I readily admit it: I am penny-pincing. I’m actually convinced that I have some Scottish ancestry due to the fact that I save and keep my things ..forever and I always check prices at least 10 other places before I buy, in order to be sure, that I got the best deal.

With that in mind it’s not surprising, that we always stay in relatively cheap hotels that provide a bed and maybe some breakfast. And that’s it.

But for my husband’s birthday we wanted to do something out of the ordinary. We picked a great looking, stylish design hotel in Hamburg – 25hours Hotel Hafencity – and stayed for one night.

Now it’s not that I want to hype this hotel per se, I just want to recommend that you sometimes visit or try a great Design Hotel, because it will inspire you that same way you are inspired in an art or design museum.

This hotel is located in the up-and-coming HafenCity area in Hamburg and has a container-ship-meets-nautical theme with a industrial, yet inviting ambience.

Besides the nice rooms, the hotel offers the übercoolest Smokers Lounge, covered with shelves displaying a large collection of vinyl albums from David Hasselhoff to Led Zeppelin. The two – in the sofa integrated – record players gives you the choice of enjoying the music privately using the headphones or collectively through the speakers. Great idea!

The adjacent smoke-free common room has a clubby and sociable feel to it with low seating arrangements, board games and table football. The hotel restaurant with the homey name Heimat had a delicious menu and a band playing the night we stayed.

We left the hotel a lot more inspired, uplifted and creative than we arrived. That’s what great design does to you and that’s why you once in a while should stay in a Design Hotel and feel the design instead of “just” seeing it in a museum.

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