Restaurant Quarre @ The Adlon Kempinski Berlin, Germany

During our stay at the Adlon Hotel Kempinski in Berlin in April 2016 - please see review - , we booked a table for our dinner in advance at Quarre which is the casual, yet upscale brasserie at this famous landmark hotel.

Quarre is in a corner location. One side offers views over the Brandenburg Gate. It also has outdoor seating, which was in high demand, during our stay as the weather was sunny and people enjoyed the outdoors.

Sadly, the maître d' didn't make us feel like we were a valued guest and seemed unpleasantly surprised we were joining them for dinner.

Our table was in a more private location, which we appreciated. There was no view to the Brandenburg Gate, though but since we value privacy it was okay for our evening.

The interior felt like a Mediterranean villa.

At first there were only a few fellow diners, but the room filled quickly up with couples and a larger group.

We were given the menu and offered drinks to start with. We chose Liz water and shared two bottles during the meal.

The waiter was professional and efficient, but again lacked somewhat the warmth we had been expecting while dinning at such a famous hotel.

Our dinner included two Brandenburger Buffalo Mozzarella with roasted vegetables, one Wiener Schnitzel, one Pistachio Polenta, mushrooms and lemon and one Rocky Slide Brownie.

The mozzarella was interesting, because it was already melted and added a nice contrast to the vegetables. He said the Wiener Schnitzel was one of the best he had so far and the polenta was nice too.

Together with the dessert we ordered a hot chocolate and green tea.

The Rocky Slide Brownie was not entirely to our liking. It was a bit too sweet for us. It looked great and was creatively presented, though. We would try another dessert option should we eat at this bistro again on another occasion when in Berlin.

The bill came in at 120 Euro / ca. 137 USD.

We enjoyed the atmosphere and the quality of the food, so we would return, but we hope that next time we would receive a warmer welcome/service which actually matches a hotel of this caliber and heritage.

Would we recommend this restaurant to a friend? YES, it's good to be near beside the Brandenburg Gate.
Would we want to enjoy lunch/dinner again at this restaurant? YES, but we hope for a warmer welcome next time and a different dessert.

©2016 

Adlon Hotel Kempinski Berlin, Germany

Shortly after the Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin opened its doors for the first time in over fifty years in 1997 we visited it and were impressed by the grand lobby. We swore we would stay there at some stage. Our dream came finally true in April 2016.

We arrived by train from Hamburg and took a taxi from the main train station. It was maybe half an hour before official check in time. Our Executive Room - an entrance category room - wasn't ready yet. We went for a walk, taking in the sights of the Brandenburg Gate, which is just a few steps from the hotel and the Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe. When we returned it was after check in time now, but our room was still not ready. We went around the block again to get another perspective of this landmark hotel and finally the room was ready.

The area surrounding the reception was crowded and the Lobby Lounge and Bar was also nearby, which would lead to a security issue later.  I will come back to the incident in a few moments.

We had chosen the entrance category room, because we liked the looks and design from images on their website.

The walk to the room was long and it was located in the new wing, the Kempinski Palais. We didn't mind, since there were photographs of former famous guests, an attractive indoor garden area and the stunning lobby with a cupola and elephant fountain all which beckons to be explored.

Our room we received was luxurious as expected with its own hallway and the furniture was top notch and classical. The color scheme was different shades of brown, beige, grey and green.

We were located beside the British Embassy and had views over the roof tops of Berlin and the TV tower in the distance.

The large wardrobe contained the safe and minibar. There were some interesting items in the minibar, like vodka, brewed in Berlin, Thomas Henry soft drinks (Ginger Ale, Bitters, Tonic), Talent iced tea and Charitea, a selection of Ruinart Champagne half bottles, Berliner Kindl beer and sweets, like yogurt gums, gummi bears and jelly beans.
The soft drinks and beer started from 5.50 Euro (ca. 6.25 USD), the Champagne from 65 Euro (ca. 73.80 USD) and the sweets from 6 Euro (ca. 6.85 USD). We had some of the gummi bears which had been packaged especially for the hotl. They were lovely.

There was also a club chair and coffee table, a writing desk with a tablet. At first the tablet wasn't working, because it hadn't been plugged in, but after this it functioned well. The writing desk had two chairs.

The large bed was comfortable and allowed for a good night’s rest. Inside the top drawer of the night stands on each side were switches for the lights and to raise or lower the automatic blinds.

We appreciated turn down left a large bottle of Evian water every night and that the wakeup call each morning was personalized with tea or coffee and a pastry provided and was punctual on the dot.

