As a preliminary issue, this hotel is no longer operated by the Kempinski group, but there is no other listing for it.
This is a glorious old hotel that holds tightly to its heritage, which is a lovely thing. Our room, once we got past some hiccups, was gorgeous and comfortable, with a huge, well-designed bathroom, and beautiful window/doors that opened completely to small Juliet-style balconies. The beds were comfortable, and the room was tasteful. The lobby and bar areas are exceptionally classy and visually stunning.
Unfortunately, this was not the 5-star experience expected of a 5-star property because of some early issues with the room. My friend arrived in Hamburg a half-day ahead of me because of flight schedules, and she was placed into a room different from our booking. She had booked a room with 2 twin beds, as we were sharing the room. On check-in, she was assigned a room with a "king" bed that consisted of two twins pushed together. They were configured in a way that she could not easily spread them apart, so she contacted the front desk. She was told the beds would be separated. Hours went by, and after multiple conversations with the front desk, my friend considered booking a second room because they simply refused to honor their word - or the reservation. Finally, there was a change of personnel at the front desk, and immediately the situation was corrected - we were promptly reassigned to a new room with two beds. Unfortunately, this meant my friend, who had already partially unpacked, had to repack and move her things, but at least we were given what we had booked. It is unfortunate that the original front desk staff could do nothing but make false promises because clearly the issue could be easily addressed. Still, we tried not to let that subtract from our lovely stay in this hotel. read more