Where to stay in Hamburg

In Hamburg, Berlin and Munich I would not use AirBnB because most of listed providers operate illegally - without official permission and registration. The administrations of these cities started chasing the illegal landlords. So currently a few thousand offerings just disappear between booking and arrival. To prevent yourself from such an experience I would use a regular ho(s)tel of Hamburg. AirBnB knows the situation but does not collaborate with administrations and does not prevent visitors from that situations.

Read also the descriptions of Hamburg neighborhoods.

When I stay in Hamburg, I stay in a small or 3 star hotel across from Hamburg Hbf. AirBnB is not an option.

The 3 star hotel is "Fürst Bismarck" on Kirchenallee, opposite of the train station. The other two star ones you might find too spartan but, of course, the price is lower too, ie, for a single.

Most of Rick's hotel suggestions for Hamburg are near the train station, in the St. Georg neighborhood.

Thanks, Mark, for the heads up re AirBnB. I’m aware of issues with them in other cities in Europe. Are websites like Booking.com or Homeaway.com any more reputable? For various reasons I prefer to rent a private apartment so I’ll try other sites and be careful. Is there a registry of licensed apartments maintained by the city of Hamburg? Is this a problem in other German cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Dortmund? The neighborhoods website is useful and much appreciated. Thanks, Gerry

Gerald, I really appreciate that you want to travel social responsibly. Thank you for that.

Are websites like Booking.com or Homeaway.com any more reputable?

No, not really in my opinion. A lot of apartments are listed on several portals.

The issue is not coming up if you do not rent a complete apartment on your own but only a room at a host who is permanently living in the apartment (co-living).

I am not aware of such a list for Hamburg. The city administration is recommending to tourists to ask the provider for a copy of a "Zweckentfremdungsgenehmigung" (permission for change of use) or a "Negativbescheinigung" (clearance certificate). Hamburg and Berlin have apartment status inspectors which visit apartments and clear situations, also checking the tourist status if necessary.

Currently Berlin, Hamburg and Munich have a regulation against misusage. Frankfurt is trying to avoid it but they are losing "normal" average income people in the city areas. There is a clear financial squeeze out going on. For Dortmund I have no information.

Are you aware of apartment hotels and boarding houses which offer hotel rooms with kitchenette and more apartment like?

Opposite of the train station on Kirchenallee (one of the exits) are hotels of various sizes and luxury levels, ie, from the small 2 star to the big 4 star hotels, such as the "Europäischer Hof" at Kirchenallee 45, which is close to "Fürst Bismarck."

"...a clear financial squeeze going on." Then I am glad that I am not contributing to that since i spend my accommodation money in Frankfurt by staying in a small hotel across from the Hbf.

MarkK, your posts are very helpful and I'm encouraged by your comment that complete apartments are more likely to be legitimate. It's also good to know that there are certificates to ask for to confirm a properly licensed apartment. As I have mentioned before I am only interested in an apartment (2 bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining and living area). I have stayed in apartment hotels but they are hard to find on the booking sites as many to not have adequate filters and there are just too many hotels to go through in detail looking for ones with kitchens and multiple bedrooms. Eg., the hotels mentioned in this thread are not that type. My family is not wealthy enough to stay in a good hotel and eat most meals out. I find private apartments to be less expensive overall and offer the opportunity to get to know the local community through grocery shopping at markets, stores and bakeries. I will keep looking in the area that appeal to me.