FlyerTalk Forums - Renaissance Hamburg, Germany [Master Thread]

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Quote:

Originally Posted by djohannw (Post 18969563)

Second that - and it's one of the easier places to score an LNF. It's certainly not a luxurious experience, but a decent airport hotel. And it's also walkable to the terminal if you insist to forgo the shuttle - ten minutes walk maximum. No idea where the Radisson is located, but I think it cannot be that much closer to the terminal...

Greetings - Dirk

The Radisson is right by the terminals - we drove past it by mistake once. However the price is not right and I can imagine parking could be a hassle (unless you pay).

This info was posted by djohannw in the exec lounge sticky. It's more info than I need for the sticky, so thought in addition to updating the sticky I'd post it here. Thanks to djohannw for the info re: both the Marriott & the Renaissance.

"Hamburg Marriott: Lounge open daily, breakfast up to 10:30a, evening snacks between 6pm and 7:30pm, Drinks until 9:30p.

Breakfast: Standard continental fare for Germany (including cold cuts), plus scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon. Extras can be ordered for a fee, eggs benedict run something like 11€.

Evening:Always a salad-bar, several cold appetizer and two hot options, e.g. deep fried shrims and chicken teriyaki as of tonight. At about 7pm desserts come out which are rather delicous - had the mousse au chocolate each evening, accompanied by either some panna cotta or a creme brulee.

There is one PC with printer in the lounge that even does color prints - a little on the slow side, but sufficient to print the missing pieces for my expense report.

Hamburg Renaissance: No lounge, full breakfast in restaurant including cooked to order items instead.

Note: In general both hotels are operated as one, btw: You can charge to your room at both no matter where you stay, and the pool at the Marriott is also available for Renaissance guests. Special surprise for me as Plat Premier: I was invited to get a lounge card for the Marriott whenever I stay at the Renaissance."

Boutique like interior

Introduction I had initially planning to stay here for 2 nights as it did get some better reviews compared to the Marriott property down the street, in the end, since both properties were so close by with it's own advantages from facilities point of view I stayed at this property for 1 night before moving to the Marriott. Location The property is located in the city centre of Hamburg, and close to most of the different points of interest of the city. The property is about 10-15 mins walk from the nearest U/S-bahn station of Jungfernsteig with a direct S-train from the airport. Other than that, there's lots of shopping options and restaurants/cafe/bars in the area - with a local brewary down the road from the hotel. From the hotel it is about a 20-30 mins walk to the Hafen area. Check In I arrived rather late to the property, after 11pm where I was assisted immediately by an associate. The first thing that was brought to my attention was on the type of face mask I had (which was the usual medical one) - which I was informed that I must wear an FFP2 grade mask - to which I responded that I will check if I had one later in the room after checking in. However the associate was initially insiting that I do that search for it or if not to purchase one directly from them (2€ one). I argued that it would just be to the room - which in the end she let it go and allowed me to continue wearing the one I had. [later on, I saw that teven their own employees at the hotel had the medical mask I had on.. why the double standard?]Anyway, after this unplesant start to the process, at least my check-in was processed. I had check earlier and did notice that the hotel was quite full - even the suites were gone from the reservation that evening. I did still enquire about upgrade possibility and I guess due to no-shows, a deluxe room on the highest floor was available (it was basically on the rooftop level) which I accepted. I was forewarned that to access rooms on this floor, I would need to take a flight of stairs which was not an issue. I was also given a run down of the different benefits as an elite member and provided with a breakfast coupon valid for 2 guests. [this is for Platinum and above elite members].The lobby/front desk area of this property is one of the smallest I've seen, as most of the other space is occupied by the hotel bar and restaurant. Room In order to access the 7th floor, the lift will go up to the 6th floor (where the Gym is located) and followed by a flight of stairs to the 7th floor. Even from the lobby area, it was clear the hotel had quite a unique boutique like feel to it's decoration - this is one of the nice feature which a number of Renaissance hotels I've visited. The room was actually in my opinion sufficiently spacious, and I found it well appointed in both furnishing and division of space. Although the room in general is on a smaller side, based on how they divided the room, it seemed to have been done nicely. The wardrobe was facing the door as you walked into the room including the coffee/tea making facilities. There was a small working desk which was efficiently as also a sort of room divider into the location of the bed. Just before the entrance to the bath room is a small area designed as a small seating area looking out towards the rooftop and the skyline of the city. The interior of the room was designed based on the history of the city as a port city - and since there was more than sufficient natural light, the room was decorated in a darker tone, which makes it during night time a more cosy room and during the daytime with the natural light still bright and airy. Internet speed was automatically upgraded to the premium speed as I logged in - which was stable and sufficiently fast. TV channels were the usual local and international selection - although very often (just like at the Marriott) quite a number of channels had issue with the connection (I suspec it is due to the cable provider at fault here). Sleep quality was very good - with close to no external or internal noise disturbance and the bed quality was good. Without switching on the climate control, the room was sufficiently cool enough to sleep.The bathroom was on a smaller side - again nice appointed with some touches to reflect again the history of the city and hotel. It was also done in a very dark shade - but this again worked well with the natural light coming into the area from the existing large windows. There was only a walk-in shower with toiletries from Tokyo Milk. This was also the first Renaissance I've seen with the wall mounted versions. The water pressure was good and temperature control was good. Bar I did check out the bar before going to bed - which was very nicely decorated and furnished, making it into a sort of living room type atmosphere. Prices were reasonable (clearly things have gone up since before the start of the pandemic). Only main complain here was clearly there was a lack of staff, so even after ordering at the bar, it did take some time for the drinks to arrive. I noticed the same for other tables. Breakfast The breakfast was served in the hotel's main restaurant in buffet style. Although there was a line to get a seat, I did not have to wait too long and it was clear that the restaurant staff working hard including what I suspect was the manager working to get tables clearned, cleaned and attending to the needs of the guests. With the provided breakfast voucher, no forms needed to be filled (noticed this for guests without the voucher) - this makes the system effecient in a way from what I can see. Unlike at the Marriott, we were asked immediately for our hot drink options. (although it seems that for tea, there was a tea station to get your own). The breakfast spread was very good for both hot and cold options - with an egg station manned by 1 person (so lines can take some time, but you can also order and collect it later). There was quite a number of different items outside of the usual egg options including egg benedict that can be ordered without any additional charges. Although being a busy place, it seems that the hotel managed to get some part time staff to cope with the busy breakfast service (until midday). Tables were cleared appropriately on time and we were asked a few times if we needed 2nd or 3rd round of hot drinks. All in all, a very good breakfast service despite the busy morning. Overall All in all, outside of the slightly unpleasant check-in experience, I found the hotel to be very good with helpful and friendly staff. Although lacking a lounge, I would say that the treatment of Elite members to be sufficiently good (yes, before Bonvoy times, it was much better) in current times. At least I do get the feeling that if they had higher category rooms, they would have upgraded me upfront. For me, if I need to have a place to stay in Hamburg, this would certainly be one of the options with the right price.

