After spending a night at Jumeirah Frankfurt (following our coronavirus test at Frankfurt Airport), our next stop was Hamburg. That’s because my mom had been in Hamburg for a couple of weeks, so our plan was to spend a few nights there, before finally continuing to Berlin (where we’d be renting a place).
Continue reading: Review: Park Hyatt Hamburg, Germany
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I can confirm the street side rooms don't have much of a view. The building is too low. Great review.
Why did you decide to move to Berlin if your mom is in Hamburg? Hamburg would have been a great city as well, except that is is likely colder and doesn't have EasyJet.
We really enjoyed our stay there last year . Great lounge and staff . Booked through amex FHR and was upgraded to a park suite . Apple’s restaurant for dinner was great . Looking forward to returning .
Thank you for including a few comments and pictures about Hamburg. If possible, include a few more Hamburg comments and pictures with future articles. I've always been curious about the place but have never visited that part of Germany.
This is the only Park Hyatt I stayed at and while it felt slightly dated, it was a sort of old-world but not too-old-world luxury that made it very appealing to me. A... just-right amount of warmth and comfort. The service was warm and sincere and I regret not staying longer and experiencing more of the hotel's amenities and Hamburg in general. The only complaints: the light switches made almost no sense at all and the USB charging ports didn't work all that well.
My dad worked in Hamburg for 4 years and I loved the city when I visited him every summer. I was wondering why you chose to stay in Berlin rather than Hamburg.
No Le Labo???
BTW the Hyatt Canberra which is referred to as a Park Hyatt hotel, has an “ambassador “ lounge which globalists have access to.
Personally I prefer smaller hotels with local charm when I'm in Europe. Not 100% of the time but they are often quite nice. I stayed in one in Wurzburg that was quite nice. No idea the name since it was years ago
The Fontenay is the undisputed champion of luxury hotels in Hamburg!
Brand new, not built to transfer all the yield to some American corporate chain, but built by a billionaire to show off what real luxury is.
@ MDA -- Good point about the quirky Park Hyatt Canberra, let me add that to the post. Thanks.
@ Nate nate -- My mom spent several weeks in a few different places, to be with family and close friends. She spent most of her time near Frankfurt (where most of her family is), and then headed to Hamburg to be with one of her best friends there. Berlin was the next stop on that journey.
Before Covid-19 the breakfast at the PH Hamburg was opulent and stunning. Now apparently not so much.
I advise against making points bookings here. You will get a room with a quite tiny queen-sized bed, which is uncomfortable for 2 people.
The side hotel Hamburg is incredible. You should stay there! Also miniatur Wunderland is incredible!
If you travel around Germany, please make sure to visit Breidenbacher Hof in Düsseldorf. One of the few true five star hotels in Germany. Bookable with Virtuoso.
Kind regards from Düsseldorf,
emwe
Stayed there when I visited Hamburg (long before corona) but the service was not on par with other PH properties. Usually I get some sort of recognition for being an elite, always at least some sort of room upgrade. But at the check-in I was not even addressed by my name, not to mention no upgrades. Wifi was spotty in my room and couldn't complete my skype call, so I asked them if they could look into it. No one came. Tried the skype again, the same issue, so I called again and pressed, finally the IT person came and walked around the room with his phone and couldn't figure out why WIFI was spotty. So he said I had wait until next day because the IT company was not operating in the evening (he said he was the IT guy, though) So no solution for the night....I thought they could check if the other parts of the hotel had strong wifi and see if there are other solutions but they were not very willing to solve the issue. So I went out and used coffee shop instead. After my stay, I received a survey and noted the issue. The manager emailed me and apologized and offered me an upgrade to a deluxe room when I visit next time....I just laughed at them because they didn't offer that minimal upgrade due to my status, so now that is the best they can do???
Overall, the hotel is next to the main train station, which I thought was the best place to stay but apparently not in Hamburg. If I visit Hamburg again, I would stay by the lake. There are quite a few nice hotels on the lake, which is also close to everything and the area has nice restaurants. The main station area is shady...
That's an underwhelming looking hotel. Would not have picked it as a Park Hyatt.
It’s barely adequate. The great location is offset by dull interiors and indifferent food/service. The club lounge, when it was open, was nothing special ..and certainly not a patch on either Melbourne or Canberra. Perhaps it has improved since my last stay in 2018, but at that time I strongly preferred Le Meridien, even though it’s less well-located.
Hamburg has several great hotel options. I also liked the Park Hyatt and you really can’t go wrong with it. I also agree that the Le Meridien is a great option in Hamburg.
However, next time, please visit the Westin in the Elbphilharmonie building, get a nice suite with a view (Panoramic Suite or above). While service etc. at the Westin is not perfect, the one-of-a-kind location and views make it well worth a visit.
I would even suggest this as a great getaway for the poor weather season. Just stay in your suite with amazing views of the harbor.
Maybe I missed a post... how did you manage to get Winston along on an international trip?
I second Max here, the Fontenay is an outstanding hotel.
Lucky, while your business is points&miles, I highly recommended that you stay one night in the Fontenay in Hamburg during the next visit. Even if you don't write about it and quietly enjoy it - I am sure you will appreciate the design, service and attention to detail.
Hi Lucky, I’m curious how you were about to get into the EU. Dual citizenship?
It looks like the Park Hyatt Hamburg received a mild refresh since I stayed there a few weeks back. I have friends and family in Hamburg and Berlin and try to go several times a year (although that is not happening this year unfortunately). Usually in Hamburg I end up at Le Meredian and I usually get a room with a view of Alster Lakes. Although the last time I was there I stayed at the Westin located in the Elbphilharmonie building. That has beautiful view of the city and harbor and isn’t that much farther of a walking distance that I thought it was compared to Le Meredian. I’ve also stayed at the Renaissance and that was pretty solid, especially after the remodel. Overall the accommodations in Hamburg were better than what I’ve experienced in Berlin.
As a former and loyal SPG member (although Marriott makes me question that decision) I typically stayed at the Sheraton Grand Esplanade. It desperately needs to be refurbished; and in what world does management think its OK to have one elevator only go select floors and the other go to other floors (it isn’t intentionally programmed) because they are broken and cannot be fixed? The Westin Grand has great breakfast room but the experience can be spotty depending on if you are staying in an older or newer section. My favorite “anonymous” place is the Hotel Cosmo. It is part of design hotels, but since the introduction of BonVoy, it as been removed from the list of design hotels BonVoy members are able to stay at. It was very simple, and its no frills design made it very modern.
My favorite hotel stay in Berlin was at Hotel am Steinplatz, part of the Autograph Collection in Charlottenburg. That was an awesome little hotel in the middle of a neighborhood. Much like the Park Hyatt Hamburg, except instead of being connected to a pedestrian mall, this is literally in a residential area. The hotel is very modern, quiet, and luxurious. It’s certainly worth a look the next time you are in Berlin.
I stayed at the PH Hamburg last fall. Because the lounge was closed in the evening during your stay, you weren't able to see that it can get extremely crowded , perhaps in part due to the fact that the club lounge has no doors-- it simply occupies a large, open space when exiting the seventh floor elevators. The evening lounge food selections were quite disappointing, i.e., gravlax that had been sitting out at room temperature for hours or pancakes being their only dessert offering. As a Globalist I was offered a choice of breakfast in the lounge or or at Apple's. This included the buffet as well as anything from the menu. The normal breakfast buffet was above average, although not nearly as extensive or of the same calibre as the buffer at, say, the PH Vienna. It might also be worth mentioning that during my stay I used a Globalist Suite Upgrade and was initially assigned to one of their designated extended stay apartments with a full kitchen. This was a top floor 2-level room, with the bedroom above the living room via one off those very narrow, tightly winding open-step metal circular stairways. I had to request a move to a one-floor suite. After spending the first night in a standard room, as no standard suites were available, I was transferred to what seemed to be a standard suite, except that it too had a full kitchen, which seemed to be a bit of an oddity for a PH. Overall, this was my least favorite PH hotel.
The rooms look awful. I don’t understand how so many in this community rave about Hyatt. I searched every 5 star hotel in their portfolio and only Vienna had attractive rooms (Sydney was ok but had glass bathroom walls=disgusting).
Their program is supposedly better than Marriott but there is no point to travel if you are not going to have proper accommodation. Everything with Hyatt is so plain.
@Ben - Very curious about your experience with the logistics of traveling with Winston overseas (and generally for that matter). Would be great to see a post on that.
Was there last week you certainly had a better experience than me. No real acknowledgment of being a globalist. Did get a junior suite after I asked but seamed to be a hassle for them. Decent property considering the other options but as you said not really a Park Hayyt vibe.
Enjoy Germany one of the best places to right now hope you enjoyed Hamburg, as you know Berlin is a fantastic city will be great if you can review some spots there!!!
Ben, I know you're a PH fanboy, and so am I, but this property just does not look very nice. Maybe it's different when you're there in person, but based on your pictures, there's nothing that would make me want to stay there.
It very much has the same design feel as Hyatt Hotel Canberra, A Park Hyatt Hotel (AKA Park Hyatt Canberra).
I don’t know how anyone can objectively say this is an upscale or luxury hotel based on the decor. It looks like it hasn’t been substantively renovated since the early 2000s.
I’m not one of those people who thinks a hotel has to renovate every 5 years. I think the issue is generally the design and actual decor was done on the cheap and doesn’t last. This just looks that way. Look at how the TV is displayed. And the hallways to the guest rooms — it looks like a Sheraton in Iowa, not a 4 1/2 to 5-star hotel brand.
As someone else said I have noticed this repeatedly at various Hyatt brands. The decor and designs are dated because they went on the cheap to begin with. Hyatt makes up for it with okay elite status benefits.
And by the way, what’s the point of suspending daily housekeeping, including turndown, but then saying it’s available upon request? That has no basis in science. Just cost-cutting. Period. And no mini-fridge but a coffeemaker? Come on.
lol the Park Hyatt looks like total garbage next to the Fontenay. You need to raise your hotel standards Ben now you have exited North America for Europe.
and the best hotel in Berlin is the Waldorf. certainly not Hotel am Steinplatz...
I stayed there two weeks ago, also 6th floor in the 607 suite. I totally agree with your review, it was a very good experience and an exceptional value even before benefits. But with membership benefits, the virtuoso booking and the Amex Offers 100€ Cashback combined it was a steal of a deal. Highly recommended Hyatt. The Hilton/Curion Collection "Reichshof" in Hamburg on the other hand is a pass. Stayed there afterwards- not worth the money imho.
Also, the Fontenay is not a nice place to stay in. Cold and boring in style and servicer compared to the Hyatt that's in even better location.
Regarding Berlin, the Waldorf is not even in the top 5 of best Hotels in Berlin. Stayed there after my Hamburg trip as well. Compared to The Adlon, Hotel de Rome or even the Ritz, the Waldorf is just okay.
@ pixielott46 -- Even if The Fontenay is objectively nicer (I hadn't heard of it before, but it does look nice), there's something to be said for value. The hotel costs twice as much as the Park Hyatt, and I wouldn't have gotten a suite, free breakfast, free evening drinks, free parking, an 85EUR food & beverage credit, or World of Hyatt points and elite nights.
Actually, let's take the math a step further. I saved about 30EUR per day on parking and got a roughly 30 EUR per day credit, so let's say that really lowers my out of pocket to about 90EUR per night compared to the other hotel. It's less than a third of the price, and we still don't have a suite, breakfast, evening drinks, points, etc.
I'm all for splurging for an independent city hotel when there's some value to be had, but this is one of those cases where I simply can't make the math work...
I will say PH as a brand only works when you have new hotels:
* PH New York (3 years ago)
* PH Shanghai (when it was new, which is when I stayed)
* PH Seoul (about 4 years ago)
* PH Busan (more recently)
* PH Kyoto (this past fall)
All good properties. But PH Canberra, PH Melbourne and dear God WTF is wrong with PH Tokyo and the 1990s horror story it came out of? I don't care if you thought Bill Murray and ScarJo were interesting; that's like never updating a hotel because you liked a Spaghetti Western that was cool in the 1950s.
Hi Ben,
The next time in Hamburg, you may want to check out the Westin located within the Elbphilharmonie
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/hamwi-the-westin-hamburg/
It’s a category 7 property, which is steep for the service level, but location makes it up.
For Berlin, check out the SoSofitel based in the former danish embassy with direct access to the zoo. Its an Accor property but has an excellent 1* Spanish restaurant and certainly a memorable breakfast.
I used to live in Hamburg for 6 years and worked at the Park Hyatt as well. It is a great property besides the Louis C Jacob the second best in the city. Great review
Speaking of your recent move from Florida, which apartment complex under the flight path did you live in?