DAX

Will Travel: Many people like Le Meridien because it's a very modern (minimalist?) hotel but I had a poor service experience to the point that I moved to Hyatt, but maybe that's just me. The Vier Jahreszeiten is a great old grand dame hotel with the most perfect location with a nice lake view. I've never seen the brand newish Dorint Sofitel but hsv has recommended it to me several times. It seems to have a very good location similar to the old Renaissance. The only one that's a bit out of the way is the old Intercon which is way north near the American embassy but still across the street from the lake which is good for strolling around the lake. It's an OK hotel in a very nice residential neighborhood, not my first choice but adequate. You can take the nice city bus with large windows to downtown after just a few stops. The bus stop is just a block east of the hotel, but I did have to wait for the bus for a long while, there was no taxi on that residential street, you can only get taxi from the hotel front. I walked the distance once and took the bus/taxi after that. Sorry I rambled on.

WillTravel

Thanks, DAX. It sounds like we'd have a good chance of getting a great place if I used Priceline for a 5* hotel, but on the other hand, in this particular case with one night and limited time, I really like knowing exactly where we'll be and staying at an Ibis won't harm us. But I have some months to consider this anyway and look for other deals. I look forward to hearing about how your daughter likes Hamburg.

hsv

While the Ibis isn't in such a bad location, I might be tempted to give a Priceline 5* bid a try.
Neither of the properties listed is in a much more inconvenient location than the Ibis (opposite the Atlantic), from where, too, you'd have to walk for a few yards along a very busy road in order to reach the Inner Alster Lake.
The Meridien is a bit further out of the inner city center, but is a nice enough hotel (even though the service DAX received might have been spotty, but for a Priceline rate how bad can it be).
The Interconti has been summed up very nicely by DAX. While the hotel is a bit aged, it features amenities such as a pool, which might be nice after a day of hitting the sidewalks. Plus, I rather like its location. It is about a 20 min. walk along the beautiful Alster shores into the city, a taxi won't cost a fortune and buses are there, too. The neighbourhood it is located in is posh, but features a few quite nice hangouts for the evening (along Mittelweg and Milchstr.).
The Vier Jahreszeiten may be a bit stuffy for a teenager, but arguably is still the best hotel in town in a splendid location.

DAX,

while I do like the Renaissance, I have heard that it is a bit dated and will undergo renovations in 2007 with an introdcution of Marriott's Revive beds. As long as this hasn't been the case I would rather opt for the Hyatt if I could swing it. And I stand by my advice to give the Sofitel a try alternatively. Should be rather nice, if a bit colder in atmosphere than the Hyatt.

WillTravel

The Inter-continental is available for $134 USD directly for my dates, so it's probably the hotel I would get if I bid for a 5*. Thanks for the further description, hsv.

I don't know if this would be confusing to anyone else, although it was slightly confusing to me, but it's not an Intercontinental that is in the same family as Holiday Inn - it appears to be an independent.

hsv

Will,

the Interconti should be nicer than the Ibis. I would go for it - esp. duruing summers its location is rather charming (and the advantage of staying there is that you won't see it from the outside ;-) ).

hsv

I should rather have said, I'd risk the Priceline 5* bid, of course.

And I do not understand what you're saying about the Interconti being independent. If I try the ichotels website, it comes up as no.1 for Hamburg - along with the Crowne Plaza and 2 Holiday Inns.

WillTravel

HSV, I see I was indeed confused. I'm glad you helped me with this. When I did a search on the holiday-inn.com site, I just came up with the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inns. But just now I did a search on the ichotelsgroup.com site and got the Intercontinental.

WillTravel

And now I'm thinking maybe it's worth it to spend two nights in Hamburg, particularly if at a 5* hotel.

hsv

contrary to what other posters usually say, I think it would be.

Hamburg has become extremely popular with domestic tourists and travellers from Scandinavia, Switzerland and to some extent the U.K.
Americans usually make a big turn around it - but for some reason do like Copenhagen. I think there are a lot of similarities - and although on the Pal's Berlin thread a poster recently described Hamburg as nothing special (because of accusedly not sporting beautiful buildings), I happen to differ (particularly with reference to buildings and architecture). The city should offer enough to keep the two of you entertained for 1.5 to 2 days - particularly during summer.

WillTravel

That's interesting, hsv, because the Hamburg time would come at the expense of Copenhagen in my August trip plan, which currently has 4 nights for Copenhagen. So instead of 1 night Hamburg, 4 nights Copenhagen, it would become 2 nights Hamburg, 3 nights Copenhagen if I decide to switch things.

Our situation is a bit unique in that my daughter has Danish citizenship and has never been to Denmark, so she has a slightly greater interest than the average tourist, no doubt. But I've been to Denmark before, and although I like it, it's obviously pretty expensive and Hamburg sounds quite intriguing.

hsv

I do adore Copenhagen, but think that 3 nights there are still sufficient. It is fairly small and compact (thus walkable), although its surroundings are beautiful.
May I recommend that you try The Square hotel in Copenhagen? It's a 3* with a modern design, clean and located on Radhuspladsen, just around the corner of Tivoli and Stroeget. It usually gets booked very fast, but you still might be in time for August. Usually does not break the bank and only due to the lack of a restaurant (there is a rooftop buffet breakfast, though), it is not rated higher, I should think.

