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