THE HOTEL THE FONTENAY, HAMBURG.
The very best places to stay in the whole wide world.
Where is it?
The primest of prime spots in the smartest part of town, overlooking Hamburg’s big bit of wet, Lake Alster. Take the steamboat if you’re really into showy arrivals.
Why so lovely?
Where once stood raedy old, scratchy old digs now rises Hamburg’s most beautiful hotel. A vision in three interlocking swirls designed by architect Jan Störmer, there’s a ridiculously impressive central atrium that will take your breath away – and your neck if you’re not careful. Light-filled, crisp, floorto-ceiling everything, and rammed with all the right (custom-made) furniture, it’s an ode to lickably modern hospitality.
First impressions?
Our cab driver said it best: “Oooh, you’re staying there?”
And the accommodations?
Berlin-based interior designer Christian Meinert has created 130 rooms in unscary shades of sunny beige and green onyx with flashes of blue thrown in, which are a homely contrast to the slick lines of the rest of the place – and they’re big. They look out over the lake owing to that clever three-interlocking-circles
thing.
And the food?
Well, you’ve either got Lakeside, the sky-high restaurant that comes with incredible Hamburg panoramics and food by The Fat Duck alumnus Cornelius Speinle (if there isn’t a Michelin star thrown in by the time we finish this sentence we’ll eat our bonnets). Or, downstairs, there’s the more relaxed but equally lovely Parkview with its outdoor terrace and classic German gnosh.
What is there to do?
The 1,000 square metre spa is pretty special; floorto-ceiling windows mean you’re gazing out over Hamburg’s skyline while being made scientifically more beautiful, then there’s the indoor/outdoor rooftop pool with a snazzy dividing glass wall that swishes open as you swim towards it. Honestly, the hours we spent in there!
And the gay bit?
Pretty decent. Lange Reihe (Long Row) in St. Georg is your go-to gayborhood, while St. Pauli with its (in) famous Reeperbahn looks and feels like post-war Germany, a little naughty and feral but oh-so-fun, and it’s where The Beatles hung out way back when.