Press play to experience MEININGER Hotel Hamburg!

Contents:

The Atmosphere | The Staff | The Room | The Location | The Price

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Germany continues to be a country that intrigues and inspires me.

Whether you’re exploring it’s relatively recent and dark history, or you stumble upon the rich cultural and artistic scene that has blossomed from its past, Germanic cities almost always have something for everyone.

And of course, we’ve all heard of how cool Berlin is. As the country’s capital, Berlin’s exciting culture attracts countless Germans and expats – including two of my favourite bloggers: Travels of Adam and Cheryl Howard.

But had you ever thought of visiting Hamburg? I’ll be honest – Hamburg was completely off my radar until I got talking with MEININGER about their property there.

But now I am SO GLAD that I visited and I can inspire you guys to take the trip to what is, in my opinion, a city just as cool as Berlin!

But that’s for later. Now it’s time to show you where to stay when you visit Hamburg. Which you should…!

MEININGER Hotel Hamburg

 

The Atmosphere

Of all the MEININGER Hotels I’ve reviewed (see the others here), the hotel in Hamburg had the smallest common areas, but then this just added to your chance to make new friends at the bar.

On my first night, I asked a guy who was waiting at the bar if he could watch my beer whilst I went to the bathroom.

At first he thought I was part of the Spanish group he had been pre-drinking with earlier (I wish I could speak Spanish…) and then when I said I was alone he insisted I join him and his friends on a night out to the Reeperbahn.

I couldn’t make it out that first night, but I did join them in the game room (in the picture above), which is divided from the main bar and reception by a little open-air walkway to the centre of the building.

The game room is almost like a mini-club in the evenings, with louder music than in reception and both a pool table and table football game – all of which creates the perfect atmosphere to party in before heading out to experience Hamburg’s night life.

If hitting the bar isn’t your thing, MEININGER Hotel Hamburg has two seating areas dedicated for the cosier traveller. One is located opposite between the reception and the breakfast room, whilst the other is situated in front of the bar.

The one in front of the bar has been designed in such as way to reflect the city you’re in! Hamburg is a port town, with a large part of its culture represented by its harbour.

Hence the ship inspired furniture!

MEININGER Hotel Hamburg also offers a guest kitchen, but for those who would rather opt in for their excellent buffet breakfast just head to the breakfast room before 10:30am.

Designed with long bench tables, the breakfast room offers another opportunity for you to sit down with others and get to know some of the other guests over a cup of coffee.

The Staff

I’ve you’ve already watched my Hamburg travel vlog, then you’ll know how great the staff were at suggesting places to go and things to see.

I was checked in by Michelle, whose tips on what to see whilst in Hamburg sent me in the direction of two of my favourites of the week: The Alter Elbtunnel and Sternschanze!

The thing I liked most about the staff and community at MEININGER Hotel Hamburg was the way in which they were represented in the collage you can see behind the desk in the picture above!

Made of portraits that are also used to label the room numbers in the hotel (see the picture below), the collage models are staff and guests – which is a great representation of the ease of interaction between the two that I’ve noted in a lot of MEININGER Hotels by now.

The Room

Room 1: The Mixed Multi-Bed Dorm

You guys may have noticed from my review of MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam that MEININGER don’t just offer traditional bunk-bed dorm rooms.

At MEININGER Hotel Hamburg I experienced another of their multi-bed rooms! This one didn’t have a single bed, but it did offer a private room-within-the-room set of bunkbeds and lockers, which is perfect for friends and couples who want a bit more privacy from the usual crowded dorm.

If storage is important to you, there were lockers for each guest (make sure to take your own lock or pick one up at reception) as well as wooden shelves and coat hangers for your jackets!

I have to be honest here, as they metal lockers were pretty noisy. All other MEININGERs I’ve experienced have had wooden lockers, but with the wooden shelving it was easy enough to use that instead and save the metal lockers only when I was heading out and wanted to lock up my laptop.

Alternatively, you can also rent lockers in the reception. I did this on the day I switched rooms, as I wanted to put my laptop somewhere more secure than the luggage room.

It costs just €5 deposit for the key to a locker – which you get back when you hand the key back so it’s a great solution to the metal lockers in the room.

And finally, once again there was just fantastic floor space which is such heaven when a lot of hostels try and squeeze as many beds in as small a space as possible!

My only issue here was the shower was on a timer, a very quick timer. Of course, this is to preserve water and after a while I got in to the perfect rhythm to prevent the flow cutting off each time. It just made it a little difficult to wash my hair.

Saying that – the bathrooms were oh so clean and – you’ve got it – spacious! With hairdryer and soap included too!

Room 2: The Private Room

I’ve written before about the benefits of mixed dorms, but both myself and MEININGER Hotels know how important it is to have a choice – and every so often it’s such a treat to enjoy a private room all to yourself!

Seriously, just click here to see how much I needed a private room one night in Hamburg.

Most of the utilities are similar, except that in the multi-bed dorm the toilet and shower are separate to allow for more than one person to use them, whilst in the private they are combined.

Another difference was a really cute little desk that was perfect to work from (I got the late checkout so I could!). In the dorm rooms they instead supply a table and stools – which are more social so makes more sense!

Quick note: The Sofa

This item of furniture was in both my multi-bed dorm and private room, and is so rare to find in hostel rooms that I’ve given it a place of its own in this review.

There was a sofa in both rooms! And in the picture below you can see a TV which was also in both rooms – but we travel to socialise and make friends right? So I can’t tell you if the channels were any good… sorry!

The Location

One of the best things I discovered about Hamburg was that it’s small enough to discover on foot.

What that also means is that it would have been pretty hard for MEININGER to find a non-central location. In fact, where they are located (just a six-minute walk from Altona train station) is closer to my two favourite spots in Hamburg (Sternschanze and the Alter Elbtunnel) – which is perfect!

Getting to MEININGER Hotel Hamburg was also super simple from the airport, as you don’t have to change lines on the S-Bahn.

Line S1 leaves every ten minutes during the day from Hamburg Airport and takes less than 40 minutes to reach Altona station. And it costs just €3.20 which, in my British opinion, is a bargain!

The Price

Prices for beds in the 6-bed multi-bed dorm room begin from as little as €14.00 on a Sunday, whilst beds in the 6-bed multi-bed room cost an average of €21.00 at the time I visited.

It goes without saying that the private rooms are a little more costly, with prices for a small single room on a Sunday beginning at €45. I stayed in a classic double (for single use) where the prices start from just €50.

As having a room all to myself was such a treat, I would recommend using the ‘Price & Availability Finder’ on the left hand side of the Meininger website (it shows up after you put in your dates) to find the best price and day for your budget!

My advice is to book directly from the MEININGER website, where they also offer the option to save 10% if you book early or last-minute. These types of bookings are non-refundable but can save you around €3 per night.

Extra costs include breakfast (€6.90), bike hire (from €12.00), parking, and late checkout (€10).

Overall, my stay at MEININGER Hotel Hamburg was a comfortable as ever – whilst also putting me in the best location to experience a city which I fell in love with in the space of 24 hours!

I would like to thank MEININGER Hotels for sponsoring my stay with them, but as always opinions are honest and entirely my own.

MEININGER Hotels is a member of STAY WYSE, the only not-for-profit industry association to represent the entire global youth travel accommodation sector, one of the travel industry’s fastest growing niche markets.