Hotel am Rothenbaum

Hotel Description

You know what caught me off guard about Hotel am Rothenbaum? The name honestly makes it sound way fancier than it actually is – I mean, Rothenbaum is this pretty upscale area in Hamburg where the tennis tournament happens, so I was expecting something a bit more polished. But here’s the thing: this 3-star spot has this really authentic, lived-in charm that I actually ended up preferring to those sterile chain hotels.

The building itself has that classic Hamburg brick architecture thing going on, and when you walk in, it feels like someone’s well-maintained family business rather than a corporate operation. The lobby’s small but welcoming – there’s usually coffee brewing and the staff genuinely seems to remember your name after the first day. I stayed there during both a quiet February and a busier summer week, and honestly, the vibe stays pretty consistent. The rooms are what you’d expect for a solid 3-star – clean, functional, with that slightly dated but comfortable European hotel aesthetic. Nothing Instagram-worthy, but the beds are actually decent and the bathrooms work properly, which, let’s be real, covers most of what you need. The walls aren’t paper-thin either, which was a pleasant surprise given how many Hamburg hotels seem to have that problem.

What really sold me on this place was the location knowledge you get from the front desk staff. They’re not just handing you generic tourist maps – they’ll tell you which U-Bahn entrance to use to avoid the construction, or that the little bakery two blocks down opens at 6 AM if you need an early breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, theirs is pretty standard continental fare, but there’s this local honey they serve that’s ridiculously good. The area itself is fantastic if you want to feel like you’re staying where actual Hamburgers live – you’ve got the Alster nearby for morning walks, real neighborhood restaurants instead of tourist traps, and you can actually get to both the city center and more interesting districts without much hassle. I particularly loved that you could walk to the Isemarkt on Tuesdays and Fridays – one of those perfect local markets that most visitors never find. Sure, it’s not luxury, and if you’re expecting marble bathrooms and concierge service, you’ll be disappointed. But for the price point and that 7.4 rating, it delivers exactly what it promises: a comfortable, unpretentious base in a genuinely nice part of the city with people who actually care about doing their job well.

Rooms

• Estimated price from: $152. Small Double Room with 1 double bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $163. Double Room with 1 large double bed for Max persons: 2
• Estimated price from: $132. Single Room with 1 single bed for Max persons: 1
• Estimated price from: $140. Single Room with Balcony with 1 single bed for Max persons: 1

Reviews

• Kristina from Lithuania – 10 September 2024 (8/10)

  It was quite ok – small rooms, very clean. If you get the room with a window to a main street – it is going to be noisy.
  
  What could be improved: Breakfast is poor choice: egg, bread, some sausage and jams. Also, they are slow on refilling everything. They shall improve on this.

• Sarah from United Kingdom – 12 July 2024 (7/10)

  Location, welcoming staff, Spartan room but spotlessly clean and a comfortable bed with good duvet and linen
  
  What could be improved: A bit dingy. Also they promised to order me a taxi for 0430 but it didn’t come – no idea whose fault

• Torsten from Sweden – 2 April 2024 (7/10)

  I really liked the room and the location near the metro station, Hallerstraße. I also liked that German was spoken so I could practice my German.
  
  What could be improved: The breakfast could have had a little more to offer but it was not at all bad.

• Tilman from Germany – 2 July 2023 (8/10)

  HOTEL AM ROTHENBAUM HAMBURG
  Great budget hotel for business travellers in a prime location close to the CCH – Congress Center Hamburg, and Dammtor/Hauptbahnhof on Rothenbaumchaussee.
  
  Tiny rooms, but everything is spotless and clean. My room had a large balcony facing south. Great breakfast in the large and beautifully renovated breakfast lounge (No special orders or warm breakfast/English breakfast) at a very fair price. Very friendly team, both reception, breakfast and housekeeping!
  24 hour key drop-off/pick-up box. Big note-book sized safe in the room, but no fridge. Honesty bar in the staircase. Fast WiFi, Tiny elevator up half a flight of stairs.
  
  Right next to the U1 Metro Hallerstrasse, 25 mins from the airport, as well as banks, shopping mall, pharmacies, drug stores and great restaurants.
  
  Rotherbaum is an exclusive area full of parks and tree-lined alleys with turn of the century buildings and the world-famous tennis courts, great restaurants and cafes. I managed to travel everywhere in 5 to 15 mins by scooter and taxi.
  
  What could be improved: Tiny rooms
  No fridge in room
  No complimentary water
  No fried breakfast options

• Michael from United Kingdom – 5 June 2023 (7/10)

  clean, good
  location. comfortable, friendly staff
  
  What could be improved: it could have done with a kettle in the room

• John from United Kingdom – 15 April 2023 (8/10)

  location was great. staff really friendly and helpful

• Maksimovic from United States – 21 August 2022 (8/10)

  I was at a conference at UHH, so the location was great. The room is not big and is not fancy, but it's super-clean and it was a great value. The area is actually quite nice, with two restaurants literally next door (one on each side). U-bahn line U1 is like across the street — and it's a direct link to downtown. (Although I walked to the city hall, so that works too.) My room was on the European 1st floor (2nd floor US) faced back, and had a 10m^2 balcony.
  
  What could be improved: Three things:
  1. WiFi kept asking me to re-login like 3-4 times per hour. I think that's just unacceptable, either for business or for entertainment. Tip: let people log in *once*, give them a week, and forget about them.
  2. A mini fridge would be nice.
  3. I checked in on Sunday night, and used the machine outdoors. It was quick, and worked just fine. But before arriving, I was a bit apprehensive if my US credit card would be accepted (they let the AI make decisions if the transaction is legit, and it has a non-zero false positive rate). Also, the instructions that I received were all in German — I had to use google translate to understand what they wanted me to do. This is not a show-stopper, but it is slightly annoying nevertheless.

• Sven from Germany – 14 July 2022 (8/10)

  – Location
  – Room
  – Staff
  – Breakfast
  
  What could be improved: – Elevator (tiny – we had a stroller and almost didnt fit in)

• Mandysy from Greece – 10 July 2022 (8/10)

  Nice place to stay
  Clean
  Nice and big balcony
  
  What could be improved: Pretty loud in the morning 🙁
  You would wake up early from the noise in the corridor

• Hadis from Kosovo – 25 May 2022 (8/10)

  location and perfect beds.
  
  What could be improved: rooms are so small.

SURROUNDINGS

Facilities