The environmentally friendly message was on a little felt tree shaped figure. It had to be placed on the bed, if the linens shouldn't be changed.

Artwork consisted of four etchings of Italian landmarks and a flower and bird painting in the bathroom.

Of course there was also entertainment including My Kempinski, fashion and life style magazines and the LHW catalogue and a flat screen with regional and international channels. They could be sorted by language or alphabetical, because there were so many.

In room dining was 24 hours available and we used it for one dinner and two breakfasts during our two night stay.

We had the vegetable curry with rice, the Adlon currywurst with Havellaender apple fed pork and fruit salad "Three Flavors". All was very good.  It cost 51 Euro (ca. 57.95 USD).

We tried two different breakfasts. One was the Continental with hot chocolate, carrot juice, bread and pastry selection, butter, Rosenrot & Feengreen jams, Berlin honey, Nutella, cheese, cold cuts and fresh fruit salad. We had a French Toast with it as well. All was beautifully presented and delicious. It cost 41 Euro / ca. 46.60 USD per person.

The other was the European, which was the same as the Continental, but included a hot dish - our choice was the egg white omelette with Nuremberg sausage - and gravad lax, smoked trout and mackerel. It cost 47 Euro / ca. 53.40 USD).

We enjoyed our meals through room service, it represnts good quality and value IMHO.

The bathroom was large with separate bath tub and shower, double sinks and Kempinski own branded toiletries, which we liked.

The toilet and shower were in separate cubicles and there was storage space under the sinks.

Since the Adlon is a grand hotel it has many amenities, including diverse restaurants, lounges and bars including Le Petit Felix, Restaurant Quarré (where we had dinner and a review is going to follow.), Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer and Sra Bua by Tim Raue.

Of course there is also a spa and a clef d'or concierge service desk.

Now to our problems with security and billing.

The TV has the function to connect you to your invoice. We checked it one morning and were surprised to find a charge from the Lobby Bar on it, since we had not used it. When I called reception I was thanked for informing them and promised this would be removed. Checking again later on the TV it was not showing anymore. We thought this was now done and dusted.

Wrong!

We believe someone must have overheard our name and room number, when checking in and used it. This is easily possible, since there were so many people lingering about near reception. A fraudster could easily pretend to wait for someone or to be in the queue. Our name was dropped quite frequently. Of course I understand this is a sign of luxury, but prefer not to be addressed by it due to privacy concerns.

When checking out we received a printout of the bill and the incorrect charges were still there. It was a bit disappointing.

We believe the layout of the lobby should be rethought or only staying guests and customers with a restaurant reservation allowed entry. This may change, because the Adlon Hotel Kempinski is going through a renovation currently as of Sep. 2016.

Another thing we disliked was the prohibition of taking photographs in the lobby. Security was discreet about telling my fiancé he wasn't allowed to use his camera, so that was good. As soon as we were advised he stopped doing so and never used it again in the public space, so the reminder on another occasion was unnecessary and not appreciated.

Having now experience with a few Kempinski hotels/resorts around the world and there were always some issues we came to the conclusion that this hotel chain is not really suitable for us and probably will not stay with them again in our future with the execption in markets where Kempinski operates hotels and it looks like there's no suitable alternative available. However, overall we might not "gel" with Kempinski and what they offer and how they offer their product.

Would we recommend this particular hotel to a friend? Maybe, depends on the occasion.
Would we want to stay again at this particular hotel in our future? Maybe yes, maybe not, as we experienced some serious flaws at this hotel, but equally we experienced also some "highs" at this hotel, interestingly we equally stayed at Das Stue [earlier in 2015] and the Grand Hyatt [after the Adlon. Review to follow] in Berlin, both of which are flawless in what we experienced with them in terms of especially service, design, F&B and room product.

©2016 

Le Canard Nouveau Hamburg, Germany

During our trip in April 2016 we wanted to try for lunch a Michelin starred restaurant in Hamburg.

We thought Le Canard Nouveau had a stunning location, looked beautiful and the cuisine was an interesting fusion between Germany, the Mediterranean and Turkey.

We also liked the chef Ali Guengoermues was my own age and had worked at the Kaeferschenke in Munich.

The translation of Guengoermues is quiet poetic. It means: Look into the sun, look towards the day.

Le Canard Nouveau holds a Michelin star since 2006.

The location is a bit off the beaten track and we took a taxi to get to the restaurant. It cost under 20 Euro / ca. 22.70 USD one way from our hotel, The Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, but it can vary, depending on traffic.

The views over the working harbor, the Elbe river and the surroundings are relaxing and very beautiful.

