When visiting the Hanseatic port city of Hamburg, what could be more appropriate than staying at a hotel inspired by seafaring? 25hours Hotel Hamburg HafenCity is a cool design hotel overlooking the harbour from an island on the Elbe river in the downtown HafenCity quarter.
It occupies a prime spot in the newly-developed Überseequartier and is surrounded by neighbourhood restaurants, cafes and shops. In fact, its sister hotel 25hours Hotel Hamburg Altes Hafenamt is literally behind it, so you can make use of the amenities at both.
Design
I’ve always been intrigued by the 25hours Hotels brand – with hip, individually-designed hotels across Germany, Austria and Switzerland – and this is certainly one of its most quirky properties. It has the industrial feel of a shipping warehouse with a sociable open-plan lobby, cargo box lobby and Mare Kiosk with a curated selection of books, bric-a-brac, snacks and drinks.
Also on the ground floor is Heimat Küche+Bar (meaning ‘home’ in German), offering a new interpretation of Hamburg’s traditional dishes such as Swabian cheese spätzle, fried fish and veal meatballs, using fresh ingredients sourced from the region.
The Room
Check-in was friendly and attentive and we swiftly got settled in to our M cabin+ (the second room category up) on the sixth floor. This cosy room has been designed with maritime nomads in mind and has a Wes Anderson vibe with a travel-themed illustrated wall, sailor’s rope ladder and shaggy carpet.
Room features include an open wardrobe, large flat screen TV and a sea chest incorporating a writing desk with electrical plugs, minibar, magazines and a logbook filled with poems from the sea. The queen-size bed was comfortable with high-quality linen, fun embroidered cushions and bedside shelved nooks.
The bathroom was small but well-appointed, with an illustrated pin-up girl wall mural, brown tiling, powerful rainfall shower, fluffy towels and simple natural bathroom products by German eco brand Stop the Water While Using Me!
The Club Level is a calm space where guests can chill out and read or listen to music. There is also a no-nonsense traditional Finnish Harbour Sauna and a boxing punching bag rather than a high-tech gym on the 6th floor with panoramic views of the harbour.
Dinner at NENI
That evening, we had booked dinner at NENI, the restaurant at the 25hours Hotel Hamburg Altes Hafenamt, as we’d had a great meal at its sister restaurant in Berlin a few years ago. NENI is a hip ‘Balagan-style’ restaurant by chef Haya Molcho that began in Berlin and now has restaurants in the 25hours Hotels in Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Vienna and Zurich. It’s one of the most popular restaurants in HafenCity and has a cosy, colourful vibe like a Middle Eastern bazaar with an open kitchen and outdoor seating too.
We started with a smoky, moreish Baba ganoush and rustic Sweet potato with roasted almonds, crème fraîche and rocket spinach salad with citrus vinaigrette.
Our main courses were enormous and very satisfying. From the robata grill, we tried the NENI-style kebab – succulent home-made beef-lamb kebab with Har Bracha tahina, parsley, baharat, grilled vegetables and pita bread. Another hit was the Jerusalem teller with tender grilled strips of chicken with spices, fresh herbs, humus, Har Bracha tahina, bell pepper, onion and pita bread.
The chicken had just the right level of spice and there was a generous amount of velvety humus, plus plenty of fluffy pita bread to scoop it all up. If only we’d found some room for dessert, as the Knafeh and Halva looked pretty tempting.
Breakfast
In the morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the hotel’s Heimat Küche+Bar. The generous breakfast buffet had everything you need to start the day well – mini pastries, freshly-baked rolls, cereal, yoghurt, porridge with cinnamon sugar and excellent scrambled eggs and bacon. All items were high quality and I liked the special touches such as pots of loose-leaf tea and a wide choice of jams, nut butters and seeds to sprinkle on top. It’s definitely worth adding breakfast to your stay, as Heimat Küche+Bar is a destination restaurant in the area.
Location
To help you explore Hamburg, you can test-drive a MINI for free and rent bikes from the shop next door, and try a cycling tour curated by bike professionals for the hotel. The hotel is also conveniently close to the iconic Elbphilharmonie concert hall, National Maritime Museum and the Speicherstadt redbrick warehouse district, which was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.
25hours Hotel Hamburg HafenCity takes an imaginative spin on a modern lifestyle hotel with plenty of cool design features but also comfort and high standards. Its HafenCity location is peaceful compared to boisterous St Pauli and it’s easy to get to the city’s main attractions (as well as the cruise ship terminal). Following such a great stay, I’m keen to check out more of the 25hours Hotels, especially the upcoming opening in Paris.
Discover the best places to eat, drink and see in my guide on the Top Things to do in Hamburg.
For more information and booking, visit: www.25hours-hotels.com
Chérie City was a guest of 25hours Hotel Hamburg Hafencity
All photos by Chérie City
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