The Renaissance in Hamburg provided a very nice stay that definitely makes sense from a price-value ratio - at only around 160 EUR, this property is less than half of what I paid at the amazing Westin. While I LOVED the Westin, I also loved the price savings provided by the Renaissance, which also provided a solid experience. Here are my pros, cons, and photos:

Pros:

Upgraded prior to my stay to a Studio Suite, which appears to be the 2nd-highest accommodation type behind 2-bedroom suites, per the website
The Studio Suite is just a long room, but it was roomy and spacious with a full seating area, large desk, and plenty of space between you and the hallway
The bed was comfortable with decently-thick covers, soft linens, plush pillows, and a just-right mattress (a tad firm, but there was a good cover) - I slept well
Shower pressure was decent (only wand head) but was strong enough and angled well enough to create a pleasant experience
Wi-Fi worked well - nice for an older building
Climate control worked okay for Germany in winter (not too hot)
Given a voucher for a free coffee at the bar in my key packet - had a nice and tasty latte with caramel syrup
While I was enjoying my coffee, someone came into my room and dropped off a blueberry muffin with frosting and a Marriott Bonvoy-branded chocolate garnish - quite tasty
Elite breakfast in restaurant is a tasty buffet
- Yummy made-to-order omelet (benedicts listed on the sign, too)
- MORE CINNAMON SUGAR NEXT TO THE SYRUP - yummy pancakes, too
- Nice berry smoothie
Had to ask, but I was able to get 2 PM late checkout - "are you sure you don't need 3 PM? I'll give you 3 PM"
Friendly front desk service from the female agent - helpful, chatty at check-out, wished me good morning in German as I walked past after breakfast
Bellhop helped me with my luggage down the lobby stairs and went back down and back up with new keys after mine didn't work after he let me in with his master key
Nice city center location close to City Hall and several good restaurants

Cons:

Kind of odd and chaotic check-in from another agent who seemed to be in training or was not actually a front desk agent - not much information given, and it seemed to be really rushed (keys didn't end up working, etc - had to ask about whether a lounge existed, where breakfast was, etc.)
No streaming capabilities on the TV
No lounge - so no evening service

Had a stay last week and definitely agree with the prior reviews that the breakfast spread in the morning is quite good, with an extensive selection along with a number of made to order egg options available at the egg station. There was even sparkling wine available.

The hotel also provided an additional elite amenity at check in that is separate from the points/F&B voucher welcome amenity-- which was a selection of a sweet treat to be delivered to the room, or a voucher for either dessert for 2 or drinks for 2 (including the hotel's speciality cocktails, which were quite good) to be redeemed at the bar. Two speciality cocktails is EUR 28-30 so that was a nice treat.

The only hiccup was that the air conditioning had been out of service for several days upon my arrival, and was not fixed during my three night stay. With temps around 80 F, it was quite warm in the hotel, and had I not used SNAs, I probably would have checked out after the first night. But I will say the staff was incredibly apologetic about it and tried to be as accommodating as possible.

Would definitely return to this property (assuming the AC is fixed, of course!)