Dortmund by night, Hotel Unique Hauptbahnhof

- Hauptbahnhof, Main Station, Station area

I visited Dortmund only for half a day, part of the 9 euro railway trip (taking train within Germany for just 9 euro, starting in Rostock). The initial purpose by visiting Dortmund was to get a nice hotel for a low price, that was near Cologne and Düsseldorf. But I decided to also make sightseeing. I found the 4-star Hotel Unique Hauptbahnhof, that is a very elegant with chandeliers, marble stairs, marble columns and so on. It has 127 rooms on 6 floors, and the interior is, as the name intends, unique, oriental and extra-vagant but almost tacky. It was built in 2009 and the red brick building was illuminated in purple when I arrived at night.
The room was really big and nice, like a suite. The bathroom even had two sinks. But it had no AC, and it was 38 degrees outside, the heat in the room was unbearable, making it hard to enjoy the elegance! I also had to open the windows and there was a lot of noise from the traffic. The breakfast was amazing and had a good variety. The staff was nice and offered me snacks late in the evening so I didn’t have to go out.

I arrived late in the evening, close to midnight, by train. My experience was thatit looked dark compared to many other cities, with limited illuminations of buildings and city lights. So I decided to not walk, but take the S-bahn, despite the hotel was close.

Dortmund has a vibrant nightlife with restaurants, clubs and bars. Dortmund Hauptbahnhof (Main Station), opened in 1847, rebuilt in 1952 after the war (it has 16 platforms) and was the place I arrived by train from Düsseldorf.