Hi everyone -

My husband and I plan to be in Hamburg in May 2012 for 2 nights, one of the days we are there is a significant birthday for me. I have read through all the hotel reviews and threads and was wondering if anyone could give an updated opinion
We are looking for something stylish, classy, upmarket but not too high priced as the South African rand is not the strongest of currencies. Hoping to find something for between 120 - 150 Euros per night and it would be great if that could include breakfast - we love hotel breakfast buffets!

we would like to explore Hamburg, do some shopping and find a nice local restaurant for dinner on both nights we are there

Once we have the hotel narrowed down I would love to ask some questions about things to do and how to spend the significant day

thanks to you all in advance
Cape Town Folk

Hotel Grand Elysee
Hotel Europäischer Hof Hamburg

Are couple I like from 110 euro nt
otel.com booking.com priceline.com
Marriott.com good there for me in the past too

virtualtourist.com
eurocheapo.com/hamburg

good budget tips activities...

Have fun!

I stayed at Sofitel ( not sure about the rate now)in July.
Rooms on the canal side are great.
very good location
Hamburg is lovely!

Hamburg normally has rather affordable hotel rates in the top sector, so it's worth checking out the better establishments.
My order of preference would be as follows:

1. Park Hyatt (5*+)
http://hamburg.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/...sp?language=en
2. Sofitel (5*
http://www.sofitel.com/gb/home/index.shtml
3. The George (4*)
http://www.thegeorge-hotel.de/english/
4. Le Royal Meridien (5*)
http://www.leroyalmeridienhamburg.com/en
5. Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten
http://www.hvj.de/en/index.php
6. Side (4*+)
http://www.side-hamburg.de/en/side-home.html
7. Elysee (4*+)
http://www.grand-elysee.com/en/
8. Marriott (4*)
http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/tra...arriott-hotel/

If, for some reason, prices in these should exceed your budget, try one of these:

1. Madison (apartment hotel 3.5/4*)
http://madisonhotel.de/en/welcome.ht...ku3c86pi17s3v7
2. 25 hours Hafencity (3*)
http://www.25hours-hotels.com/hafencity/?lang=en

As a caveat to the 25 hours Hafencity: It is located in the former warehouse district of the port that is being gentrified and developed into an extension of the inner city - with a focus on a combination of residential and commercial blocks (think Cape Town Waterfront with more residential blocks and less tourist activity). It is work in progress, still, but coming to life.
The 25 hours hotels are a small chain founded by a Hamburg entrepreneur and usually offer some original, some may call it quirky, design, but they get a lot of things right (normally quite comfortable beds in particular). Despite only bus connections to the (very close) centre of the city, I think this one would be preferable (they have a nice rooftop sauna with a view of the port) over the other 25 hours in Bahrenfeld .

My number 8 might actually be divided:
Also consider the Radisson Blu Messe.
http://www.radissonblu.com/hotel-hamburg

It's huge and corporate, but has recently been renovated (the public areas look as though they have done a thorough and actually quite good job) and its location right by Dammtor Station is good, too.

Thanks so much everyone
It's Friday evening here in sunny Cape Town. I will go over everything in detail this weekend and no doubt post some more questions
thanks for all the help so far
CTF

I think Hamburg hotel prices are very high (I guess I'm used to normal German prices) but I think you are kinda stuck with it if that is what you want to do.

Just a thought have you any connections with the very posh yacht club Hamburger Sailing Club (actually it is for little boats but they are proud people) if you belong to any clubs you might find you have recipricols with it. It has a great position on the lake so worth a check.

@ bilboburgler:

I am not quite sure whether you actually mean "Hamburg Sailing Club" or rather "North German Regatta Club" ( NRV).
The latter is even posher - and has a partnership with the Royal Cape Yacht Club.
While both clubs have their club houses by the Outer Alster shores (the inner city "lake" where only smaller boats should be raced), both clubs have also a lot of offshore activities with bigger boats. In fact, the small ones in the city often are of secondary nature for after work sailing purposes for their owners.

