Hamburg Day 1 - Are they called Hamburgers?
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.
Starting our Visits
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.
Last Stops
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!