Le Canard Nouveau is in the same building as Meinhard von Gerkan's architectural office, who was responsible for the design, and home. The structure looks like a steam boat from a long gone by era.

A bridge leads down to the restaurant which offers more beautiful views over the water.

The interior is warm, but understated with lots of wood. The near floor to ceiling windows allow natural daylight to stream into the dining room.

At the time the tables were covered with white linen cloths and decorated with a tulip in a beautiful and understated vase.

At the entrance we were greeted by the chef patron personally and brought to our table inside. We could have chosen to sit on the Lime-tree terrace too, but thought even so the weather was nice and sunny, it could get a bit chilly otherwise.

We were offered an alcoholic aperitif, but we asked for a mocktail, which wasn't a problem. It contained a rhubarb, apple and orange juice combination as their house cocktail and it was refreshing and tasty at the same time and suited the beautiful weather and views perfectly.

The non-alcoholic cocktails were followed by a bottle of Magnus Imperial Water. A light and refreshing gourmet water.

A bread basket with a mix of more traditional bakery items and thin bread sheets topped with spices,  was served with salted butter.

We chose to have three courses. There is a two course business lunch menu available during the week for 39 Euro / ca. 44.30 USD  and every additional course costs 12 Euro / ca. 13.60 USD more.

He had the mackerel with bacon and cucumber. A dish he really enjoyed and is still talking about today.

I had Turkish pasta with tomato and aubergine. It was a well-balanced dish and unusual.

Our main courses were stone bass with curry foam, cauliflower and cauliflower mousse and goats cheese tortellini with ginger foam and lentils.

We loved our dishes. The foams were lightly flavored and not overpowering, it was beautiful and subtle.

As dessert we had two hazelnut mousse with mocca ice cream, which was delicious.

With our hot chocolates came very appetizing petite fours.

Our bill was 136.90 Euro / ca. 155.45 USD.

We thought the Michelin star is well deserved IMHO and the quality of the setting, service, food and beverage is overall of a very high standard.

The staff was attentive and there when we needed them.

They were kind enough to invite us to explore the area a bit further incl. the Japan Room in the restaurant before calling a taxi for us.

We would return again to this beautiful restaurant, since we liked the ambience, understated service, cuisine, views and architecture.

 

©2016 

 

The Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten Hamburg, Germany

The next part of our tour through the Netherlands and Germany took us to Hamburg. We went by train from Rotterdam to Amsterdam Schiphol and flew with EasyJet. We had enough time calculated in, so it went smoothly and the flight itself was eventless. From the airport we took the S-Bahn to Neuer Jungfernstieg and had then only a few hundred meters to walk to our hotel, The Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten.

When we organized our travel we were torn between three hotels we wanted to stay at for a longer time. After informing ourselves we decided to base ourselves at the Vier Jahreszeiten for two nights, because we thought it fitted our taste best, the location was ideal and it would be our first Fairmont. We also liked the heritage.

The hotel was bought in 1897 by Friedrich Haerlin and later overtaken by his son Fritz, after whom the fine dining and 2 Michelin starred restaurant at the Fairmont is named.

The Haerlin family grew the Vier Jahreszeiten over the last century. It started all with one house, but outbuildings were added.

Service played always a big role and has been continued by Ingo C. Peters, the managing director of the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten since 1997. Those high standards made sure guests returned including famous artists, politicians and royalty.

The classic facade was very beautiful and the whole hotel kept immaculate.

The door men wore opulent uniforms and were always ready to help guests with their luggage or to organize transportation, for example getting a taxi for us to Le Canard Nouveau (review to follow) took seconds and no waiting at all was involved.

The entrance was grand and reflected where we were going to stay.

The interior was a mixture of classic and modern design.

The lobby was large and the reception hidden at the right.

Check in was very friendly and efficiently handled. We were given a real key and brought to our room. 

My fiancé’s birthday the previous day was acknowledged and he received as a gift three apples and three macaroons, which were all delicious.

Our Deluxe Double Room was on the 5th floor with courtyard view. We enjoyed the quiet of the location, the large size of the room and how beautifully furnished and detailed it was.

To the left was the walk in closet with lots of storage space and the safe.

The room had high ceilings and a chandelier with intricate designs which included swans.

The color scheme was gold, red, grey, white and brown.

We had a large luxurious bed with beautiful white linens, a seating area, a writing desk, a credenza and a wall mounted flat screen TV. There were local and international TV channels available, but most of the English speaking channels weren't functioning. 

On the writing desk was a globe and a temperamental tablet with all the information about the hotel, the area, in room dining and weather forecast.