Hi there

I have spent time going through all the links - thank you so much hsv
Please would you give me your thoughts on the following hotels

Hotel Atlantic Kempinski - now renovated
Renaissance Marriott
Le Royal Meridien

I can look again at your suggestions if you think the 3 I am thinking of are not right?
We arrive on a Tuesday about 11am, plan to spend the rest of that day walking around and shopping and would want somewhere close to the hotel for dinner - casual and easy.
The next day is the birthday day and we would like to plan something special - will think further when we have sorted out the hotels.
The Thursday morning I thought we should visit miniature world and at lunch time we board our cruise ship
Thank you once again for your help
CTF

The Atlantic is a tough call.
It used to be (along with the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten) Hamburg's Grande Dame of hotels, a fabulously white Grand Hotel by definition offering gracious service. I had a lot of sympathy for it.
Unfortunately Kempinksi as managers (along with the owners of the property) really mucked it up - extracting cash without maintaining a proper level of capex. This culminated in the Atlantic being excluded from Leading Hotels of the World and even losing its official star rating by the German Hotel Association just a year before its anniversary, a sad development quite unheard of.
They have started renovations now and I do hope that they will finally do the potential of the property justice, however I am not sure they have completed renovations. And if you'd end up in an unrenovated part of the hotel, you might as well stay in a nice 3* and would be better off. It will take some effort to restore the reputation.

The Renaissance has quite a nice location and is housed in a landmark red brick building. It feels intimate and the public spaces have been refurbished quite attractively. Rooms are of a modest size - and when I stayed there about 2 years ago (at a really cheap rate) corrdidors had not been touched and felt quite a let-down. The fitness area, too, was a joke.

The Royal Meridien (next to the Atlantic) may be the safest bet of your considerations. Rooms are generous and mildly modern (and if you are a fan of pale green wall decor that would help even more). It's a nice enough hotel, but may be showing its age (approx. 10 years) a little.

If this is the category of hotels you are looking at, I would strongly advise to once more check the Sofitel and the Park Hyatt. If either of them falls within EUR 10.00 of the others, I would consider that a good investment.
I'll advise on (neighbourhood) restaurants once you have made your hotel decision.

It should read:
"The Royal Meridien (next<i>door</i> to the Atlantic)..."

Hi hsv.
I have now written to Kempinski Hamburg to ask if they can guarnantee me a beautiful room . I found a delux double for E183. No breakfast in that price which is a pity as I love hotel breakfasts.
I have gone off the idea of the Renaissance a bit - seems a little run down - I do like nice rooms - the pictures of the 1980s suite are incredible but out of my price range
Royal Meridien - pale green walls - no thanks
Sofitel - too modern - looking for old and luxury - you don't find old in Africa so that is one of the best things about traveling to Europe
Park Hyatt - Best rate I can see is 265 Euros - entry level room

Narrowing it down, but still not there

thanks for help
CTF

<i>Royal Meridien - pale green walls - no thanks</i>

The rooms at the Meridien are really nice, actually. The pale green is an effect from the colored glass used for the bathrooms. Perhaps pictures don't do it justice, because I thought it a very nicely designed hotel.

But, it is a pretty modern design, so if you are looking for old world charm, you won't find it there.

(Hi hsv!) I've stayed at the Atlantic in 2006, before renovation started. Here is what I wrote in a trip report:

5star Hotel Kempinski Atlantic - one of Hamburg's leading hotels with a lot of charm and patina. Impressive lobby and salons. The service was excellent. My single room at the 4th floor had a decent size and was luckily airconditioned. Bed was 1,40 x 2,00 m, the high ceiling added to the feeling of more than enough space (for a single room). The bathroom was relatively small and had no tub, only shower (no complaint, fine for me). No particular view (window to the beautiful courtyard), but thus quiet. The breakfast buffet was outstanding (included in the room rate, otherwise they charge 28.50 Euro for it). Several sorts of rolls, croissants, bread, cakes, müesli (cereals), cornflakes etc. Several sorts of salmon (smoked, graved), other fish, ham (parma, serrano etc.), salami, a variety of cheese, fruits ... you could order freshly prepared dishes with eggs, pancakes ... They had at least 6 sorts of freshly squeezed juice everyday (orange, grapefruit, strawberry, mango, kiwi etc.), excellent black tea (I had 1st flush Darjeeling), of course coffee, but also very good German champagne.

