For an overnight stop, you generally want three things: an easy arrival, a good night's sleep and a straightforward departure. Ibis Budget Ulm scores well on the first. When it came to sleeping, the air conditioning left us feeling the heat.
Easy to reach and close to the city
The location is one of the biggest advantages. The hotel is easy to reach by car and close enough to central Ulm to make exploring the city straightforward. That makes it a useful base for a brief visit or one night during a longer drive.
There is a parking garage, but our car-and-roof-box combination met a very literal ceiling. At around 2.10 metres high, we were just too tall to enter. We had to park on the street instead. Thankfully, that felt safe and caused no further problems, but it is worth checking clearance beforehand if you travel with a roof box.
“An overnight-stop hotel does not need a huge room. A decent chance of a good night's sleep would be nice, though.”
Checkedout
A family of five needs two rooms
We were travelling as a family of five. As there were no rooms accommodating all five of us, we needed to book two. That is worth factoring in if you are staying here with a larger family. Fortunately, the hotel made sure our rooms were close together. That may sound obvious, but it is by no means guaranteed everywhere, and they handled it well.
The price made up for quite a lot. Families receive a discount when booking two rooms, bringing our total for one night to €105. For five people and two rooms, that is good value. To be fair, at that price you cannot expect someone to greet you with a chilled towel and a pillow menu.
Small, clean and rather dated
Our rooms had a double bed with a bunk above it. It is a clever, space-saving arrangement, although the rooms remain small. Furnishings are minimal and clearly showing their age. Do not expect a cosy seating area, generous storage or interiors that inspire a living-room makeover.
The beds were comfortable: neither particularly hard nor very soft, and probably a pleasant middle ground for most people. The pillow was comfortable too, leaning towards soft rather than firm. If you prefer a low, soft pillow, you could be very happy here.
The small washbasin stands inside the room. There is no fully enclosed bathroom, which limits privacy and makes bathroom noise more noticeable. Fortunately, the shower was nice and hot, and shampoo was provided. The room was clean, as were the lobby and the rest of the hotel: dated, but well looked after.
The air conditioning left us sweating
The biggest downside was the air conditioning. It worked very poorly, leaving the room warm. In August in particular, that is more than a minor detail: it directly affects your sleep. On the positive side, the hotel itself was quiet. No corridor door-slamming marathon or bedside traffic concert.
What worked well
- €105 for five people in two rooms
- A family discount when booking two rooms
- Our rooms were conveniently close together
- Comfortable beds and soft pillows
- Easy to reach and close to the centre
- A clean, quiet hotel
- A hot shower with shampoo provided
What could be better
- No single room for a family of five
- Small, dated rooms
- The air conditioning worked very poorly
- A small washbasin inside the room
- No fully enclosed bathroom, making noise more noticeable
- Very basic room facilities
- The garage was too low for our 2.10-metre car and roof box
Good for practicality. Less so for comfort.
Ibis Budget Ulm works best as a simple overnight stop: the location is convenient, the hotel is clean and it was quiet. For €105, our family of five had two rooms close together. That is strong value, so expectations should remain realistic. Still, the small, dated rooms, open washbasin area and especially the poor air conditioning bring the score down. Manageable for one night; in summer temperatures, we would first check whether the cooling has been improved.