Le Meridien Hamburg

"I have to split my review into the stay and the breakfast, because these experiences differed greatly. The stay was basically okay, except for a few shortcomings: The wellness area was closed at the time of our booking. We received a phenomenal room upgrade for that, which was really impressive. For this, I am very grateful to the very nice staff at the reception! In addition, there were drink vouchers and the option to rent bicycles for free. That was simply top-notch and extremely accommodating of the staff! 👍🏼 However, it irritated me that I had to leave a deposit by credit card upon arrival. I have been a guest in more luxurious hotels and have never had to leave a deposit. You have to know that the hotel was built in 2003 and has probably not been renovated since then. I basically find that okay too, but then you should maintain the furnishings. The furniture and sanitary facilities partly appeared correspondingly worn. Everything seemed strangely neglected and somehow run-down for 5 stars. The sinks are an impractical design flaw, and in one room the TV was not centered—this and a few other little things looked somehow botched and not very well thought out. No drama, but all in all, it is noticeable. The rooms were also a bit too cold. The heating could only be turned up to a very limited extent. I was even a bit cold at night, which I don't like at all. The pool was also much too cold. You couldn't stand it in there for long, even while swimming laps quickly. Now for breakfast. I ordered from the menu on the first day and paid 43 EUR once for the buffet. In my opinion, the buffet is not worth it! There is no selection of freshly cut fruit, but only canned stuff. The bacon was not crispy! Overall, the selection of food was very limited and the quality was mediocre at best. The chicken salad tasted as if it had been sitting out for too long. Afterward, I had a stomachache for the rest of the day. I have never paid 43 euros for a breakfast and received so shockingly little for it. Honestly: it was an impertinence. The items ordered from the menu were quite okay, but not exactly a hit either. One should pay attention to what one is being charged for. I always check my bills carefully, and the breakfast staff actually managed to issue me a bill that was far too high three times. There were things on the receipt twice that I did not order and consequently had to be removed again. But it became especially brazen when I noticed during checkout that a server had simply added a 10 EURO tip to my order without asking. After that, I had the impression that there was a systematic attempt to rip off guests. In addition, the rude seating host at the entrance caught our attention unpleasantly with his rowdy behavior. In my opinion, such a person does not belong in a service profession, and certainly not in a 5-star hotel. I would say that the breakfast experience on both days was so dramatically bad that the overall impression of the hotel suffered significantly. As for the other minor defects, I would be less picky if the hotel had not been so expensive. Moreover, the inconveniences simply added up too much. I find that the price-performance ratio is not consistent."

"We experienced poor service from multiple departments during our stay – the rooftop bar, housekeeping and even the front desk. One evening, after having had a large lunch with our local family, we felt like a drink and some simple “bar food”. There was no list of hotel services or menus in our room so we called the front desk to ask if the rooftop bar served light meals. The answer was “I don’t know”. We asked if they had a menu at the front desk. Once again, “I don’t know. You have to go to the bar”. So we did, where we were ignored for over 20 minutes while other servers took care of people who walked in after us. At one point as a server finished at the very next table we said “Hello” and she replied “Hello”, but it turns out she was talking to two people who had just walked in as she walked right past us. So we finally left and went next door to the newly renovated Atlantic Hotel for a wonderful evening at their stylish bar, featuring excellent light meals to go with our wine. The next day we were out most of the day again and, returning to our room at 3:30, we discovered housekeeping had never visited our room. Another call to the front desk about what had happened and where we could sit when housekeeping finally did arrive, and yet another “I don’t know”. We reported these service problems to the Manager on Duty, who at first seemed concerned and asked if we were staying only one night. When we reminded him we were staying for one more night, he said that he would arrange for us to have two drinks at the bar the next day. Nothing ever came of his promise, nor did he send a note or even a piece of fruit on a plate to our room as a gesture for the rude way we were treated in the bar, and his own broken promise regarding a drink the next night. In fact, he eventually seemed annoyed when we reported the housekeeping problem perhaps because it interrupted check-in for the Iberia flight crew. The only bright spot in the hotel was the harried breakfast staff, particularly Odette and a fellow from the Dominican Republic, whose name we sadly did not get. Somehow, being the hardest working team in the hotel they managed to do it with good cheer and a truly welcoming attitude. We understand there is a new General Manager – she sure has her work cut out for her! A rudderless ship is bad enough but a rudderless ship in Hanseatic Hamburg is a disaster. The wheelhouse sorely needs some hands-on attention."

"Had a meeting, great conference rooms and excellent catering. The hotel rooms are spacious and equipped with all amenities. Had a view over the water. Breakfast buffet excellent and on the top floor of the hotel, so you have a beautiful view over Hamburg."