The location of the hotel is excellent - only a five minutes walk from the central railway station, right at the Aussenalster lake with a boat stop right in front of the hotel and only a 10 minutes walk from the shopping streets/arcades in the city centre.

There is a pool/sauna at the 3rd floor. Don't expect one of those extensive "spa worlds", but the pool was large enough for swimming some laps, they had some comfy beach-chairs, the staff provided mineral water, fruits, towels for free. There was even a small terrace attached to the pool area where you cold sit in one of those typical German beach chairs which you find on the Baltic/North Sea and catch a glimpse of the Aussenalster lake. Great!

I had booked through Hamburg Tourism and got an excellent deal: 3 nights single room, incl. that outstanding breakfast, plus Hamburg Card, which was good for public transportation and reductions for museums for 258 Euro. They also offered a special fare for the train ride Dresden - Hamburg: 84 Euro round trip ticket.

All in all - I would stay there again, but I hope the hotel has undergone a renovation till then, especially the facade. A bit too much patina IMO.

Good point about the Meridein, Travelgourmet
Ingo - thank you for reposting your Atlantic report. I am leaning towards this hotel - the breakfast sounds great but it was very expensive as an add on and the price I found did not include breakfast - I will now look on the German Tourism site and see if I can get a better deal there
CTF

Judging from the pictures of the renovated rooms on the Atlantic website that seems a reasonable way to proceed - especially if you're after "old world grandeur" (BTW I would have considered the Mount Nelson quite old and luxury - just saying as you claimed there isn't anything like that in Africa) and do not want to go for the very old school Vier Jahreszeiten (which as a downside doesn't have a pool).
Let's see if Kempinski will guarantee a renovated room at that rate.

P.S. Hi to you, too, Ingo.

Casual restaurants not too far from the Atlantic:

Italian:
Schmilinsky
Located in the souterrain of Hotel Aussen Alster at Schmilinskystr. 11, a short stroll from the Atlantic. Relaxed, but reasonably refined Italian style cuisine in a place whose name doesn't even remotely suggest Italian cuisine of far above average quality could be served here.

Ecclectic:
Cox
Cox on Lange Reihe has been around for many years and seems to continue to please its patrons with ecclectic cuisine with a modern German bias. I found service to be a bit hit-and-miss when I was there about 1 year ago, but still know people who frequent it.
http://www.restaurant-cox.de/index.html

Austrian:
Tschebull
Loacted on Moenckebergstr., a main, if a bit mainstream shopping drag, on the first floor of a shopping passage close to main station (the building also houses the Park Hyatt which is not affiliated with Tschebulls).
Austrian cuisine of highest quality in pleasantly modern surroundings that still entail an alpine hut feel with a couple of respective references. I definitely like this.
http://www.tschebull.de/

Rialto:
Located on Fleetinsel, you may want to take a cab if you opt for this, as it otherwise would take about 20 min. to walk or 30 min. to stroll. Artsy atmosphere and slightly bohemian clientele, German/Austrian/French style bistro food. Also very good (and popular) for lunch.
http://www.rialto-hamburg.de/

Lunch:
O-Ren Ishii
Pan-Asian cuisine at reasonable prices with a no-reservation policy and during lunch times only. In my opinion probably the best lunch you can get in the center of the city. Friendly, very informal service with great customer care. No website. Address: Kleine Reichenstr. 18, a bit off the main shopping streets right in the center (halfway between City Hall and HafenCity/Miniature Wonderland, (which is an absolute must, allow 2 hours min.!)).

