Alpha Hotel-Pension in Hamburg

Hi,

I have never stayed in this Pension. My hotel is not so far from Alpha Hotel-Pension. When I am in this area of North Germany, I stay usually in Hamburg or Kiel, and less now in Lüneburg.

In Hamburg I stay with Hotel Fürst Bismarck on Kirchenallee, just opposite of Hamburg central station as you take the Kirchenallee exit. It is a 3 star hotel, payment can be done by credit card, if you want that, en suite facilities, very satisfactory breakfast buffet. I certainly recommend it based on the several times I was there, I don't use Trip Advisor.

Seems that always Hotels near the Central Station are recommended. I personally would avoid this area in every city. Wherever I checked it out I did not like these neighborhoods.

The Hotel I used to stay in Hamburg is not existing anymore but it was in the district Hamburg Eppendorf. If I would go to Hamburg now I would book a Hotel in Eppendorf again or in the Hafencity neighborhood.

Just a note that the area near the harbour and much of the city will be VERY busy that weekend. May 8 is Hamburg's Hafengeburtstag, celebrations May 5-7. So if you want quiet, stay away from anywhere near the Elbe (Elphi, Baumwall / Landungsbrücken / Portuguese quarter, Fischmarkt / Altona) and the Reeperbahn. These areas are generally busy but not noisy, but for that weekend they are quite loud, with fireworks and such, and VERY crowded. This applies to a lesser extent south of the river as well. It can also be really fun if you get a good location for the tug boat ballet, for example, and certainly food and beer are readily available. But if you want to explore those areas, the latter half of your stay is better, with the first days more about places like Blankenese, for example.

I generally find the area near the Hauptbahnhof to be quite grubby--in many German cities, but especially in Hamburg. But go just a block in any direction and that changes quickly. To some extent this is true of the Altona station as well. But it looks like the hotel is right at the end of Lange Reihe, which is past that grubby little section and on a cute little square. It probably isn't super quiet, but probably not insane, either. If you don't mind walking past a bunch of harmless homeless folks (it is absolutely safe as there is a police station right there), your location is fine even during Hafengeburtstag.

I have no information on this hotel per se.

Be sure to do your homework if you are coming during that event! It's amazing for some and awful for others, depending on the type of traveler you are.

Hi Fred,

Thanks a lot for your reply!

You know, I originally planned to stay in the hotel you suggested, the Hotel Fürst Bismarck on Kirchenallee. When I went to book this online, there were not any rooms available. I really did like the sound and photos of this place, so inspired by your comment here I tried again the first thing this morning. And, VOILA! I was able to book a room for 3/4 of our time here. We'll have to stay somewhere else on the first night, the 6th, but the remaining 3 nights we are booked into the Hotel Fürst Bismarck.

Thank you very much for inspiring me to try again! I'm sure we will really enjoy this!

This stay in Hamburg is part of a month long trip to Hamburg and England. We chose our dates so as to avoid the crazy busy times in England like school holidays, bank holidays, and the inauguration of the King. I forgot to check on the busy times in Hamburg, so I was completely surprised to learn that the dates of our stay are the dates of the Harbour Anniversary weekend. NO WONDER it was so difficult to find a place to stay!

Anyway, thanks again for your inspiration!

Virginia

Hi Mignon,

I appreciate your advice about the neighborhood around the Central Station.

I have read other places that this neighborhood is rather seedy, and that there may be quite a few homeless people by the station.

The convenience of being extremely close to the station I believe will outweigh the fact that the neighborhood is not great for my husband and I.

I really appreciate your letting us know what to expect in this neighborhood. I think it is important to have a good understanding of what to expect when traveling, and this is our first visit to Hamburg.

Thanks again,
Virginia

Dear HowlinMad,

Thank you so much for your information! Turns out that this stay in Hamburg is part of a month long trip to Hamburg and England. We chose our dates so as to avoid the crazy busy times in England like school holidays, bank holidays, and the inauguration of the King. I forgot to check on the busy times in Hamburg, so I was completely surprised to learn that the dates of our stay are the dates of the Harbour Anniversary weekend.

