Frankfurt, Germany, will finally be getting a full service Hyatt hotel, which I’m quite excited about. I first wrote about this several weeks ago, but Hyatt has this week officially announced more details, including an opening timeline.
In this post:
Kennedy 89, a Hyatt Unbound Collection property
Kennedy 89 Frankfurt is expected to open in late 2023. This property will join Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, which is Hyatt’s collection of independent properties.
The property will feature 181 guest rooms, 68 of which will be suites (I love that ratio, as that should be good for upgrades). All rooms will feature private balconies, and will also feature integrated kitchenettes, ideal for those guests making extended stays.
The project is being marketed as a 5-star hotel that will feature 14 stories:
- The Ground Level will have the lobby, reception, and a restaurant
- Level 1 will have a lobby lounge, a gym, and meeting rooms
- Levels 2-12 will have guest rooms
- Level 13 will have a rooftop bar with views of the Frankfurt skyline
As far as the location of the hotel goes, it will be in the Sachsenhausen district. That’s just a 10-minute drive from Frankfurt Airport, and a pleasant walk to most of Frankfurt’s sites. This is also near many consulates and nineteenth century residential buildings.
The hotel will be located on three combined plots, at the intersection of Kennedy Allee and Stresemann Allee. The hotel’s name is inspired by its location on Kennedy Allee, a street paying homage to John F. Kennedy, and his well-documented stay in Frankfurt in 1963.
Below you can see some renderings of the property — I have to say, the hotel looks gorgeous!
No, sadly Villa Kennedy won’t become a Hyatt
I am delighted to see that a full service Hyatt will be opening in Frankfurt. As someone who transits Frankfurt constantly, and who has family in the area, I’ll likely be staying at this hotel a lot.
For context on Hyatt’s portfolio in the area, there’s the Hyatt House Frankfurt Eschborn and Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport, but those are limited service properties. Furthermore, there’s a Hyatt Regency Mainz, but that’s in a neighboring city. With Hyatt’s acquisition of Linder Hotels, there will also be some new Hyatt options, though they’re not necessarily all that luxurious.
Anyway, for years my favorite hotel in Frankfurt was Villa Kennedy, which used to be a Rocco Forte Hotel. That hotel closed in April 2022, and initially the plan was for this to no longer operate as a hotel. Fortunately we recently learned that Villa Kennedy will in fact be reopening as a hotel in 2024, but under different ownership and management.
There had been some speculation that perhaps Hyatt would be taking over this property, based on the name Kennedy 89. However, that’s not the case, as Kennedy 89 is a distinct property. Kennedy 89 and Villa Kennedy are almost next to one another, though.
Bottom line
Hyatt will be getting its first full service property in Frankfurt, in the form of Kennedy 89, which is expected to join Hyatt’s Unbound Collection in late 2023. I’m happy to see Hyatt getting a full service hotel in Frankfurt. This hotel looks really nice, and I also love the ratio of suites to guest rooms.
What do you make of Hyatt’s new Kennedy 89 Frankfurt?
The hotel looks promising, but the location is a really busy intersection with heavy traffic throughout the day. Don’t know why they put it there.
The location is not noisy at all, especially when you’re on a high floor. It’s a nice understated location a ten minute walk to the upmarket Schweitzer stresse, for shopping and restaurants.
I‘d agree with Claus here. Living in Frankfurt for 20+ years now, due to the location it wouldn’t end up in my recommendations for someone who wants to see the city. But in Frankfurt nothing is really far away and if you’re just having a stopover or it’s not about sightseeing, then fine.
@Lucky, any word on which WoH Category this hotel will be?
Not sure if Kennedy's four day visit to Germany, including Bonn, Cologne, Hanau, Frankfurt, and West Berlin, qualifies as a "stay in Frankfurt". More of a visit.
@Ben - You might consider a separate primer on what a "full-service" vs. "limited-service" hotel is, and why it matters to you. Is it mostly about breakfast, since a Globalist free breakfast at a Park Hyatt will almost always be awesome whereas a free breakfast at a Hyatt Place will always just be OK? What other "services" do you really miss at a clean, well-located "limited-service" hotel? Except for belonging to a loyalty program or...
@Ben - You might consider a separate primer on what a "full-service" vs. "limited-service" hotel is, and why it matters to you. Is it mostly about breakfast, since a Globalist free breakfast at a Park Hyatt will almost always be awesome whereas a free breakfast at a Hyatt Place will always just be OK? What other "services" do you really miss at a clean, well-located "limited-service" hotel? Except for belonging to a loyalty program or not, hotel brands are pretty meaningless to me. I'm much more concerned with location, reviews, award availability, etc. than brand. Also, WTF is a "lifestyle brand" anyway, and is that term supposed to be remotely meaningful to an average hotel customer? Thanks!
For me this is the most exciting Hyatt opening in years. The rendering looks fantastic and I imagine will become my most used Hyatt in the world. As well, many of the old staff at Villa Kennedy are planning on working there (a number of them are working at Sofitel in the meantime) which should make for some superb service.