Great place to stay

We booked this hotel via lastminute and got a good package deal with flight and hotel for 4 days. The hotel lived up to expectations and was a fantastic place to stay, both in terms of location ( very central ) and the style of the hotel.

Staff were friendly and spoke English and the spa in the basement was lovely, if a little pricey for treatments.

We did lots of sightseeing and had a great time. Remember to ask the desk staff for a Hamburg guide upon check in. For some reason we didn't get ours until the day before we left.

The only down point was the breakfast which was a bit of a rip off at 22 euros per person. We went to a fantastic brunch bar in central Hamburg ( called Alex,at the lakeside in a beautiful pavillion ) and paid just 8.70 euros for a delicious breakfast which was even better than the side one.

The hotel bar is really cool ( but then so was the Radisson's bar which is on he 26th floor with a great view of the city ).

Overall though it was a beautiful hotel and very relaxing place to stay.

Free Upgrade to Penthouse Suite - Wow

For some reason I was given a free upgrade to a Penthouse Type Suite on the Top Floor. I didn't want to leave. The suite had a huge Lounge, balcony, bedroom, two bathrooms and lots lots more, including 50" TVs and two mini bars (one in the lounge and one in the bedroom). The resturant was great - really good food for breakfast and dinner and not too expensive. Breakfast is 22 Euros. You must try the tea.

Ubercool

The Side hotel has a minimalist designer chic which perfectly suits Hamburg. I'd recommend it for the grrovy bar, the pool and the breakfast where delicious fish are a highlight of the buffet.

But as with many destination hotels sometimes you can feel like the 'destination' takes preference over the 'hotel'. For example the Side does a lot of local conference business. On my first stay I had a superior room which gave me access to the top floor lounge but the lounge was closed for a private function. On my second stay wireless internet access wasn't working on my 7th floor and I'd forgotten my ISDN cable. Front desk didn't have any cables. (They thought I could probably buy one at a big electrical store two subway stops away!) and suggested I use the 'business centre' but this facility had been incorporated into a busy conference happening on the first floor. So no internet for me.

Cool and funky ... except for breakfast

My wife and I had a Deluxe room (180 Euro) for one night for a short shopping trip to Hamburg. Overall, the place is cool, modern and funky, and very well located near the popular Gaensemarkt. The room was quite small but nicely decorated in the same modern style as the rest of the hotel. We like Asian-Fusion cuisine, so we had dinner at the hotel's "Fusion" restaurant. Service was friendly and relaxed, and the food was inventive and very good, although not amazing (the "Thai black milk rice" is not a must-eat). We had a good night sleep in the firm but comfortable beds, so you can say we were quite happy with the place ... until breakfast: breakfast was again at the Fusion restaurant but in the morning everything seemed noisy and hectic. The staff was inattentive and not very friendly, the waffles kind of tasteless, the croissants stale, and the choice at the buffet not exactly overwhelming. For a 20-Euro-a-pop-breakfast in a five star hotel a real disappointment. We both travel a lot on business, so as my wife had stayed at the Raffles last time, I guess we will go back there next time.

Fusion of design and delight

My partner and I stayed at the Side hotel in Hamburg for a long week-end mid summer; we had seen the place last year while we stayed at the Kempinski, and had decided that our next stay-over in Hamburg would be spent at the Side as the lobby of the hotel had made an impression on us;

The standard room we stayed at for 3 nights, with a very good deal due to summer season, was very stylish in the contemporary modern design type of furniture, very well thought though for the confort of guests; we were skeptical about the breakfast at Side being close to what we had at the Kempinski Atlantik (the best of the best, reputation verywell-deserved), we were not disappointed, although it plays in an inferior league compared to the Kempinski;

we were positively surprised by the dinner we took there, at the Fusion restaurant, where the service and the cuisine are excellent;I would definitely recommend it for anyone who spends some time in Hamburg, a lovely city to spend a summer break out from the Mediterranean sunbelt!

Very cool

in hamburg for some xmas shopping mid-december 04 - stayed at this hotel. stunning architecture - the main lobby was really spectacular. service was fine, bar was cool - dj spinning funky lounge music to trendy crowd. restaurant was great - good breakfast. dinner gets very busy so book a table. room was very modern - if you like that kind of thing then it will definately deliver. good location. amazing spa. not cheap but if you fancy spoiling yourself, then this is a good place to do it!

Best of the three design hotels in Hamburg

I recently spent a weekend in Hamburg. Altough I usually stay in the "Gastwerk Hotel", this time I wanted to try the other Designhotels there.

The first night I had the second largest Room in the recently opened EAST Hotel. But, IMHO, the service was not near as good as I expected. And most imporant: the rooms, especially the room layout was terrible.

So I quickly decieded to stay the other nights at the SIDE hotel - and that was a good decision. First, I was a little afraid of the bad service: i've read a couple of reviews about Side, and some told, the personnel would be some kind of "cold" and unfriendly.

But far from it, the service was great, as I would expect from a 5-star-hotel. And the room I had was really nice. Modern, but not "wanna-be" like the rooms in EAST Hotel (there, you have no seperate bath e.g., the bath-tub was near the bed :-O )

As a result, if you want to stay in a Designhotel in Hamburg, I would suggest you to stay at the SIDE Hotel, or the GASTWERK Hotel... altough the service at the SIDE hotel is a littler more better than in Gastwerk (e.g. no room service at the gastwerk hotel).

Living hell

I stayed at this hotel based primarily on the reviews on this site. The price was high but I don't mind paying for a great hotel experience. I often like to stay in more modern, interestingly designed properties (a la ian schrager) when I travel. This place is shooting for that target but misses it horribly. The service was non-existant, no bellman or doorman. My key didn't work after I carried my luggage up to my room myself so I had to schlep it back down to the lobby and then back up.

The hotel's parking facility is a public ramp across the street and half a block away - why do they advertise that they have parking?

Wireless internet is advertised but non-functional (same service worked fine for me in Amsterdam and Berlin). The design, layout and functionality of the room are horrible, seems like everything is designed to be as impractical as possible. Housekeeping staff was outrageously noisy in the hallways. I can't believe what I paid to stay at this place. I would hate it if it was free! I should have bid $100 for a room on priceline!

Great Stay

Due to my job I spend most nights in hotels and I have to say the Side is one of my favorite places to stay. The service, design and food are all top-quality but what really sets this hotel apart from the rest is that this hotel the comfortable beds I have ever slept in.

Stop looking

I stay at the Side all the and it is my favorite Hotel IN THE WORLD - it is stylish, modern, and the breakfast is unbelievable. Stop looking and try the Side, it is nicer than the SANDERSON; REALLY!