All of your information about that weekend's festival is very helpful! I have found a URL that seems to have a good description of this event: https://www.hamburg.com/port-anniversary/. I LOVE the idea of a tug boat ballet! My husband and I love fireworks! We generally do not like crowds, but many of the events mentioned at this URL sound like they might be worth dealing with lots of people. Seeing the different boats and ships sound like fun also. Do you know of another URL that might provide more detailed information about the location and time of the different events of the anniversary?

Having said that, we appreciate your advice about exploring the Blankenese area if we find all the crowds and craziness of the festival to be too much for us!

I really appreciate your information about the neighborhood around the Alpha-Pension Hotel! It is reassuring to know that the Alpha Hotel-Pension is in a not insane area.

Thanks again,
Virginia

I spent several nights near the Hamburg train station in May of this year (as a solo female traveler) and had no problems at all nor did I ever feel unsafe. It's a tad grubby but otherwise it was fine, and there are some wonderful ethnic restaurants in the area.

@ virginia....You're welcome. Glad that you got the room for the rest of the stay in Hamburg.

Next to it, or very close is the 4 star hotel, Europäischer Hof, a little more luxurious than "Fürst Bismarck" if you feel to urge treat yourself. I stayed once having gone from place to place , 4 in total, in that area trying to find something cheaper, plus I was getting tired .

No need to be so concerned about any unsavory characters hanging around outside of Hamburg Hbf. As you exit Kirchenallee, you'll see Hotel Fürst Bismarck across the street, look upwards for roof sign. More so with Hotel Fürst Bismarck than with Europäsischer Hof, "Bismarck" is a hotel "alter Schule" (of the old school). That is quite evident in the décor, photos along the wall, etc.

Unlike a few places I've stayed in Hamburg in that general Hbf. area, the hotel takes a credit card. obviously, too, since it's a 3 star.

Hi,

How are you going from Hamburg to England? Hamburg airport can be reached from Hamburg Hbf. on the S-Bahn 1. When you enter Hamburg Hbf, (main entrance) , a sign directly above indicates that piece of useful info.

There is also another option , that of taking the ferry, which used to leave from Landungsbrücken (one subway stop from Hbf) to Harwich. No longer, but it departs from Cuxhaven, I went there as day trip on the regional train pre-pandemic.

Having already booked into "Fürst Bismarck," you'll find staying there very advantageous transportation-wise.

The website you found is probably one of the better ones. For the tug boat ballet, you really need to get there super early; we generally forego it, but it is probably the most crowded event for a reason. The parade of ships coming INTO the city is probably your best bet simply because so many locals are still at work. There is amazing street food, and of course you have pretty much zero chance of eating in the Portuguese or in restaurants near the festival on Friday and Saturday night without getting a reservation. I wouldn't bother--there is amazing food near your hotel along Lange Reihe as well as the street food. The festival also prompts people who usually only go from the tunnel (which will be closed to car traffic and is well worth walking through during such times) to the Elphi to instead venture to the area between the tunnel and the Fischauktionshalle. This area is truly cool at any time.

I don't know what sites you have on your list for Hamburg, but I have a considerable write up if you use the search function on here. The ones outside of the main harbour area will be much more mellow (not just Blankenese). Hamburg has SO MUCH to see and do, and Rick has never fully appreciated our amazing and very green city. In most European cities, the town square and the pedestrian areas are full of sites and things are concentrated. In Hamburg, those places are all bombed and rebuilt and generic, and while there is tons to see in the city centre, Hamburg's gems are found in its surrounding areas.

Hi Mardee,

Thanks for letting me know that the area around the Hamburg train station is a generally safe area. I will have to try to find some of the ethnic restaurants you refer to.

Do you have the names of any of your favorites?

Thanks very much,
Virginia

Hi Fred,

Thanks for your information!

We have already booked a flight from Hamburg to England. It's so good to know that there is a sign just as we enter the main entrance of the Hamburg Hbf telling us how to get to the airport.

You know I had not even considered taking a ferry. That would have been great fun! I imagine a flight will end up being a little faster, even with needing to get to the airport a few hours before departure time. Maybe next time we travel to Hamburg.

Regards,
Virginia

Hi HowlinMad,

We arrive into Hamburg on Saturday, May 6th, so I'm afraid that we will completely miss some of the more interesting events, as I believe the festivities begin on the 5th. I haven't found a schedule yet -- perhaps it is just too early to have the schedule published. If nothing else, my husband and I would enjoy the fireworks -- they look they are really great!

It's good to hear that there is great food along Lange Reihe as well as the street food. I just googled Fischauktionshalle -- I'm thinking that this is the historic-looking fish market. It appears to be closed now; is that because it is the winter season or has it closed permanently? That is something my husband and I would love to see the inside of.

Here are some of the things that I had planned to do before learning about the big festival:
- Walk through St. Pauli Elbtunnel
- Take a harbort cruise-- I believe that the company 'Rainer Abicht Harbor and Port Guided Boat Tour' has an English tour at Noon normally. I don't know how the festival will affect it.
- Take a guided tour of the Rathaus (City Hall)
- Spend a day at Miniatur Wunderland. We plan to reserve a behind the scenes tour as part of our visit
- Visit the Memorial St. Nikolai Bombed-out church memorializing the destruction of World War II
- Take Concert Hall Tour of Elbphilharmonie
- Do walking tour of outer Alster Lake, or Lake Außenalster.

Hi HowlinMad,

I hit the send button too early. Sorry.

The Blankenese area looks wonderful to explore!

I did a search for more of your comments in this forum about the city of Hamburg, but unfortunately didn't find any.

I would love to hear about other 'gem' areas of Hamburg!!

Thank you so much for all of your information! It is so very helpful.

Regards,
Virginia

@ Virginia.....I believe the overhead sign indicating S-1 to Hamburg airport is close to the arr/dep train schedules (not the yellow one) high along the corner of the wall. As to the possible unsavory characters to be seen, along Kirchenallee , ie, the side where "Fürst Bismarck" and "Europäsischer Hof", that's fine, the Deutsches Theater is also there.

As Hamburg Hbf is such a big station, the junction point of North Germany, obviously having different exits, between the main one and Kirchenalle exit is a police station, that of the Bahnpolizei.

Keep in mind that on the top floor of Hamburg is a sit-down restaurant, next to the grocery market. On payment in the restaurant, I was there last in 2018, at which time I paid in cash. The only credit card accepted then was the EuroCard, ie, no Visa and MC. Maybe it's different now., maybe still just cash.

--Elbtunnel will be open for walking and no cars throughout the festival. Lots of people use this event to walk through.

--Harbor cruise--may or may not happen during the weekend; the harbor is a zoo and the departure may be affected. You might also want to check out the Maritime Circle harbor tour--it is in German and English, and I have enjoyed this tour on a few occasions.

--Rathaus tour--not sure how the festival will affect it, but the Rathaus is a few blocks from the harbour, so it might not be too be bad. Probably not available on Sundays.

--MWunderland--always recommended!

--St. Nikolai--easy to access at any time. The museum in the basement about the fire bombing is interesting.

--Elphi will be super crowded during the festival. Wait until afterwards.

--Alster will be much quieter, so a good break from the festival.

Here is the thread--I am a few posts down. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/hamburg-worth-4-days-with-day-trip-to-lubeck-or-bremen

That's just a bit. You can also visit places like the technically-a-suburb Wedel, Schloss Ahrensburg, Kiekeberg, Bergedorf, Ohlsdorf cemetery, the Botanical gardens in Klein Flottbek, or the orchards and half-timbered homes around Estebrügge / Jork. These are more local places to visit rather than typically tourist sites, but if things get too crazy they are options.

As for the S1, the exit is on the South side (if you are on the platforms between the two escalators up, go to the side with the giant PHILIPS sign, not the side that says Wandelhalle / McDonald's) and take the exit to the east (left). The S1 is immediately past the exit back down the escalator near the police station and the flower shop. It's marked clearly and is the green line. Your hotel is on the North side (Wandelhalle / McDs) but also on the east side. There is a tourist office near that exit, too.

@HowlinMad

Is it still common to visit the Willkomm-Höft in Wedel? I did this many years ago and I liked it. Sitting there watching the incomming ships and listening to the explanation was fun. Sort a 'fallen out of time' experience :-)

We went last fall and had fun.