WillTravel

HSV, the Square is very close to where I stayed in Copenhagen last time, and I agree its location is perfect. For my dates, its discount rate is about 166 Euros per night - I know that's not bad for Copenhagen, but in the meantime I've reserved a much lesser hotel and I'm hoping that a better deal will materialize (which happened to me last time).

Back to Hamburg, I realized I can also use points for the Royal Le Meridien. I'm tempted to do that, if its location would be convenient, as both of you seem to have indicated.

hsv

Is the LRM location convenient?
I would not subscribe to 100% to that view.

It is not inconvenient - it is alright.

It is situated on the less attractive Eastern shore of the Outer Alster - seperated from the Alster by an extremely busy road. It is about 300 yards further from the center of the city than the Atlantic and the Ibis (which you considered before).

Buses would only run along Lange Reihe St. in St. Georg (approx. a 350 yard hike) from the hotel. Note that St. Georg has two sections: West of Lange Reihe (which is nice) and East of it (which is less nice, particularly along Steindamm and East of that). The LRM is West, so o.k. Lange Reihe is actually a diverse street that sees some very positive delopment (to a large extent also due to the gay scene focusing there) in terms of restaurants (Cox, Anna), bars (Buddha Bar, Turnhalle) and shops (traditional and new ones).

It is about a 15 min. stroll to Jungfernstieg and City Hall Square.
Basically it is just across the Outer Alster Lake from the Interconti, the pros and cons of the location of that have been debated here. The Interconti's location is in fact nicer IMHO as it's quieter.

From either the Interconti, the Ibis or the LRM you could also take a boat (Alsterdampfer, i.e. Alster Steamer) to Jungfernstieg - the cost of which might be included in the room rate of the LRM, though (those boats are not part of public transport as compared to the port ferries, which are, but they are sponsored by an insurance co that used to own or still owns the building the LRM is housed in. Thus, there might be an arrangement).

WillTravel

Thanks HSV, that is really helpful. It doesn't sound like using points for LRM would be the wisest use, necessarily. I know this is a completely different option, but how about the Best Western Altona Raphael, at Praesident-Krahn-Strasse 13? I presume that's not a very useful location? Again, I'm interested because I could use points for it. If using points is not a good idea here, I'll just apply them elsewhere, so it's not critical.

hsv

Tough choice.

I'd rather use the points on the LRM than on the BW. Altona is an o.k. place to stay if you enjoy a lively bar and restaurant scene - but it is more of a neighbourhood one could consider to live in (if one likes the cultural diversity) than for a first tourist visit.

Given your options, I'd rank them:

1. make a PL 5* bid
2. use points on LRM
3. stay at IBIS Alster
4. stay at BW / DorintNovotel Alster

WillTravel

HSV, the Priceline 5* option is sounding quite attractive. One more possible option - what about the Intercity Hauptbahnhof at Glockengiesserwall 14/15? This seems to be right at the train station. If I prepay through a consolidator, the rate is 83 Euros per night with breakfast. I'm a bit surprised by the hotel rates - they seem to be rather higher than Berlin, and I think Cologne too (although of course still significantly cheaper than Copenhagen).

hsv

The Intercity Hbf, while a bit anonymous, is still new and should be fine. Definitely nicer option than the Ibis.

DAX

Staying near the station will make it so much easier for you to wheel the suitcase to the hotel & train. That's the very reason why I stayed at the Hyatt repeatedly. I can stroll out of the hotel 10-15 minutes before my train leaves.

I find hotels of same caliber in Hamburg cheaper than Berlin, like the Hyatt Hamburg 185 euro vs Berlin Hyatt 350 euro. Could it be that you're comparing apples with oranges in terms of caliber? Cologne is tricky, if you come on a non convention day, it'll be really cheap, otherwise it'll be incredibly expensive ($300 for a dump) during conventions. Have a great trip!

DAX

Just want tos share this pdf about the new Hafen City in Hamburg which is going to be like a larger Potsdamerplatz(Berlin) but surrounded by water. You have to zoom in to see the nice details using the magnifying glass button:

http://www.hafencity.com/upload/file...enstand_A3.pdf

WillTravel

DAX - very interesting, thanks for that. I think Hamburg does indeed deserve two nights.

Perhaps my Berlin hotel ideas are just due to the fact that I've been lucky enough to get great deals there - like the Westin Grand for 55 Euros per night a few years ago via Priceline. The Mercure just north of Oranienburger Tor which we stayed at last year, and which my daughter is begging to stay at again this year, was 57 Euros prepaid last year for our August dates, and this year it is 59 Euros prepaid. For standard prices, without discounts, you are no doubt correct, but it just seems harder to get a really great deal in Hamburg (then again, there are many months before August in which great deals can still materialize).