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Tortue Hotel Hamburg
If you live almost anywhere in Europe, you have the luxury of traveling almost anywhere for a fun, romantic weekend.
So you can be in the beautiful city of Hamburg in just a bit over an hour.
Then you can enjoy luxury shopping, gourmet dining, museums, theater, and musical events this lovely city offers.
Tortue: Most Romantic Hotel in Hamburg
My weekend in Hamburg was spent at the luxury Tortue hotel.
It is a brand new, chic hotel in the center of Hamburg.
As a travel writer, I began my research for this Hamburg trip when I was on another trip, thousands of miles away.
Though it might seem like fun for some, it was actually hard work to read the reviews of all the upscale hotels.
I am VERY PICKY about hotels, so this took quite a bit of time.
How I Began my Hamburg Hotel Search
Like most people who crave luxury, I began with five star “known brand” hotels.
They all looked pretty nice.
The thing is, they looked … enormous.
Trip Advisor: Reading Between the Lines
It took a long time to research the reviews on trip advisor for the four and five star hotels.
Like most Trip Advisor reviews, reviewers all had their pros and cons when they wrote about a hotel.
As I was a solo female traveler on this trip, I was seeking out a good hotel, a known brand, and above all a safe Hotel.
Why My Initial List of Hotels Was Wrong …
The hotels that fit the criteria above (brand names known to me, safe …) were all large hotels mostly owned by branded American hotel corporations.
After taking a look at my list of preferred hotels, a Hamburg “insider” said she had better suggestions.
Tortue Hotel Hamburg
This is a very COOL hotel decorated in what can best be described as a “modern style” with lavish attention to detail.
It is not … too modern.
Yes, we’ve all stayed in these sometimes ridiculously modern hotels that sacrifice luxury and comfort for the sake of stark modernity.
Check-In at the Tortue Hotel Hamburg
A helpful bellman carried my bags upstairs from my taxi.
My room was on the fifth floor.
The room itself was FANTASTIC!
What I immediately liked about my Tortue hotel room.
The room was fairly large – let us call it medium size.
I noticed how beautifully it was decorated.
On one side of the room was a sofa with pillows and a large comfortable chair.
There was a coffee table.
Then, there was a sleek desk in front of the very comfortable looking bed.
Lots of fluffy pillows, too.
The Tortue Hotel Bathroom
When you are traveling for a luxury weekend, you expect the bathroom to be luxurious.
Though I did not have a suite, mine was a very nice bathroom.
Fairly large and well organized.
Spotlessly clean.
In this particular room, you will find a combination bath and shower.
The Bath Experience
I love a good bath.
The tub itself is deep so you could really immerse yourself.
The Tortue Hotel Breakfast Experience
Some describe people into two distinct categories.
1) Those who feel breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
2) Those who do not.
So if you love breakfast, Tortue is the place to be.
Having stayed at my fair share of luxury hotels, I’ve had lots of luxury breakfasts.
Tortue is among the absolute best.
The Tortue Breakfast: What is Best?
Depending on your reservation category, breakfast can be included or not.
The Tortue Breakfast Buffet
As far as buffets go, this is one of the best in Europe.
You will find a very nice mixed fruit bowl (kiwi, pineapple, strawberries) diced in an almost a surgical fashion.
Very exact.
Then there were the macarons!!!
Those delicious pastel colored pastries typically served by celebrity chefs after a top tier meal
And lots of delicious looking pastry you would more typically find in a high end Parisian pastry shop.
Of course, I took full advantage of sampling the display of nuts and grains (think very fresh walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds) there to top off your yoghurt.
The Buffet Bread Table
Despite the “no-carb” movement” around the world, it was necessary to check out the bread table.
The bread is an excellent selection of every bread you could possibly desire, from bread with grains to a delicious crusty French Baguette.
The Tortue A La Carte Breakfast Menu
You will find luxurious breakfast items like omelets, poached eggs, etc.
You will also find some curious extras … like the most delicious chicken soup (filed under the “hangover section” of the menu).
And also breakfast items like a Croque Monsieur.
The Two Tortue Fine Dining Restaurants
Tortue has two restaurants in the hotel.
One is the Asian Restaurant Jin Gui
The other is the French Brasserie Tortue.
I liked them both.
Jin Gui at Hamburg Tortue Hotel
Jin Gui is a very modern looking restaurant.
The offerings are what you would find in many Asian restaurants.
Yet that said, service is a notch above most Asian restaurants and the cuisine is also a step above.
One of my favorite dishes was the miso soup starter.
The salmon sashimi was delicious, yet what really stood out was the green wild herb salad.
The French Brasserie Tortue
This is an excellent French Brasserie with a very profession, extremely well trained staff.
I visit a lot of high end restaurants around the world …
… yet felt that the service training here was superior to many top French restaurants.
As a Tortue guest, it was easy to open the door from the hotel lobby to the Brasserie.
The host and hostess greeted me warmly and spoke English well.
I am glad that I took a few moments to dress up a bit after my busy day, as the crowd was fairly well dressed …
… men mostly wore suits, women wore dresses, scarves, earrings, etc.
A dress up place.
Yet not that dressy.
I was wearing fresh black jeans, but a very nice Anne Fontaine long sweater, black top, and pearls.
I already knew from scanning the menu online what I would order…
… It would either be a seafood starter and salad (fresh shrimp and salad), grilled fish, or Bouillabaisse …
Though I wasn’t super hungry, I decided to check out the French Bouillabaisse …
This Bouillabaisse was delicious … filled with an enticing broth shrimp, cod, salmon, and octopus.
It arrived in a giant pot (the old fashioned Marseille style).
Scanning the wine list, I found some well-chosen bottles along with some intriguing classics.
Final Thoughts
Though it was a “solo female traveler” trip instead of the romantic weekend getaway it should have been, I loved the entire weekend experience.
Read: Shopping, Dining, and Art in Hamburg