Bar:
Bar Hamburg
Right behind Hotel Atlantic at Rautenbergstr. 18, Bar Hamburg offers good quality cocktails and drinks in a discreet environment.
http://www.barhamburg.com/

Upmarket:

Jacob
Louis C. Jacob in the posh suburb of Blankenese affords a beautiful view of the River Elbe and the seafaring ships from its acclaimed linden tree terrace. It doesn't hurt that its chef for the past years has earned highest marks among Hamburg based chefs for classic French influenced cuisine. Two Michelin stars speak for themselves. However the size of portions is not always in line with their price.
http://www.hotel-jacob.de/index.php?id=34&L=1

Haerlin
A lot closer to the Atlantic on the other side of the Alster, Haerlin in Vier Jahreszeiten Hotel also sports 2 Michelin star honours and also serves upmarket cuisine in a posh, very traditional environment at respective prices.
http://www.fairmont-hvj.de/en/restaurant_haerlin.php

Sgroi
Anna Sgroi's Italian restaurant within walking distance of the Atlantic serves very upmarket Italian cuisine with a focus on clean taste and concentration on the essential. She has been running Hamburg's top Italian places since decades and continues to perform to very high standards. Portions again can be on the small side and don't hope for much sympathy if you ask to subsitute ingredients.
http://www.sgroi.de/

Fischereihafen Restaurant
Fischereihafen Restaurant is a bit of a Hamburg institution. It doesn't offer haute cuisine, but it focuses on seafood prepared to traditional local recipes and relies on the freshest fin-food available. Its ambience is classic, its waiters old school, but jovial. Unfussy food, but a place that old money of the city appreciates exactly for that reason. View of the port.
http://www.fischereihafenrestaurant.de/

Hi everyone
HSV - Yes the Mount Nelson is old world luxury, I have visited often, but not stayed there having a home in Cape Town. The Victoria Falls hotel was also of that ilk.
Update: I have communicated with the Atlantic and been guaranteed a renovated room. I have expressed my concerns about poor on line reviews and been assured that we will have a beautiful room - can't do more than that, so the Atlantic it is and I will post a report later.
Thanks for the restaurant tips - that would have been my next question - haha!

I am going to start a new post now on this forum re itinerary advice to make it easier for future people who may have a hotel but still need itinerary advice

Thanks again to you all
CTF

As an update that I hope won't cause problems:

I spent a few days on business in Hamburg last week and had a meeting in the Atlantic's bar.
One enters the hotel on a scruffy blue carpet outside. They seem to have canned the doorman. Next to the revolving door there is a blue wall that has been sponge painted in the best of 90ies-Tuscany-lovers fashion. Whether it's a good match for what used to be one of Hamburg's, if not Germany's, grandest hotels is dubious to me.
The lobby unfortunately still hasn't been touched in what appears to be a period of around 20 years. The same beige and blue carpet that still doesn't match the well-worn black leather lounge seats that still cannot figure out why they were fitted with brown wooden legs. In their defense the lift doors seem to have been painted more than regularly.
On the way to the loos one can still appreciate the modern paintings by the Atlantic's permanently resident guest of questionable notoriety in Germany. The loos themselves feature 80ies period cracked tiles, worn wooden doors and a distinctive smell that I did not manage to get used to over the brief period of time I spent there.

Overall having read about the renovations they apparently (I haven't seen the rooms) undertook, I was surprised, if not disappointed, by the state of the public areas. Considering that the hotel had its 100 year anniversary in 2009, it remains a mystery why the hotel is still being deprived off the required capex by whoever is responsible for that - either Kempinski as operators or the building's owners.
Having stayed in Kempinski's overpriced 80ies style Holiday Inn rooms at the Vier Jahreszeiten Munich a few years ago, my opinion of Kempinski's hotel management competence was not changed from my impressions of the Atlantic. Frankly I think it should be run by someone who appreciates the enormous potential the hardware still has (maybe Rocco Forte hotels would be a good match), although I cannot rule out that the building owners should take some of the blame, too.

To wrap it up I think if one is looking for old world grandeur, the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten with its immaculately maintained and intimate lobby and rooms is a superior choice. Grand is not the expression that comes to mind instantly when one enters the Atlantic (even if their rooms may be ok by now). As long as they don't get their act together they won't see any of my business and I shall happily stay at the Hyatt.

That's very sad to hear. Seems it went downhill even from the time when I visited a few years ago. Thanks for the update, hsv.