Review: Jumeirah Hotel Frankfurt

While Frankfurt wasn’t our final destination in Germany, we spent a night there for a couple of reasons:

• Winston hates flying, so we wanted to fly nonstop from Miami to Frankfurt to minimize Winston’s flying time (and then we’d drive to Hamburg, and then eventually Berlin, from there)
• We were getting tested for coronavirus upon arrival in Germany and had to quarantine while waiting for results, so doing that near Frankfurt seemed like the best option (we got our results the same evening we arrived, so that ended our quarantine)

Booking Jumeirah Frankfurt

Even though Frankfurt is in many ways the financial capital of Germany, it doesn’t have many great hotels. My favorite hotel in Frankfurt is Villa Kennedy, a Rocco Forte Hotel. It’s a gorgeous property with a beautiful courtyard, but it’s also not in the heart of the city.

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For years I’ve been intrigued by Jumeirah Frankfurt, generally considered to be the best business hotel in Frankfurt. For those of you not familiar with Jumeirah, it’s a Dubai-based luxury hotel group. Burj Al Arab, the world’s self-proclaimed seven star hotel, is also owned by Jumeirah.

I always found it a bit surprising that Jumeirah had a property in Frankfurt, so this seemed like the ideal time to give it a try.

The rate for our one night stay was 225 EUR, and we were able to book through Virtuoso, which came with the following perks:

• An upgrade, subject to availability
• Breakfast for two in the Max on One restaurant
• An 85 EUR food & beverage credit once per stay, which can be used at Max on One restaurant, at the Ember Bar, or through in-room dining
• Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability

The rate was reasonable when you consider all the inclusions, though I’d note that usually the hotel is significantly more expensive — we were staying over the weekend (and this is a business hotel), and I’m sure coronavirus has also caused rates to be lowered.

Jumeirah Frankfurt location

Let’s start with what I love most about the hotel — Jumeirah Frankfurt has an excellent location. It’s in the heart of the city, just a short walk from the MyZeil shopping area and the Altstadt, including Römerberg.

This property is within walking distance of just about everything I like to visit in Frankfurt, so that’s a big advantage it has over Villa Kennedy. If you’re looking for a more economical option but want to be in the same area, I’d note that there’s a Moxy and Residence Inn literally next to the Jumeirah.

Jumeirah Frankfurt arrival & check-in

We arrived at Jumeirah Frankfurt at around 11AM, and it’s hard to miss — it’s the tallest standalone hotel in Frankfurt, at 25 floors. The hotel opened in 2011, so the exterior is pretty modern and cool-looking.

Jumeirah Frankfurt exterior

There was no bellman outside, though within a few minutes of pulling up a hotel employee came outside to greet us. She explained that there was no valet at the moment due to coronavirus, though that we could park in the nearby garage.

Fortunately the garage is right next to the hotel, and parking for one night cost 32 EUR (which is steep, but not unexpected for a major city).

Jumeirah Frankfurt entrance

The hotel’s lobby felt small for a 218 room, 25 story hotel. It just consisted of a long hallway with reception to the right, and a few seats in the back.

Jumeirah Frankfurt lobby

Jumeirah Frankfurt lobby

Check-in was fast, and we were informed that we were upgraded to a panoramic suite for having booked through Virtuoso, which ordinarily retails for double the cost of a base room… awesome!

Jumeirah Frankfurt is pet friendly, so there was a 25 EUR fee for Winston, which is fair enough (he was just sad that there wasn’t a turkey welcome amenity for him).

The elevators were across from reception. In order to access the elevators you had to swipe your key card and select the floor you wanted to go to, and then it would tell you which elevator to use.

Jumeirah Frankfurt elevators

We were assigned room 2406, on the second to highest floor. Obviously taste is subjective, but like I said, I thought the decor was just… not great.

Jumeirah Frankfurt elevators

Jumeirah Frankfurt hallway

Our suite was towards the end of the short hallway. Since the hotel is spread out across 25 floors, there are only about 10 rooms per floor.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite

Our panoramic suite was roughly 600 square feet, though consisted of one room (you would assume this is a junior suite based on the fact that there’s no separation between the living area and sleeping area, but that’s not how this hotel views it).

The room featured an entryway with the door to the bathroom on the right, and the rest of the room straight ahead.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite entryway

Just inside the entrance was the living area, with a loveseat and a chair.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite living area

On the coffee table was a sign indicating the room had been sanitized, as well as a couple of containers with masks, hand sanitizer, etc.

Jumeirah Frankfurt “coronavirus amenity”

Past the living area was a glass desk, as well as the king size bed.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite

The glass desk had well placed outlets, as well as a tablet with more information about the hotel.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite desk

There was a stand in the very back of the room with a TV.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite king bed

The king bed was comfortable, especially by German standards.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite king bed

Across from the living area was a minibar and a coffee machine. Rather generously, everything in the minibar was complimentary, including the drinks and snacks.

Jumeirah Frankfurt in-room minibar

Jumeirah Frankfurt in-room minibar

Jumeirah Frankfurt in-room coffee machine

Jumeirah Frankfurt in-room coffee machine

There aren’t many hotels in Frankfurt where you can get a view from a high floor, so it was cool to be higher up for once. Then again, Frankfurt doesn’t exactly have the most picturesque skyline, at least in this direction.