The minibar was well stocked with bottles of Ruinart, Veuve Cliquot and Moet & Chandon Champagne. One was a vintage. Prices ranged from 65 Euro to 95 Euro (ca. 73.80 USD to ca. 107.90 USD). Other choices were Granini juices, Lemonaid, San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna amongst other alcoholic beverages. The soft drinks were 6.50 Euro (ca. 7.40 USD).

The storage of the glassware was elegant.

There were magazines in their own stand including Hamburg Culture and Shopping Highlights, Emotions No. 1, Selektion Deutscher Luxushotels, the Fairmont magazine, Passion Lifestyle (fashion, watches, jewellery), Heritage for Historic Homes (Gardens, interiors, antiques and restoration), Weltkunst art magazine, Hoerzu, Mercedes Benz magazines, Feine Adressen in Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein and the Leading Hotels of the World catalogue.

In the room we found elements of Art Deco like the coffee table.

On the credenza was a Nespresso coffee machine and a full set of capsules, plus tea sachets.

24 hours in room dining was also available. We used it for breakfast and one dinner.

The Spaghetti Bolognese and the Wiener Schnitzel come highly recommended. The Rote Gruetze (berry compote with vanilla sauce) was plate licking good too. We paid 78 Euro for our meal (ca. 88.60 USD).

Everything was of high quality/restaurant quality in terms of ingredients, setting and presentation.

Once we had a small hiccup, but it was my own fault. I thought I had ticked the box that we wanted continental breakfast and a waffle with maple syrup. It seems I had forgotten about the continental breakfast, so we only received the waffles and green tea. It wasn't a big problem to add the continental one, but it caused a delay. When it arrived it was very good with orange juice, cold cuts, cheese, French butter, a selection of bakery items and fruit salad.

Costs should be ca. 50 Euro per person (ca. 56.80 USD.), depending what you order.

Artwork in our room incl. heritage maps of Bremen and Magdeburg.

Every night turn down was provided with bottles of Bismarck Water.

The free Internet worked well, but wasn't the fastest we enjoyed so far.

Another interesting feature were the fire doors every room has at the entrance. Essentially you have to open the fire door before you can use your key at the next door. A warning: It's very easy to lock yourself out. It happened to me once, when I tried to pick up our shoes, which had been returned by the shoe cleaning service during the night and our free newspaper. Thank goodness a house keeper, who noticed my predicament, let me in. Based on her behavior I wasn't the first guest, who was standing in their nightwear in front of the locked door.

The room layout was fascinating, because the bathroom was in another building than the bed room. Material used was granite and porcelain tiles with Art Deco and Neo Classical design in monochrome.

A black and white photograph of the Innenalster hung on one wall.

There was a real window, which could be opened, double sinks, toilet and a shower bathtub combination. Le Labo Rose 31 amenities were provided. They are one of our favorites. We also liked the stylish trash can. A lot of thought was given to the design of the bathroom which felt gorgeous IMHO at all times/areas, just like our room was immaculate and beautiful befitting such a memorable luxury hotel.

On our floor was the spa and fitness center located. We didn't check out the spa, but had a look at the fitness center, which was very well equipped and stylish. It looked like a gentlemen's club and was very inviting incl. elegant leather sofa, large TV, magazines, books, towels, fresh apples and water bottles beside the modern gym equipment on offer.

We were also able to find out by pure luck that the roof top terrace had opened on our full day. Of course we had to check it out, even if we didn't have time to use the bar, serving Champagne [Dom Perignon Rose for example], or the sun loungers, due to our lunch reservation. The design reminded us of a seaside resort. The views were great too.

Normally floors at hotels are functional. At the Fairmont they were inviting to linger and explore a bit. On our floor for example was a seating area, a display cabinet with books, small pieces of artwork and other interesting find/exhibits.

We liked the staircase. It was understated and walking down let us see the different designs of the landings, seating areas and the stained glass window.

Guests and visitors alike should be able to find a suitable outlet for a meal or a drink. As mentioned earlier there is Restaurant Haerlin, the Jahreszeiten Grill and Bar, the Wohnhalle, Cafe Condi and the Condi Lounge, Doc Cheng's and Bar and the Jahreszeiten Terrasse.

As always, checkout arrived too quickly. It was done efficient. We were asked - as many receptionists do - if we were returning home. We replied our next destination was Berlin. She was a bit surprised by that and wanted to know at which hotel we were staying - a first for us.

When returning to Hamburg the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten is a hotel we would stay again, because we liked the friendly and efficient staff, the heritage of the hotel, the in room dining and our detailed room, plus the immaculate upkeep/design/location of the property.

 

©2016