The Fontenay

This hotel is often considered one of the very best in Germany, so I was looking forward to my stay here. However, after the stay, I must say they missed on my expectations by a huge margin. Firstly, we arrived by car at around 8.30 pm. We drove right in front of the doors, and looked around to see if there was any staff to assist with our luggage or tell where to park. We waited for around 5 minutes standing outside and collecting our belongings from the car. As we did not see anyone, but another guest smoking, we took our 3 large suitcases, 2 small suitcases, and bagpacks and carried them to the lobby. There was a young man sitting behind the counter and welcomed us to check in (while we were still carrying the 7 pieces of luggage). No drinks were offered at check in. Our booking included an upgrade if available, but he told us the next room category was fully booked, so we could upgrade to the second next category, but would need to pay 280€ per night. We kindly declined, as we already paind 780€ per night for our original room. Most hotels have offered upgrades to even bigger rooms if available, I have yet to encounter this type of upgrade where you would pay for the complimentary upgrade even if the next category was unavailable. We them carried our bags ourselves to the room, as the young man showed us the way. We then went to the spa, which was one of the highlights of the stay. The pool was large and very unique and beatiful. The saunas were also nice. The spa all in all was excellent. However, we then went back to our room to order room service. I ordered by phone (2 burgers and fries (no onions) and drinks and desserts. All in all the cost was around 140€. We then received the meal, but the burgers had large amount of onions inside, marinated in some way, meaning all the buns had sucked the onion taste to them. We only had small bites from the burgers, and mainly ate the fries and desserts. I then called the roomservice again to tell them the issue, and their response was ”I am so sorry, was everything else alright?” No partial refund, no new burgers, no nothing. Just ”I am sorry”. That was one of the biggest waste of 140€ I have ever had. The bed was also mediocre. Having slept at Ritz Carlton Berlin the past 3 nights before this hotel, the difference was huge. The pillows had cheaper down, not fluffy, no down comforter on top of the mattress, and the duvet was similar to the pillows, not fluffy but quite tight. Felt more like Hilton bed than a 5 star bed. The room was otherwise beautiful, but regardless of the hotel being very new, there were lightbolbs missing in the ceiling, the ceiling in the shower was filled with water bubbles inside the paint layer, and some electrical thing had been removed from the toilet, leaving a whole with some electric wires visible. Breakfast was excellent, great youghurt, eggs made to order and pancakes. At check out, the valet man was extremely helpful and kind, best employee at the property during our stay. All in all, I regret staying here and not staying at Fairmont. Next time, I will make a better choice.

Stayed here in late July. During all our stay temperature in Hamburg didn’t go over 73F (23°C), cloudy and raining for all 5 days. It was warmer in the room. It’s a great hotel, but would never go back, maybe only in dead of winter. The air conditioning was set to 18°C (64F). When we arrived we thought room was warm because curtains were open and a/c was not on. We were wrong, it never got cold. Called engineer and after 2h 4 people checking it and multiple thermometer measurements I was told everything was working as it should. The a/c outlet did have a temp of 18 °, but bedroom and bed area was 24° (75F), the a/c simply is not big enough to cool the room, it’s like trying to warm a house with a hair dryer. Nights were very uncomfortable, sweaty uncomfortable. The whole hotel felt stuffy. I’m sure the hotel is great in winter, service was great, breakfast was good, small buffet but good enough, rooftop bar was very nice. We had a lake view and it was pretty. Decided to stay here as my husband had a conference to attend at the university which is a 5 min walk. Concierge was also great. Would I stay here again? No. I like to sleep in a room where I don’t feel like a sauna. Even with balcony door fully open during day it didn’t cool it.

One of the most spectacular city hotels I have been to. Absolute five star superior experience on every level. The location in a park by the lake in walking distance to the city center is unbeaten. The indoor/outdoor pool on the roof with terrace and bar with views over the lake and the city is unforgettable. Rooms, staff, restaurants, breakfast are impeccable. We will be back. We loved the bike rental service because its the best way around town.

The hotel really provides great service. It's not just the beautiful design and spacious, well-appointed rooms, but especially the staff. The hotel is located at an exclusive address on the Alster Lake, surrounded by parks and next to the waterfront promenade. It's wonderful to have breakfast on the terrace overlooking the park and the lake. An indisputable exclusive advantage of the hotel is the swimming pool and wellness on the roof. The view from the sauna to the countryside is stunning. Thanks to booking with Virtuoso, we got a beautiful room. I definitely recommend the hotel. If I had to make one comment, it would be about the signature cocktails in the rooftop bar. I found them too heavy and sweet for the summer season, but that's probably just my subjective feeling.

My stay at The Fonteney Hamburg was a seamless blend of architectural elegance and lakeside serenity, where every détail was impeccable as well as the service that seemed choreographed to elevate both comfort and contemplation.