Tuesday, Sep 19th, 2006
Categories: Hamburg
Up early for our free eat all you can breakfast buffet at A&O. Then jumped into a cab to take us to our first port of call – the Akzent Classichotel Glinde. A little further out of town than we were expecting, this hotel is around 15 minutes in a cab in a small town called Glinde. The effort was more than worth it as we were met by the impeccably dressed and hospitable Gerhard (complete with 3 piece suit). While Lorenzo chatted away in German I enjoyed tea on their sun terrace, working the tan 
It’s a large country hotel with huge grounds, focused very much on sports and activities – football, tennis, bowling, swimming all in the grounds or very near by. Great place to relax for a while, or to enjoy Hamburg without the big city stress.
Another cab ride back to central Hamburg and we were in St Pauli. The guy behind the desk at Hotel Lafayette seemed rather bemused to see us, as we weren’t expected at all. We had a quick chat and look around none-the-less…this old school hotel is in a great location for the nightlife of the Reeperbahn, and the basic rooms are more than made up for by the indoor pool open to guests.
Around the corner, and moving into quite a cool, bohemian area was the Hotel Figaro – a cheap and cheerful place 10 minutes walk from the nearest UBahn. Brightly painted in red and yellow with a lively bar downstairs, this basic hotel had basins in each room with a shower and toilet on each floor. On the plus side this place did have the largest TVs we saw in Hamburg!
Last stop of the day was Budapester Hof. Owned by a young couple, undergoing extensive refurbishment, this was possibly the nicest place we saw in our stay in Hamburg. Very light with an art deco feel, the ensuite rooms were all modern and spacious with wooden floors, minibars, TVs and wireless internet. We had a chat over a beer at the local café (Lorenzo working his German once again!), then had a tour. There a re big plans afoot, so if you go there in 6 months or so you’ll find a roof terrace and backpacker hostel facilities in the basement. Definitley comes highly recommended.
After our much needed siesta we headed off to the Hamburg annual Kulture Feistival to dance along with the parade. The Bolivians definitely stole the show, with the loudest sound system and craziest outfits!! All in all Hamburg was quite a gem of a journey – some great nightlife, good, cheap restaurants and a friendly bunch of people all round.
Tuesday, Sep 19th, 2006
Categories: Hamburg
After the usual ridiculous cues at Stansted Airport (we left ourselves 3 hours to check in and even that was pushing it!) we were bound for Hamburg. Other than knowing that The Beatles had a long stint at the start of their career in Hamburg, and that it was home to one of the biggest red light districts in the world, we were both pretty clueless as to what to expect!
A&O Hostel were kindly putting us up for the duration of our stay, so after a decent nights kip (in what could possibly have been the most comfortable beds in Hamburg), we headed into the centre of town to our first appointment.
Keiler-Hof Hotel is based in an old 1890’s town house a stone’s throw from the Hauptbahnhof. We arrived at this budget hotel at breakfast time, to be greeted by the owner and a varied clientele of all ages in the cosy breakfast room. The 24 rooms were spread over 2 floors, and all were painted bright yellow with simple, modern furniture. Clean and undergoing refurbishment, this is a no frills budget option suitable for all.
A short stroll around the corner was the Hotel Mercedes, run by the smiling Samira. Enjoying a fresh orange juice in the bright, fresh breakfast room we had a chat about the hotel and Hamburg in general. All rooms were clean and modern, and a number had balconies with some great city views – so worth asking in advance!
On to meet Mr Noori next, who seemed to be something of a local entrepreneur with 3 hotels on the same street. First up was Hotel Terminus – a good standard 2 star - on the main road outside the Hauptbahnhof. The whole interview was conducted in German by Lorenzo, so I was content to sit back until our tour of the hotel…clean, recently refurbished rooms with plenty of impressionist art on the walls…the place to stay if you’re a Van Gough fan!
Mr Noori then walked us 50 metres down the road to Hotel Lumen, with it’s 2 entrances neatly straddling a large sex shop. This one was a 3 star hotel, completely refurbished last year. The kitchen area was large, and all the rooms bright and light with high ceilings. A nice enough hotel offering good value.
Lastly we were walked opposite by Mr Noori to the next property in his empire – the Hotel Residence. The small kitchen area was more than made up for by the large, high-ceilinged rooms with huge windows. The whole hotel was 30 rooms over 5 floors, all done out to a very high standard.
To keep it in the family our next stop was the Hotel Eleazar, owned and run by Mr Noori’s brother in law. This 3*, 104 bed hotel was done out in crisp, ultra modern design with superior design. Defintley the place to go to treat yourself for a weekend break..there was even a sauna with chill out room for those cold winter evenings.
Last stop of the day was WIRA Guesthouse, which is literally a transformed suburban apartment. 6 rooms (some of them themed by country) make up this smallish guesthouse, 2 UBahn stops from the centre. Run by a lovely couple Orachorn and Carsten, who are happy to fill you in on the various local attractions.
Back to A&O hostel for a quick siesta before meeting up with some friends of Lorenzo’s for some evening fun! They were at a work function that involved free drinks all night and a giant scalectrix…needless to say plenty of new friends were made that night. Then against our better judgement we were dragged to the Reeperbahn for a salsa night….not a good idea to hit the sack at 4am when you’re up at 8 the next morning for work!
