Stuart Forster reports on what to expect from the Jumeirah Frankfurt Hotel in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.
Frankfurt’s skyline is arguably the most famous in Germany. Before turning to my bed I spent a few minutes admiring the high-rise buildings from the floor-to-ceiling window of my 25th-floor room in the Jumeirah Frankfurt.
A 42-inch flat-screen television stood by the bed and, as in all of the hotel’s 218 rooms and suites, original artwork by contemporary artist Hartwig Ebersbach hangs on the walls. Yet after walking back from Frankfurt’s Old Town I was content to round off the day simply by viewing the illuminated skyscrapers in the near distance. Locals playfully refer to the area as ‘Mainhattan’.
A luxury hotel in Frankfurt
The Jumeirah Frankfurt opened in August 2011 and is a luxury hotel. Local architects KSP Engel und Zimmermann designed the 96-metre-high tower, which is part of the city’s PalaisQuartier development. That name is derived from the Thurn-und-Taxis-Palais, located by the hotel’s main entrance. The Baroque-style palace was the once headquarters of Germany’s imperial postal system. Then from 1816 to 1848, and again from 1850 to 1866, it was the seat of the Bundestag, the meeting place for representatives from German states prior to the country’s unification.
Within Max on One, the hotel’s first-floor restaurant, I enjoyed a lunch of traditional Wiener Schnitzel served with Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes) and salad followed by Kärntner Bua, a dessert of Tahitian vanilla ice cream and caramelised pumpkin seeds.
Design by Takashi Sugimoto
The contemporary, 90-seat restaurant, which has an open kitchen, is the brainchild of Japanese designer Takashi Sugimoto and his team at Super Potato. Sugimoto has incorporated warm woods plus an airy, high-ceilinged library and lounge area. Breakfast is served in Max on One. The extensive buffet includes honey produced by 40,000 bees based in hives up on the roof. A video feed of activity in the hives is shown at the buffet table. Amazingly, the bees fly up to four kilometres to collect the honey that’s served.
The hotel has a lobby bar and Lebanese restaurant, El Rayyan, meaning ‘Heaven’s Gate,’ also on the ground floor and connecting with the MyZeil shopping mall. The dishes served in El Rayyan include mezzehs, selections of traditional warm and cold Lebanese starters. Belly dancers perform each Friday and Saturday evening, at 9.00 pm, and whirling dervishes on a monthly basis.
Relaxing in the Talise Spa
I’m a big fan of spas and saunas so popped into the 400-square-metre, lemongrass-scented Talise Spa for a peek at the seven softly lit treatment areas. Treatments include manicures, pedicures and massages aimed at providing rejuvenation following long-haul flights. There’s a sauna for men and also one for women, thus breaking with the German tradition of mixed saunas.
Ideally, I’d have liked to have swum a few lengths of the 20-metre pool, in the chic-looking health and fitness club on the sixth floor. Instead, I got plenty of exercise on my feet, sightseeing around the city.
Prior to that, though, I asked for a look at the hotel’s 220-square-metre Presidential Suite, on the 24th floor, and Senator Suite, of 115 square metres. If you like gadgets you may well be impressed by the television screens built into the bathroom mirrors.
Bose sounds and Nespresso machines
With an area of 35 square metres, even the smallest rooms in the hotel are relatively spacious. Their interiors are designed by Peter Silling & Associates. Natural, warm colours win through. Luxury materials, including silk carpets, plus touches such as Bose surround sound and Nespresso machines provide the finish expected in this bracket of hotel. The open bathrooms, which have bathtubs and separate mosaic rain showers, are amply stocked with L’Occitane toiletries.
If you’re an international traveller and have forgotten your adaptor you’ll be pleased to hear that the room’s media hub has international plugs. I also liked the hi-tech air-conditioning system, which employs body heat detectors to regulate the temperature and optimise efficiency.
Even on a day when the sun isn’t shining, there’s something highly appealing about pulling back the curtains and looking across a city in which bees have worked for your breakfast while enjoying an espresso.
Further information
The Jumeirah Frankfurt hotel is at Thurn-und-Taxis-Platz 2, 60313 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Talise Spa is open daily.
Find out more about the city and surrounding area on the Frankfurt am Main Tourism and Germany Travel websites.
If you enjoyed this post why not sign up for the free Go Eat Do newsletter? It’s a hassle-free way of getting links to posts on a monthly basis.
‘Like’ the Go Eat Do Facebook page to see more photos and content.
Ross Small
January 10, 2018 at 09:00This hotel really does have amazing views of the city skyline. From my window I could understand why the Germans know Frankfurt as Mainhattan.
Stuart Forster
January 10, 2018 at 16:46Indeed. I loved staring out of my window at the view.
Jose Josell
January 20, 2018 at 16:53It’s a stunning hotel.
Stuart Forster
January 23, 2018 at 09:33The aroma is the spa is calming in itself!