Renaissance-Hamburg, Germany Lake view with all the shopping you can not afford to do
Written: Apr 04 '06 (Updated Apr 06 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great location in this port city
Cons: If you don't like gummy bears, I suppose....
The Bottom Line: I'd stay here again (the hotel...not sure about the website)
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| jsaunt's Full Review: Renaissance Hamburg Hotel |
As I have mentioned in reviews of other German hotels, I had the chance to travel to Germany for 2 weeks in the middle of March (2006). My friend was lucky enough to have vouchers for most of the hotels we stayed in (as well as the airfare) – and I was lucky enough to join her! We got to stay in small towns and in (or near) large cities, and experienced some great German food and hospitality, as well as take in some historic sites. We got a little taste of some customs and history in our time there. I am now officially jealous of the wonderful train and subway system that they have (especially compared to where I live in Southern California where the car is king). I will say that I’m not jealous of the fact that half of their year is winter, as I sit here in (sometimes) sunny San Diego County.
Rather than lengthy reviews, I’m listing some pros and cons about our hotels (since none of them have reviews on the site so far). They each had a bathroom in the room and rates were for 2 of us. All of the typical accoutrements were there (including hair dryers, down comforters, phones, mini-bars, and TVs) unless otherwise noted. I should mention that usually there was only one channel in English (CNN), but we did enjoy watching the German version of “Family Feud” and an old dubbed “Home Improvement”, as well as trying to figure out the humor in a German sit-com. The hotels were all clean and safe, and were certainly better than the level of a hostel, although most of these were not luxury hotels either. Many had their quirks, but overall, we had few complaints.
We learned that the typical German (hotel) breakfast includes an array of cereals, cheeses, breads, rolls, sausage spread, fruit, yogurt, juices, coffee and tea. Some places additionally had fish, eggs and/or potatoes, and I got to taste quark (a German yogurt cheese). We also found the German people to be nice and helpful, although not consistently outgoing. Generally speaking, in the larger cities more English is spoken (on request), and in the smaller towns, little to no English is spoken. Despite the fact that both my friend and I come from German heritage, we don’t speak German, yet we managed fairly well, and now can say “Guten Morgen”, “Bitte”, and “Danke schon” with a pretty decent accent.
The purpose of these mini-reviews is to give you information if you are considering any of these hotels (and not to get high ratings or income share). If I think of anything else, I just might edit later.
Tschuss! *
Although I met some, I never ate a hamburger in Hamburg
Hamburg is a port city in the northern part of Germany. It is quite modern and is known for some of the best shopping in the country. On our street alone we saw many exclusive and designer shops. The hotel is within walking distance of the twin lakes as well as multiple shopping galleries.
Pros:
Actually a little luxurious
Directly on one of the most elegant shopping streets in the city
Close walking distance to the twin lakes
Huge balcony with view of the lake and shopping district (shared with other rooms)
Very clean
Bag of gummy bears on pillow each night
Lovely restaurant with exceptional service and extensive menu (you must try the tomato and asparagus soup)
Bathroom supplied with “Lather” products
Cons:
No directions on website other than address
No access to steal other “Lather” products from maid’s cart (darn it)
Stores and malls are closed on Sunday (and guess which day we were there!)
Breakfast not included (per website)
Rate per night: 169 Euros/ Approximately $204.85 US dollars
* Tschuss! (pronounced almost like “Shoes” [but almost in 2 syllables] means “bye” and was used much more often than Auf Wiedersehen, in our interactions)
I’m posting these as stand-alone reviews, so if you’re looking for other hotels, look at any of my other reviews and start reading after the intro when I get specific to the city and hotel.
Other hotels reviews from this trip:
The Hotel Excelsior – Frankfurt, Germany
Holiday Inn - Munich South, Germany
Courtyard Marriott - Gera, Germany
Holiday Inn Garden Court – Helmstedt, Germany
TOP Airport Domizil Hotel - Frankfurt, Germany (Walldorf Region)
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jsaunt
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Member: Leslie
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 208 members
About Me:
It's not the place, it's the people.
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