A whole team of experts is available to the guest – for a fee, of course.

A whole team of experts is available to the guest – for a fee, of course.

"Castle hotel in the Grunewald" Berlin

In the exclusive Grunewald district of Berlin, the castle hotel of the same name impresses its guests. As a residential palace for Dr. Walter von Pannwitz, a confidante of Kaiser Wilhelm, the castle still impresses with its elegance today. The German national team stayed here during the 2006 World Cup and Romy Schneider also liked the five-star superior hotel. She celebrated her wedding to Daniel Biasini here in 1975. Today the gourmet restaurant Vivaldi spoils hotel guests with international and traditional Berlin dishes. Visitors will find time for relaxing hours in the lavishly designed relaxation area with Finnish sauna, hammam, pool and jacuzzi.

"Castle Hotel Dresden-Pillnitz" Dresden

Guests of the Dresden-Pillnitz Castle Hotel live in the former summer residence of the Saxon kings. Romantic suites with water beds, one Elbe suite and 42 luxurious double rooms invite travelers on a journey through time to the realm of the monarchs.

"Eckberg Castle" Dresden

Guests of the hotel reside with a view of the silhouette of the Saxon japaneese women looking for men capital Dresden "Eckberg Castle". 17 individual rooms and suites pamper you with marble bathrooms in Tuscan style, valuable antiques and modern comfort. All of the hotel’s restaurants offer a view over the Elbe terrace of Dresden’s old town and pamper you with Mediterranean cuisine and delicacies from the region.

"Elmau Castle" Elmau

Hotel is located 100 kilometers south of the Bavarian metropolis of Munich "Elmau Castle" in the middle of the Alps. The formerly "intellectual hotel" the artists and intellectuals such as Johannes Rau and Vicco von Bülow alias Loriot were among his regular guests, blossomed into a lifestyle resort after a fire and subsequent reconstruction. In today’s superlative castle hotel, visitors will find six restaurants, including the gourmet restaurant Luce D’Oro, which has been awarded a Michelin star. The hotel also boasts four different spa areas, two libraries and two concert halls. In winter, the castle complex is sporty: over 200 kilometers of slopes and more than 100 cable cars and lifts await visitors in the region around Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

"Castle Hotel Ralswiek" Ralswiek

This welcomes you on the Baltic island of Rügen in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania "Castle Hotel Ralswiek" its guests directly on the Jasmunder Bodden, which is only separated from the open sea by a headland. Built in 1893 in the neo-renaissance style on the historic Ralswiek trading place, the castle hotel today offers 65 rooms and suites with four-star superior comfort. Wellness area, swimming pool and sauna ensure relaxing hours, the castle restaurant with a view of the bay for physical well-being.

"Schkopau Castle Hotel" Schkopau

Built as a fortress, it is impressive "Schkopau Castle Hotel" in Saxony-Anhalt today as a renaissance castle with a splendid ambience and the most modern comfort. 54 rooms and suites await their guests behind the walls of the old castle. A modern sauna area ensures relaxation on cold days. Visitors can experience culinary highlights in the stylish Le Château restaurant.

Further information:

Grand Hotel "Bensberg Castle" Bergisch-Gladbach www.schlossbensberg.com"Lerbach Castle" Bergisch-Gladbach www.schlosshotel-lerbach.com"Munchausen Castle Hotel" Aerzen near Hameln www.schlosshotel-muenchhausen.com"Castle Hotel Kronberg" Kronberg www.schlosshotel-kronberg.de"Castle hotel in the Grunewald" Berlin www.schlosshotelberlin.com"Castle Hotel Dresden-Pillnitz" Dresden www.schlosshotel-pillnitz.de"Eckberg Castle" Dresden www.schloss-eckberg.de"Elmau Castle" Elmau www.schloss-elmau.de"Castle Hotel Ralswiek" Ralswiek www.schlosshotel-ralswiek.de"Schkopau Castle Hotel" Schkopau www.schlosshotel-schkopau.de

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After a long construction period, the completion of the Elbphilharmonie is approaching. The construction company Hochtief announced on June 30th "Centerpiece" the large concert hall, handed over to the city of Hamburg. The entire concert hall is scheduled to open on January 11, 2017.

"We are finally on the home stretch" said General Director Christoph Lieben-Seutter. Ticket sales had started brilliantly, and there was great anticipation for the opening. Years of delays and an explosion in costs overshadowed the construction for a long time.

Opening seven years late

In addition to remaining work, the acceptance of the hall and the technical trial run will be in the foreground in the coming weeks. The cost of the "glass wave" the Swiss architect Herzog & de Meuron had risen from 77 to 789 million euros. The opening was originally planned for 2010.

With its 2150 seats, the hall is built according to the vineyard principle, with a stage in the middle, which is surrounded by terraced audience tiers. It is reminiscent of the Berlin Philharmonic or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, only much steeper: "We imagined a superposition of three models: the Greek theater, the stadium architecture and a kind of tent like the one at Wagner in Bayreuth" said architect Jacques Herzog at the presentation of the white skin in February.

Not only the hall, but also the acoustics should convince

The Japanese Yasuhisa Toyota, who is one of the best acousticians in the world, is responsible for the acoustics. The Japanese also invented the spectacular white skin – 10,000 individually 3D-milled gypsum fiber boards, which should break the sound in the best possible way at every point in the hall. He will travel to Hamburg in the next few weeks and try out whether his sound concept works.

