit, a lot went through my mind in the few seconds after being bitten, including whether the wasp was poisonous. I was reassured by the staff that as long as I didn’t feel anything wrong (such as dizziness), I should be fine.

A gentleman from the table next to us came over to check if I was alright. What a class act! He went on to tell me that during the summer it’s common to see wasps and bees everywhere in Germany and that being bitten by one definitely isn’t rare. He concluded with, “This is Germany. Welcome to Germany!”

Even with my badly swollen forearm, I decided to check out Ulm Minster. 

Despite its massive scale and cathedral-like appearance, it has never been the official seat of a bishop. Go, figure....

Food Rating: 4.7/10

Price: €€€

Address: Münsterplatz 35, 89073 Ulm, Germany

Tel: +49 731 6026966

Website: https://bellavista-ulm.de/

Opening Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (Mon - Thu), 8:30am - 4:00pm (Fri - Sat)

Taverna Elia (Kempten, GERMANY) ★★★★☆

Taverna Elia Kempten is a cozy Greek-Mediterranean cuisine restaurant operating in the traditional premises of the boutique hotel Bayerischer Hof in Kempten. During the summer, the restaurant extends its service to the outdoor patio, which also serves as a beer garden.

Since we’re staying at the boutique hotel (and we’re too lazy to go out), we decided to stay close for dinner tonight.

Although the hotel and restaurant operate under different ownership, we had to go out to the main road and enter through a separate entrance from the patio, where we were shown our table immediately.

It was a little cool for a summer night, but the setting and weather were perfect for outdoor dining. At least it wasn’t so hot 🥵 that we needed to turn on our mini fans.

Popcorn chicken (€11.6) — Pretty tasty and addictive. The spicy mayo, made with what I thought was paprika, was a nice touch.

Caesar salad (€15.5) — We didn’t have much appetite tonight, thanks to a full day of outdoor activities in the heat this afternoon. So, the plan was to share a small salad among the three of us.

When it arrived, we realized it wasn’t small at all! The dish was filled with lettuce and a mix of fruits (raspberry among others), tomatoes, chicken fillet, and finished with a fairly strong balsamic dressing and olive oil. Pretty appetizing and exactly what the doctor ordered to whet our appetite and stay healthy.

Grilled baby calamari (€23.5) — The baby squid marinated with lemon olive oil, was grilled to a slightly charred crust, and served with some sort of fermented spinach and tzatziki. Yum~

This was a pretty simple yet satisfying dinner. The staff was friendly and most importantly, the waiting time (for table and food alike) was short.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: €€€

Address: Füssener Straße 96, 87437 Kempten (Allgäu), Germany

Tel: +49 831 571-8150

Website: https://elia-taverna.de/

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 2:30pm (Wed - Sun), 5:00pm - 11:00pm (Tue - Sun)