Review: the Courtyard by Marriott Hamburg City hotel

This is our review of the Courtyard Hamburg City hotel, part of Marriott Bonvoy.

After two failed attempts (one due to a flight cancellation and the other after being invited to an Airbus factory tour with Malaysia Airlines) I finally made it to my first Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. This is the premier event for seatmakers and other manufacturers to showcase their latest and greatest seating innovations, new amenity kit concepts and catering solutions.

Knowing that I would be out at the conference for the majority of the day it seemed a waste to stay at a luxury hotel with a million amenities I wouldn’t use. So after a quick scan of Hamburg’s hotel scene I settled on the Courtyard Hamburg City, a newbuild hotel that opened in September 2019 but still feels brand new.

Marriott kindly arranged my stay for review purposes. You can see the official hotel website here.

Where is Courtyard by Marriott Hamburg City?

The location of the Courtyard Hamburg City was very convenient for my needs. At around five minutes’ walk, Berliner Tor is the closest rail station with a direct 30-minute connection to Hamburg Airport via the S-bahn (suburban rail) and about ten minutes by U-bahn (underground rail) from the big Messe exhibition centre. That made it perfect for me!

The immediate neighbourhood is not particularly noteworthy: there are no great views and this is not the hotel to choose if you want a ‘destination’ hotel along the waterfront.

It sits at the crossroads between a trendy, queer-friendly neighbourhood in the North East, a slightly rougher neighbourhood in the North West and a fairly normal residential neighbourhood to the South. If you are particularly concerned about safety simply avoid the walk to/from the Central Station; the walk to Berliner Tor felt safe.

Inside the Courtyard Hamburg City hotel

As a new build hotel the Courtyard Hamburg City had a clean slate to work with. The result is a very large and spacious ground floor lobby with the hotel restaurant on one side, the conference rooms on the other and reception somewhere in the middle.

Check-in was quick and easy. Don’t worry if you don’t speak German because the front desk staff seem to speak English better than German (and I say that as a fluent German speaker).

In lieu of stocked mini bars there’s a grab and go market round the back of reception selling all sorts of things from snacks like chocolate and crisps to sandwiches and salads:

There’s also a water station in the lobby with various infused waters you can help yourself to:

Rooms and suites at Courtyard Hamburg City

There are 277 rooms and suites spread across six floors of the hotel.

Whilst I was upgraded to a suite I also had a look at the standard rooms. At 23 square metres standard rooms are small but come with a more complete offering than, say, a Moxy:

For example, a large desk, luggage rack and wardrobe:

…. an armchair and coffee table:

…. and a decently sized bathroom:

Toiletries are the ‘bergamot and teatree’ range from Nirvae Botanticals:

Both standard rooms and suites are furnished in inoffensive grey and pine veneers. It’s a bit plain and boring but functional nonetheless.

Suites are substantially larger – at least double the size with a proper living area (with sofa bed, should you want it):

…. and separate bedroom:

Often suites will have two toilets: one in the main bathroom and a separate one for guests in the living room. This suite had just one, around by the living room, which was a bit annoying at night. However, you do get a full-size bath tub in addition to the shower:

Another difference between suites and standard rooms is that suites come with a Nespresso coffee machine whilst standard rooms only have a kettle.

I had a slight problem with my air conditioning on the first night. Whilst it worked perfectly well the unit in the bedroom was perpetually warm and could not be turned off. After spending the first night with the window open I called reception the following morning and they arranged for an engineer to come.

The room was relatively light on amenities, but a sign in the bathroom said that you could request items such as slippers, bath robes and other consumables such as tooth paste, dental kits etc from reception. I did so and they were delivered immediately.

Sauna and gym

Courtyard hotels are considered ‘select service’ by Marriott which means they have fewer and more basic amenities than its ‘premium’ and ‘luxury’ brands. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I found an impressive sauna on the sixth floor. The sauna itself is spacious:

…. and it comes with a relaxation room:

…. and some showers, including a bucket shower and an outdoor terrace:

In theory the sauna is only open from 5pm until 10pm but when I requested my bathrobes from reception they asked if I wanted to use it earlier and duly turned it on. I was the only guest for the hour I was there from 4:30pm to 5:30pm so I can see why they only open it regularly at 5pm.

A gym is available on the sixth floor with views across the street:

Breakfast and dining at Courtyard Hamburg City

As with the sauna, I was impressed with the spread available at the breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant, Böckmann’s.

I would not normally expect such a large range of options at a Courtyard. As this is Germany the focus is mainly on continental bits and bobs but there was a small selection of hot food including bacon, sausages, egg frittata, scrambled and boiled eggs:

There was a wide selection of German bread rolls although I sadly didn’t see any pretzels:

Accompanying the breads were a wide selection of cheeses, German sausages, jams, marmalades and spreads and even (and this is very North German!) rollmops:

and

It even had a section dedicated to vegan food:

Böckmann’s is also open for dinner and also punches above its weight with a seasonal menu that changes almost every day depending on what is available. This is something far beyond what I would normally expect at a Courtyard and the kitchen clearly has the full support of the management to go above and beyond.

The restaurant specialises in tartar and offers a tartar tasting starter for €22, with beef, prawn and celeriac tartar:

For my main course I went for the typical Austrian beef Tafelspitz which was also delicious:

Conclusion

Normally, a stay at a Courtyard elicits relatively few surprises: this is one of Marriott’s dependable brands offering a budget friendly stay with stripped-down services.

Yet the Courtyard Hamburg City hotel exceeds expectations, particularly when it comes to food and service. This is a modern, city hotel with clean, functional rooms, an impressive sauna and an on-site restaurant that produces thoughtful, seasonal cuisine and an impressive breakfast spread.

Rates start as low as €91 or 16,500 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

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