Sofitel Hamburg Alter Wall

Hotel description

Not as edgy as some of Hamburg’s smaller boutiques, of course, but neither is the Sofitel Hamburg Alter Wall a typical luxury hotel. This is a group that’s got a little extra time for contemporary design, and it shows here, starting with the eight-story modern waterside building, its glass-walled restaurant cantilevered over the edge of the Alster canal.

In the lobby, where some high-end hotels might opt for marble and mahogany, the Sofitel chooses crisp clean geometric lines and classic modernist furnishings. And the guest rooms go the same way: simple but not minimal, muted colors set against whites and greys, mid-century modernist chairs, floor-to-ceiling windows with views over the Alster river. Bathrooms are oversized, with showers and baths, and the obligatory plush robes and slippers.

Indeed the Sofitel Hamburg Alter Wall, despite the up-to-date visuals, is more or less a classic luxury hotel. There’s a full-service spa with a sauna, steam room and a striking mosaic-tiled indoor pool, a well-equipped business center, a French bistro and an elegant fine dining restaurant, and the kind of solicitous 24-hour service you’re more accustomed to seeing in a 19th-century grand hotel.