"I think the hall will be one of the best in the world." But he could not give a guarantee. "There is no 100 percent guarantee or 100 percent protection for such a project" Toyota said earlier in the project.

The first orchestral rehearsal will follow in September

It will also be exciting for the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester under the direction of Thomas Hengelbrock, which, alongside the Philharmonic State Orchestra under the direction of Kent Nagano, will give the largest number of concerts in the Elbphilharmonie. The first orchestra rehearsal should take place in September, a date has not yet been revealed. "The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will gradually conquer the hall acoustically" said Tom R. Schulz from HamburgMusik GmbH.

Photo show: The most beautiful sides of Hamburg Photo show: The 824th Hamburg port birthday Photo series: Hamburger Cruise Days 2012

Viewing platform with an all-round view of the port of Hamburg

On October 31, the entire building – in addition to the concert hall, there is also a luxury hotel with 250 rooms and 45 condominiums – is to be handed over to the city. "Then we are masters of the house" said Lieben-Seutter. The Plaza, the public viewing platform at a height of 37 meters, will open on November 4th – then the people of Hamburg can test whether the all-round view of the Hamburg harbor is worthwhile even without going to a concert.

Unesco has named Hamburg’s warehouse district and the Kontorhaus district as world cultural heritage. The World Heritage Commission decided on inclusion at its meeting in Bonn. It is the first world cultural heritage for Hamburg and the 40th site in Germany.

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The Speicherstadt is considered to be the largest coherent and uniformly shaped warehouse ensemble in the world. According to UNESCO information, it has been preserved in the same historical design to this day. It was built between 1885 and 1927 in three construction phases on a group of islands in the Elbe.

The Speicherstadt consists of 15 brick buildings in neo-Gothic architecture. There are warehouses and small outbuildings connected by roads, waterways and bridges.

Second chance for Naumburg 

The neighboring Kontorhausviertel with the offices of the port and the shipping company was built between 1920 and 1940. The complex with the famous Chilehaus was the first office district in Europe.

Photo show: The most beautiful sides of Hamburg

The Naumburg Cathedral, on the other hand, was not included in the World Heritage List at the first attempt, but it does get a second chance. According to Unesco, the Naumburgers can revise their application and resubmit it.

The costs, the construction time – sponge over it: Hamburg opens the Elbphilharmonie. And with it a superlative hotel. Here you can have a look at the noble rooms – also in our photo show.

The beds are made, the towels folded, the windows cleaned. Behind what is probably Hamburg’s most famous facade, the Starwood hotel group will open its most prestigious hotel in the country on Friday: the Westin in the Elbphilharmonie. A luxury accommodation on 21 levels, with "Run Concierge" and a 1300 square meter wellness area. In a location that could hardly be more exposed.

"We are the only hotel from which guests can look out over the Elbe and Alster" enthused director Dagmar Zechmann during a tour of the first completed rooms in the summer. And it is not the only superlative in the 800 million euro building on the Kehrwiederspitze.

Most of Hamburg’s suites

No other hotel in the city offers more suites, they say (39 pieces, 46 to 162 square meters in size). The guests come in via Western Europe’s longest escalator (80 meters). In the spa area, swim in the longest hotel pool in Hamburg (20 meters). And – you already suspect it: According to the marketing officer, there are here "Bar with the most beautiful view in town".

In fact, most of the guests will enjoy the view. Of the total of 244 rooms and suites, only 33 face the atrium. Everyone else has a view of Hafencity, the city center, the Elbe and the industrial harbor – views that are sometimes more, sometimes less photogenic. Customers who book the so-called owner’s suite on the 19th floor have the most spectacular panorama. For a little more than 3000 euros per night there is a 270-degree view over the roofs and steamers of Hamburg.

Yoga teachers and brain food experts

"Of course, the Elbphilharmonie location is a priceless unique selling point, and we are proud to be part of this landmark" says hotel manager Zechmann. But she doesn’t want to reduce the house to that. The motto is feeling good as an experience. And the secret, according to the hotel managers’ credo, does not lie in saunas and cozy massage benches alone.

A whole team of experts is available to the guest – for a fee, of course. Doctors and cooks advise on nutritional issues and "explain why broccoli is a great ingredient for brain food" as PR manager Maria Reischl says. A fitness blogger advises on sports issues, yoga teachers can be booked for a personal morning greeting on the Elbe – and if you like, you can meet a meditation expert.

Above the former Kaispeicher A, where tea, tobacco and coffee were once stored, a hotel has been built that offers every imaginable service for the well-heeled clientele – but which aims to score with simplicity in terms of design. Anyone looking for a relationship to music here will be disappointed. There is neither a creation suite nor a small night music bar, neither violins on the walls nor the portraits of famous composers.

Sand, moss, copper – and a lot of white

Instead, light wood and a lot of white dominate the rooms. Designer Tassilo Bost was inspired by the most important elements of the harbor, "of water, air and wind, earth and sand". Straight shapes repeatedly meet the wave motif – analogous to the roof of the Elbphilharmonie – on furniture, in carpets and in the shiny silver window hatches, in which the skyline of the city is reflected.

"Color shades such as sand, moss and copper with white and blue accents underline our restraint" says Bost.