Jumeirah Frankfurt view

The suite’s bathroom was huge, and featured double sinks, a tub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet with another sink. The toilet could be accessed from the hallway at the entrance to the room, and there were doors between the two parts of the bathroom.

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite bathroom

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite tub

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite shower

Jumeirah Frankfurt panoramic suite toilet

Toiletries were from Aromatherapy Associates.

Jumeirah Frankfurt Aromatherapy Associates toiletries

Wifi in the room (and throughout the hotel) was fast and free.

So yeah, to sum up the room, I appreciated the upgrade and it was large. Beyond that, though, there’s nothing that felt particularly luxurious about it. I don’t want to be harsh, but the hotel opened in 2011, and I have to wonder if this would even be considered particularly luxurious at that point?

The room also had quite a bit of wear & tear, which isn’t surprising since the hotel hasn’t been renovated since opening (as far as I know).

Jumeirah Frankfurt wear & tear

Jumeirah Frankfurt wear & tear

Jumeirah Frankfurt dining

When it comes to dining at Jumeirah Frankfurt, there are a few options:

• Max on One, which serves breakfast and dinner; this is the hotel’s “modern French restaurant with an Asian twist”
• Ember Bar & Lounge, which is the hotel’s lobby lounge; this is open throughout the day
• El Rayyan, which is open for lunch and dinner; this is the hotel’s Lebanese restaurant
• In-room dining, which is available 24/7

I would have loved to go to the Lebanese restaurant (it’s one of my favorite cuisines), but since we were quarantining until our test results came in, we instead ordered in-room dining.

In-room dining

Jumeirah Frankfurt’s in-room dining menu is puzzlingly limited, with just nine options (sorry for the picture quality, as the room service menu is on the TV):

If they have two full service restaurants serving dinner, wouldn’t you think that some of those items would also be available through in-room dining? Of the limited options we decided on two pizzas and a bottle of wine, which used up our 85 EUR food & beverage credit.

Jumeirah Frankfurt in-room dining

For the most part I find that Germany does “authentic” Italian personal pizzas pretty well, but these were an exception. Still, we had a nice evening watching shows in bed.

Max on One breakfast

Breakfast was served in the hotel’s signature restaurant, Max on One, located on the first floor. Breakfast is served daily from 6:30AM until 11AM. I loved the design of the restaurant, and in particular the bookshelves with thousands of books.

Max on One restaurant

Max on One restaurant

Max on One restaurant

Many people might be surprised to hear this, but breakfast buffets are still very much a thing in many parts of Germany. At Jumeirah Frankfurt you order your drinks, egg dishes, and sweets from a server, and then everything else is available at the buffet.

I ordered a cappuccino to drink, and was disappointed to find that it was simply one of those machine cappuccinos, which I never enjoy. I get that this is a widely accepted practice in Germany (I don’t get why, though), but I still think at a luxury hotel they should have barista-made cappuccinos… but that’s just me.

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast — cappuccino

The buffet itself was quite extensive — I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast buffet

I wasn’t very hungry, so I didn’t have anything from the buffet, but rather just had the farmer’s omelet, with vegetables and potatoes.

Jumeirah Frankfurt breakfast

Ember Bar & Lounge

While we didn’t actually have a drink there, Ember Bar & Lounge is the all day bar just inside the lobby of the hotel. Personally I wish there an outdoor area, which I love in summer in Germany. To me this just felt like your average Sheraton lobby bar.

Jumeirah Frankfurt Ember Bar & Lounge

Jumeirah Frankfurt gym, pool, and spa

Jumeirah Frankfurt has Talise Spa on the fourth floor, though it was closed due to coronavirus.

As far as the pool and the gym goes, there’s a Fitness First Platinum gym connected to the hotel, and hotel guests get access. I didn’t really feel comfortable taking pictures, both given privacy laws in Germany, and also given that Germans can be weird about pictures. 😉 While I go great lengths to avoid having people in my pictures everywhere in the world, I’m especially cognizant of it in Germany.

Jumeirah Frankfurt Fitness First

The gym is open from 6AM until 11PM on weekdays, and from 8AM until 10PM on weekends.

You see these kinds of partnerships between hotels and gyms every so often, and there’s pros and cons to this system:

• Proper membership gyms are infinitely better than most hotel gyms
• At the same time, they’re not 24/7, and you’re much less likely to have the gym to yourself

Bottom line

I was curious to check out Jumeirah Frankfurt, since it’s generally regarded as Frankfurt’s best hotel in the heart of the city. It was also my first stay at a Jumeirah branded property, not that I was expecting this to be the Burj Al Arab. With that in mind, I have two very different thoughts on the hotel.

First of all, I think we got a solid value for our stay, given that rates are lower than usual, we were staying for one night on a Virtuoso rate, and we got a great upgrade. Furthermore, I love the location of this hotel.

That being said, I personally found this to be one of the most unmemorable luxury properties I’ve been to. I get a business hotel might not be quaint or charming, but I feel like very little thought was put into the design of the hotel. The lobby doesn’t seem to match the rooms, yet I didn’t particularly like the design of either.

While I don’t regret staying here, I don’t think I’d return. Villa Kennedy is infinitely more charming than Jumeirah, though admittedly doesn’t have as good of a location. If I wanted to stay in this area again, I’d probably pick another property where I could earn or redeem points.

What do you make of Jumeirah Frankfurt — am I being too hard on the hotel?