Review: the Westin Grand Frankfurt hotel (Marriott Bonvoy)

This is our review of the Westin Grand hotel in Frankfurt, part of Marriott Bonvoy.

The Marriott Bonvoy® American Express Credit Card® is currently offering 60,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy® points for a limited time.

To show you what sort of hotels you could visit around Europe with Bonvoy points, the HfP team split up and visited four different properties across four different brands in four different countries.  We’ll be bringing you these reviews on alternate Saturdays whilst the 60,000 points offer is running.

The first review in this series looked at the Dorothea Hotel in Budapest, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection – click here to read it.

If you want to learn more about the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express Credit Card® 60,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points promotion, then read our article here.

Marriott provided all four hotels in this series for free for review purposes. HfP paid for all of its flights and incidental expenses. The articles are not sponsored and Marriott has not seen the reviews before publication.

The Westin Grand website is here.

Frankfurt isn’t just for bankers ….

Having worked for seven years in Frankfurt am Main as a banker in the late 90ies/early 00ies I was very pleased when this review came up. I still have friends and former colleagues there and any chance to reconnect is welcome. It is also an opportunity to convince you of the weekend break delights of Frankfurt!

Frankfurt, also labelled ‘Mainhattan’ for its high-rising office towers, is mainly known as a business destination. In fact the city has a lot to offer tourists too and works well as a hub to explore central parts of Germany.

Frankfurt has a brilliant collection of museums, mainly located close to the river Main in an area known as ‘Museumsufer’. I revisited the ‘Städel’ art museum and was impressed by the current Käthe Kollwitz exhibition. The roof terrace also provides a great view of Frankfurt’s skyline. Goethe House (birthplace and childhood home of Faust author Johann Wolfgang Goethe) is another interesting option.

Frankfurt’s city centre is not particularly attractive, I admit, having been completely rebuilt after WWII. An exception is The Römer – the newly refurbished old town of Frankfurt around the cathedral, image below. It has lovely cafes and restaurants as well as little shops. Cafe “Goldene Waage” is a particular favorite of mine. In winter the Christmas market here is lovely. All of this is in walking distance of the Westin Grand.

I can also recommend a visit to the Alte Oper (old opera house) which was rebuilt after being bombed and is now a venue for concerts and opera. It is an easy 15 minute walk from the Westin Grand along the Zeil, Frankfurt’s shopping mile. The area around the Alte Oper has more upmarket shopping, for example in Goethestrasse, and the ‘Fressgass’ (roughly translated as ‘grazing street’) with multiple eating options.

Getting to the Westin Grand

The hotel is situated in the city centre next to Konstablerwache S-Bahn/U-Bahn station which has a direct connection with the airport. Whether you take the train or taxi it is a short trip as the airport is not far from the city centre.

I flew in via BA Cityflyer from London City Airport, arriving at Terminal 2. The downside here is that you have to take the Skyline train to Terminal 1 before jumping on the S8 S-Bahn train. The journey was just over 20 minutes (cost €6.30) and is no quicker by taxi, except for the time saved by not waiting for the Skyline train and no busy road traffic.

The hotel was built in 1989 and the facade is unmistakably from that period. Inside however, the building was completely stripped and renovated over two years and re-opened in September 2022 as effectively a brand new property. It is far more impressive than it looks from the outside.

Lobby

The Westin Grand lobby gives a grand first impression, covering basically the entire ground floor. It is very spacious with the reception desks to your right. What really strikes you is that it is very bright with a tasteful neutral interior which makes this large open space very welcoming.

The reception staff was very friendly and efficient at check-in. Next to the reception desks at the far end is a Grab & Go shop for coffee, drinks, snacks etc.

Opposite the reception desks is a business centre with surprisingly lovely furniture. If you are into interior design you’ll be impressed by the wealth of textures from wood and stone to fabrics, and with very clever lighting. Spaces are divided up with open shelves displaying vases, bonsai and artifacts.

What is very practical – and a little surprising to see – is that directly from the lobby is a door leading to a shiny new branch of Sixt should you need a car, with cars available in the hotel’s underground car park.

Straight ahead from the entrance is a set of stairs leading to Motions, the restaurant where breakfast is served, and Westin Club, the executive lounge.

Another part of the large entrance lobby is dedicated to the Main Tapas Lounge – the main restaurant, lounge and bar in the hotel. Sofas and armchairs are available, in addition to tables, for anyone who wants to just sit here, eat or have a drink:

My Westin Club Room

I was booked into a Westin Club Room on the 4th floor – the second lowest room category. My room was looking out to the inner courtyard but, to be honest, the central location of the hotel means the exterior rooms don’t have great views either.

It’s best to say that the beauty is all within the hotel. Here is the lift area on my floor, which is smarter than you’d expect:

My room was a very good size with a large king sized bed. For a work area I had a round table instead of a desk, which wasn’t an issue.

On my bedside table I found a lavender balm for the night which was a cute touch.

The room is equipped with the modcons you’d expect from a fully refurbished hotel. Below is the entrance area with a wardrobe, coffee machine and 0.5l bottles of still and sparkling water. As 0.5l still water wasn’t enough for me I went down to Grab & Go and bought some more.

Housekeeping must have noticed that I preferred still water and next day I found two still water bottles in my room instead of one of each.

The minibar is empty by default for your own items, but can be filled on request.

The bathroom is quite small with most of the available space given over to a roomy shower, which meant that the toilet had to be tucked in behind the door.

Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel are from Westin White Tea (their own label) in large bottles.

I also had a small bottle of body lotion and soap provided but nothing else. This was a little surprising for a hotel at this level and I think that at least some cotton pads for make-up removal would be handy.

A Duplex Suite

I was given a tour of the hotel during my stay and visited a Duplex Suite for HfP readers who want to splash out or want more space. The hotel has four of those which are large and very stylish.

A few steps up from the hallway in the Duplex Suite leads to the sitting room with floor to ceiling windows flooding the space with light.

The bedroom is on a mezzanine level which also contains a large walk-in wardrobe (not pictured):

The bathroom has both a shower and a bath. I also spotted a few more amenities here as compared to my room.

Spa, gym and pool at Westin Grand Frankfurt

The spa and gym are on the sixth floor. This is particularly lovely with views over adjacent rooftops. There are not that many loungers around the pool although it isn’t as bad as the photograph looks – more were behind me.

There are saunas, available spa treatments and the hotel has a well-being coach if you feel the need.

The gym is very well equipped, has natural light and is conveniently open 24/7.

If you prefer to exercise in your room, the TV has a channel with a free yoga lesson. There is really no excuse not to do a little bit of exercise whilst staying here.

If you don’t have your kit, gym bags can be hired for a fee at reception. There is even a run concierge who can be booked for a morning run around town.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the Motions restaurant on the first floor. It is offered as a buffet including coffee – or there is an extensive choice of loose and bagged teas by the Jing brand if you prefer.

The buffet is in the centre of the restaurant with the tables arranged around it.

Some tables are set in a higher bar stool style:

The breakfast buffet offers an extensive choice of warm and cold dishes. Here is the bread and pastry station including brezels with a number of different jams, peanut butter and honeys.

Here are the continental cold cuts. There is also a station for warm dishes including cooked to order eggs. There was even a dedicated station for a vegan breakfast.

Dining

I had dinner at Main Tapas Lounge. Dishes here are are Spanish tapas style inspired but with mainly local foods.

Despite the beautiful surroundings it is an informal experience, perfect after a long day either at work or sightseeing. Afternoon tea and high tea can also be booked.

Every first Wednesday afternoon of the month the hotel has a ‘tapas and tunes’ evening with a DJ playing from 5.30pm. As this coincided with my visit I popped down to take a look. I had a delicious Gin Basil Smash for €13.

The tapas menu emphasizes local dishes such as green sauce. This is a famous Frankfurt speciality made from herbs and usually eaten with potatoes and boiled egg. The recipe varies (and is often kept a secret) but it seems to always contain sorrel. Green sauce is so popular that it has its own festival in Frankfurt every May!

For dinner I chose a Hessian potato cake (€7) with Frankfurt green sauce and a larger tapa of chicken with asparagus (€14):

…. followed by apple wine mousse with strawberry and chocolate (€7.5), apple wine being another local specialty. If you want to try local dishes there are many traditional restaurants specialising in apple wine, green sauce and other specialties on the river Main and in the Sachsenhausen quarter.

If you fancy something different for dinner, tucked behind the bar is upmarket Japanese restaurant Sushimoto. I didn’t eat here but it looked very tempting.

The interior is authentic Japanese with its lacquer furniture and paper walls.

Westin Club lounge

This was impresssive, I have to say.

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador members get free access to the executive lounge on the first floor next to the Motions restaurant. You can also book a room with lounge access included.

This is one of the best club lounges I’ve visited. It’s a lovely space, open to the inner atrium, and with more than enough tables.

The lounge balcony offers more relaxed seating looking down to the Main Tapas Lounge:

This is the drinks corner which also includes local Frankfurter Apfelwein (apple wine or cider).

Breakfast wasn’t being served in the lounge when I was there but a sign said it would resume later in May and should be back by the time you read this. You could use the restaurant with no extra charge in the meantime.

Here is the lounge bread selection with various cheeses, normal and herb butter and various chutneys and spreads:

Fruit, dried fruit and nuts are available all day:

In the evening a buffet comes out. I visited on both nights and was impressed by the salad bar which was the most extensive I have seen in a lounge. The desserts also looked fantastic.

The first night there were three hot dishes of beef steak, sweet potato and pasta gratin.

The second night was dedicated to ‘make your own Asian bowl’. Here are the various vegetable ingredients to choose from ….

…. which are then combined with aubergine curry soup or miso broth plus some proteins to create your own bowl.

I was seriously impressed by the choice and would have happily eaten here if I hadn’t made other plans. It’s a substantial selection and far beyond the usual selection of nibbles which never quite fill you up.

Conclusion

The Westin Grand is a very well designed and fully refurbished hotel in the heart of Frankfurt with excellent public transport links. It feels like an oasis of wellbeing in the somewhat dreary Konstablerwache area.

It’s an especially good choice for anyone with Marriott lounge access via their Bonvoy elite status. The Westin Club lounge is one of best I have seen with more than enough tables to go around, very good food and extensive choice. This is very well done.

This being Frankfurt, pricing drops at the weekend as the business traffic fades away. For a weekend in mid June room start at €250 per night or around 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Midweek dates tend to be nearer €400 but still around 50,000 points, making a redemption better value at this time.

This means that you can get one free night here with the current 60,000 points special sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy® American Express® Card.

The Westin Grand Frankfurt website is here if you want to book or find out more.

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There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

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You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
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The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.