jahlie

My husband and I will be spending a few days in Hamburg next October. I want to stay in the "center of activity" - what area is that? What is the best area to stay in? Any hotel suggestions?

Have considered the Grand Elysee, Baseler Hof, Grand Hyatt - any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

cigalechanta

You will get replies if you post this on the Europe board. This is more of a discussion or chat place

cigalechanta

OOPS!!! sorry . What happens when you have too many windows open.
The good is I topped it for you

gradyghost

Hello j:

We visited Hamburg in October, 2 years ago, and stayed at the Hotel Madison. We found the weather to be good and loved the "feel" of the city. The Madison is a first rate place, located in a quiet neighborhood but convenient to the subway/elevated. If you can find threads on this board in which HSV comments, take heed. I believe that he lives in Hamburg and really knows the area. Below are some comments on restaurants that I posted after our trip. Be certain to check out the miniature museum; it is fantastic.

HAMBURG

(6) Die fischkueche
Kajen 12

The restaurant was an easy walk from our hotel (The Madison). We liked it so much that we returned for a second visit. The Dover sole is to die for, and the staff is especially friendly.

(7) Cafe Paris
near the Rathaus

This restaurant was suggested by HSV and prompted us to have lunch there twice. A wonderful atmosphere reminiscent of the left bank. Try the seafood soup and be sure to check on the plat du jour.

Have fun. Gradyghost

traveller1959

If you look on a map (e.g. www.viamichelin.de) the best area would be between Holstenwall, Gorch-Fock-Wall, Esplanade, Glockengießerwall, Steintorwall and Sandtorhafen (Altstadt).

The Grand Elysee is a modern business hotel (I am often there for conferences), but a little outside (still in walking distance to the city center, but it IS a walk).

Baseler Hof is a little closer to the city and both close to the park and the Binnenalster lake.

The Park Hyatt is right in the center/shopping district and closer to the harbour.

Same is true for the Marriott.

If you want to stay close the Hafen, I recommend Hotel Hafen Hamburg.

http://www.hotel-hafen-hamburg.de/

jahlie

Thank you all so much for the information on hotels and their locations. Since we prefer to be in the center of any city, the Park Hyatt sounds like it might fit the bill. I took a look on Google Maps and it seems to be more central than the other hotels mentioned. Neither my husband nor I like the "quiet" areas. We want to be able to step outside the hotel and find cafes, restaurants, shopping and the bustle of a city. I'm a bit worried about the proximity of the train station - that usually isn't a pleasant area. Any thoughts?

Thanks also for the restaurant advice. I haven't planned that far yet, but that is the second step.

Many Thanks

traveller1959

>We want to be able to step outside the hotel and find cafes, restaurants, shopping and the bustle of a city.<

Then, the Park Hyatt will be your choice. It is located on Mönckebergstraße which is Hamburg's main street with lots of restaurants, shops, department stores and historical houses. It is a very elegant street.

The proximity to the train station is in fact a great advantage. The station itsself is an impressive historical building. Inside you find the "Markt im Bahnhof" which consists of two dozen high-quality fast food places with all sorts of food (including vegetarian, sushi, Bavarian, Italian, Greek, Turkish - I especially recommend Gosh Sylt for local seafood). It is a good place for a quick and inexpensive meal.

BTW, in most German cities, the areas around the train stations have been gentrified. It is also true for Hamburg: Right next to the station, you find the Kunsthalle (art museum), many hotels (including the 4-star-hotel "Europäischer Hof&quot and brand-new office buildings.

hsv

This is actually a tricky question - and contrary to many other posters I would find it difficult to answer.

Why?

Think of Hamburg as historically pretty much a merged entity - formed by a number of different towns and suburbs. You won't notice that generally today, but probably in connection with the heavy bombing in WWII, the city center nowadays boasts predominantly shops and offices making it a rather uninihabited space at night or on Sundays when shops are closed. The locals, of which I am no longer one having been based in the UK for a few years now (but Hamburg is not only an origin, it's an attitude, so I consider myself to still be reasonably informed) rather live in areas a bit away from the city center and their life rather focuses around the centers of the different districts. The problem with this is that in those areas there are not that many hotels.

What implications does that have on the choice of your hotel?

I cannot tell as I don't know what activity you are looking for. If it's shopping, day-time streetlife, the city center is great.
If you'd rather look to be close to nightlife, the by now slightly gentrified, but still in parts pretty rough entertainment and red light district and its adjacent areas come to mind.

