Five-star Three MICHELIN Keys Outer Alster, Hamburg
The Fontenay
Three intersecting circles on the shore of the Outer Alster, opened in 2018, with a pool on the roof that seems to run straight into the lake.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Three Keys
- Rooms
- 113 rooms and 17 suites
- Opened
- 19 March 2018
- From the airport
- About 20 minutes from HAM, our estimate
The hotel
A hotel in the park.
The site on the Outer Alster held the InterContinental until it went bankrupt in February 2013. The logistics entrepreneur Klaus-Michael Kühne bought it a month later, had it pulled down, and laid the foundation stone of a new building on 14 August 2014. The hotel takes its name from John Fontenay, a shipbroker who bought land on this shore in 1816.
The architect Jan Störmer drew it as three intersecting circles and called it a hotel in the park. Almost every room has a balcony and a wall of glass. At the centre an atrium rises 27 metres, lit by a sculpture by William Brand. After delays it opened on 19 March 2018, and the MICHELIN Guide now gives it three Keys.
- The rooftop spa About 1,000 square metres with an indoor and outdoor infinity pool of twenty metres facing the Alster, and a panoramic sauna. A private lift runs up from the guest floors.
- Lakeside The two-star restaurant on the seventh floor, with the lake below.
- The Fontenay Bar On the sixth floor, with a terrace of 500 square metres over the city.
Dining
Two stars on the seventh floor.
Restaurants as listed by the hotel; stars from the MICHELIN Guide Germany 2026. Shown for information.
- Lakeside Two Michelin stars Creative Julian Stowasser, seventh floor
- Parkview All day Garden restaurant with a terrace over the Alster
- The Fontenay Bar Bar Sixth floor, with a 500 square metre terrace
- Atrium Lounge Lounge Under the 27 metre atrium
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome at any age. Extra beds and cots on request.
- Pets Sources differ. We confirm the current rule with the hotel before booking.
Getting there
Flying to Hamburg.
Hamburg Airport is about 20 minutes by car, our estimate, and takes both airline and private flights. Business aircraft are met by dedicated handlers at the airport.
- Munich 1 h 05
- Paris 1 h 20
- London 1 h 20
- Nice 1 h 50
- