A hotel that I’ve been looking forward to for years is finally opening in the coming days. Admittedly I’m probably a little more excited about this than the average person (since I have family in the area), so thanks for indulging me…
Continue reading: The Florentin Frankfurt Opens, As The City’s Best New Hotel: Exciting, But…
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
What about the new Kimpton? It’s getting really good reviews though I haven’t stayed there yet myself.
Yeah it’s a funny one marketing wise. I always stay at the airport when in Frankfurt as I like the views of the tarmac and it’s usually a short stay.
If I was trawling expedía for a 2-3 day stay I’d be looking at 4 figure 9.5/10 reviews to book a place for $500 a night. Outside of your (wonderful) article it wouldn’t register for me as a place to stay. Won’t take long I’m guessing though to become a hot spot.
You seem to be certain that this hotel is going to be 'better' than the long-established Sofitel Opera which can charge upwards of €500 per night for a standard room. What's your rationale?
@ Daniel M -- I haven't stayed there, but I do want to check it out. I'd say that Kimpton is more in the lifestyle category than the luxury category, and the pricing reflects that. So I think it's nice for what it is, but probably not on par with a true luxury property.
Trivago is the best for that sort of thing as it compares pricing across multiple sites. In fact, I often use it even when I know exactly where I want to stay so that I can get a price match/BRG/just the cheapest rate out there.
@ Throwawayname -- Back when Villa Kennedy and the Sofitel were both open, most people agreed that Villa Kennedy was the better luxury hotel. Now that Villa Kennedy has undergone a full refresh, I imagine it will be even better.
Truth be told, maybe I'm wrong. I haven't actually stayed at the Sofitel (I hope to soon!), though to me it looks like a fairly generic luxury city hotel. Part of what makes this property so charming is its history, and that it doesn't really feel like a city hotel.
Fair enough, would be good to see a review of the Sofitel and generally more Accor coverage here.
I do believe they have a special program as I booked it with the usual benefits of 100 USD credit, breakfast, upgrade, etc.
It's certainly nice, but definitely in another category to this altogether. There's not even a spa, for example.
Is ~$500/night not absurd for Frankfurt?? I’m booking a last minute room tomorrow night and I don’t think I saw anything over $250 ish
@ Ignacio -- For The Florentin? Do you know what the program is called, by chance?
@ Alec -- Yeah, it's an odd hotel market, where you're right, everything basically costs under $300 per night. I'd add two caveats.
First, Frankfurt is also a huge convention and conference city, and when a major event is in town, rates skyrocket across the board, and even limited service hotels can cost $500+ per night. Second, a hotel of this caliber has to be able to command some sort of a premium. So while a 100% premium of course sounds like a lot, to look at it another way, a couple of hundred bucks per night for a true luxury property isn't that unreasonable. Now, we'll see to what extent the market can sustain this, though.
Rate variability is frankly enormous. The same standard room in the same 4* hotel could be €68 on a quiet night and €285 when a major event is on.
I’ve got an upcoming 1 night stay in Frankfurt in Jan and have currently booked the Sofitel at €350 a night through ACCOR STEP (with Fords company actually) so get breakfast, $100 credit, upgrade, late checkout etc and the Florentin is €421 on that night with none of those inclusions.
From all accounts the Sofitel is spectacular with brilliant service - would be nice if you tried it Ben! Was searching through OMAAT trying to find if you had reviewed it!
Ben they are part of the LHW group. Advisors can book people through the Leaders Club for the usual perks like breakfast and late check out.
And guests who are Leaders Club members can book themselves and receive those perks. Article needs a re-write.
You repeatedly make comments about LHW and similar groups (Preferred Hotels, GHA Discovery, etc.) being "more of a marketing group", as if that's a bad thing. First, many travelers, like myself prefer not staying in corporate chain properties, which typically follow the same generic, soulless designs and formulated service delivery. It's also a positive not be in a hotel full of point chasers, whining about their upgrades and demanding amenities. Lastly, other than the (deeply devalued) point systems, aren't all the corporate chains essentially just marketing groups? Nearly all major hotels are owned by private investors, not by the corporate flag thy fly, they only have licensing agreements- essentially just for the marketing and booking channels.
I absolutely loved the Villa Kennedy!
Glad to see the property is open again under a new name after a refresh. And the Althoff group usually does a very good job at running those kind of properties.
Also, I prefer this over any Sofitel.
The funny thing about Frankfurt is that it’s a European business hub, but at the same time, has virtually zero tourism.
Oh wow, this is truly false! Compared to other German Cities, Frankfurt am Main has the most tourists in relation to its population. And in total its Nr. 4 in the raking (Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt ). There are plenty of tourists (also international) visiting Frankfurt.
Lucky, you are totally off on tourist visits to Frankfurt am Main. From the "Beherbergungsabgabe" (only levied on leisure/non-business travelers), we know that roughly 1/3 of visitors are not in Frankfurt on business. As Frankfurt has 6m-7m unique visitors (defined as those staying at least one overnight in a hospitality venue) and roughly 11.5m nights spent by those visitors per annum, the tourist numbers are far from negligible.
Sure, it is not Bangkok, but 2m plus leisure travellers spending around 4m nights is quite substantial.
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Anyways, Frankfurt has some fun hotel openings these days. After the Kimpton, the Unbound will open in January. The Hyatt House will open in the summer. There is a huge new Ruby expected to open in 2026 in the city center (close to 300 keys). And, of course, the Hessische Hof, which should be roughly comparable to the Florentin, is supposed to re-open in 2026 as well.