Of the hotels you name, the Park Hyatt is definitely of the best by quality (and maybe one of Hyatt International's greatest bargain places). Next would be the Grand Elysee, followed by the Baseler Hof, which is rather of 2.5 star standard.

Location-wise, the Elysee is indeed furthest from the shopping, but I would not call it "not central". It's a 10 - 15 minute walk to the most stylish shopping streets around Neuer Wall and only a mere 3 minutes to Hamburg Dammtor station, one of the bigger train stations. It's located in a pretty upmarket residential area across from the university with a few nice neighbourhood restaurants not too far away. The Outer Alster lake would be 10 7 minutes by foot. I like the location a lot.

The Basler Hof is close to the Inner Alster Lake, one side facing one of the main arteries of the city, so you'd want a backwards facing room, I presume. Step out the backdoor and you are in a nice pedestrian area with shops and major shopping galleries about 5 - 10 minutes by foot away.

The Hyatt is on Moenckebergstr., the main shopping street, which is nice, but featuring much less upmarket shopping than Neuer Wall, Grosse Bleichen, which are past City Hall, about a 10 minute walk away. The area is dead at night (apart from the club in its basement, which is perfectly soundproofed, so of no concern).
It has decent access to the gentrifying areas of the Western Sankt Georg district, though, on the other side of the station. The parts East of Lange Reihe can still be somewhat rough and the station still attrracts just a few individuals of slightly shady nature at times. You would not notice these at the Hyatt, though.

If you were looking for more proximity to nightlife, you could consider the new Moevenpick Hotel at Sternschanze, or even East Hotel in an off-street of Reeperbahn in the red-light district, which sports quite a hip bar at nights, but where the design of the rooms is quirky at best or, even though I dif modern design, slightly faulty.

http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/...TOKEN=62286716

http://east-hamburg.de/


The Le Royal Meridien is a good modern hotel facing the Outer Alster lake on the less attractive side, but allows good access to the more desirable part of St. Georg.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeri...ropertyID=1857

Contrary to older posts of mine, the Kempinski Atlantic should not be an option due to an embarrasing lack of capex spent on it over the past years.

Hope this helps

jahlie

HSV, when you say the area around the Hyatt is dead at night, do you mean that office workers go home at five and everyone disappears? If it's on Hamburg's main street, shouldn't there be shops, bars, restaurants and people around during dinner? I just want to make sure I understand you since other posts say it's right in the center of the action. My husband and I are usually in bed by 10:00, nightlife consists an after dinner drink and almost never go to nightclubs. Staying in the Red Light District is not an option.

If you mean the area around the Hyatt closes down by 9:00, then the Elysee might be what we want. Being near a University is always a plus. There are usually interesting book stores, cafes, galleries and more unusual people - lots of young energy. I love museums, galleries and history. Shopping is fun but not on the top of my list.

Thank you, everyone, for the information, if I still seem conflicted, at least you've helped me narrow down the possibilities.

traveller1959

Given your preferences, I would opt for the Hyatt.

The Grand Elysee is definitly NOT in the University district but in a rather sterile area of office buildings.

Another option in the 5-star range is the Steigenberger, also located very centrally and closer to the harbour:

http://www.steigenberger.com/aw/Stei...Hamburg/~bhyj/

It is a matter of taste which hotel you prefer. With the Hyatt, you cannot go wrong.

hsv

traveller,

could you be confusing the Elysee with a different hotel?

The main building of the university is right across the street. Other university faculties line Rothenbaumchaussee on which one side of the Elysee borders and Schlueterstr, also just across from the Elysee. And I cannot think of many sterile office buildings around it either. Most of the buidlings are beautifully renovated first half of 20th century buildings, mostly used for residential purposes. On the other side there is a small park "Moorweide".

I would most probably stay at the Hyatt, since it's the better hotel, too, but I like the surroundings of the Elysee probably better.

hsv

But as I just re-read jahlie's 2nd post here about disliking quiet locations, I would actually drop the Elysee and go for the Hyatt. The station proximity is not a concern, rather an asset as it's on the "right" side of the station.

The Steigenberger location is quite nice, too. To complicate things, there is a Sofitel close by that is attractive, too, if one likes modern/minimalist.
http://www.sofitel.com/de/hotel-5395...ll/index.shtml

traveller1959

HSV, when it comes to style: My personal favourite hotel in Hamburg is the Gastwerk, but the location is not the best - you always need a taxi. But the building is breathtaking and, well, what do 20 Euros per day for taxis matter?

http://www.gastwerk.com

jahlie

Thank you everyone. This is just the kind of discussion that helps me narrow down my options. The Hyatt it is. I'll give a report when we return. Again, thanks.