Advice:Where to stay in cologne

[prestige.dental]

Dear Friends

Any advice on preparing for a 5 day visit to cologne Germany for IDS....where to stay etc etc.

Why are hotels so expensive compared to USA. Last year at LMT, I paid around $200 per day in Chicago and it was on the pricey side.... Here at cologne nothing less than 400 euros(487 US dollars) per day.

How can I get most out of the five day marathon.

Any quick places to visit?

Any experiences/advice would be appreciated.



Thanks

Sam

 

[2thm8kr]

One thing I do when visiting a place for several days is rent a house or apartment. In my experience it is always cheaper than a stay at a hotel.

 

[prestige.dental]

Who is going to IDS 2015.

Do u need a visa or u can just show your American passport to enter Germany.

 

[2thm8kr]

No visa for American passport holders entering the E.U.

 

[Affinity]

Its only the other way around.. Dont try to come to the US without one!

 

[prestige.dental]

LMT Chicago or IDS guys or both.

 

[Labwa]

Hi Sam. this was our choice due to the high prices.
http://www.lhw.com/hotel/Althoff-Grandhotel-Schloss-Bensberg-Bergisch-Gladbach-Germany.
looks like you may need to call them though.

 

[Sydceramist]

^Nice! you guys charging to much over there in WA!

 

[Labwa]

seriously...cheapest place within 50km of cologne. Im not sure why..maybe the photos were taken 30 years ago.

 

[TheLabGuy]

Its only the other way around.. Dont try to come to the US without one!

Or just take the southern route

 

[prestige.dental]

Who is going to IDS .....I am sure some people are going. It will be nice to meet fellow DLN members in person in cologne.

 

[Radu]

We booked a hotel in Bonn and we rent a car. 10 minutes to the IDS location. Airport is the same for Bonn as for Koln.

 

[dmonwaxa]

If you're on a tight budget you can try a gasthaus (guest houses). Family owned, with rooms for rent, some may include a meal or two.

 

[rkm rdt]

If you're on a tight budget you can try a gasthaus (guest houses). Family owned, with rooms for rent, some may include a meal or two.

someone's been watching the Playboy Channel again

 

[French Cadman]

Try this site , I used it on the last IDS , 100 eur/3 days/2 guys ....

Good luck !

https://www.airbnb.de/s/Köln--Deutschland?ss_id=8koo8uk8

 

[prestige.dental]

I really appreciate your helpful responses.

 

[BobCDT]

At this point, anywhere you can get a room. There are about 120K people attend and not nearly that many rooms.

 

[DentalAxess]

Why are hotels so expensive compared to USA. Last year at LMT, I paid around $200 per day in Chicago and it was on the pricey side.... Here at cologne nothing less than 400 euros(487 US dollars) per day.

It's normally not this expensive in Cologne but rooms for IDS books out really early and people book the same hotel year after year e.g. book for the next IDS whilst staying at the hotel.
As others have mentioned, try to look outside Cologne, both Bonn and Dusseldorf has excellent railway connections. If you find a train connection to Koln-Messe (check www.db.de) you can walk straight from the train to the exhibition.
Remember it's cold this time of the year (think Chicago during LMT) so rug up

 

[Tom Moore]

They have a great train system so use them to stay away from the crowds. Find a small family owned hotel in a small town. Then you can meet the real Germans and take in the beauty of the country every morning and eat with the locals at night.

Let a travel agent do the looking for you.

 

[lucky54]

When and where we meet at the IDS any suggestions.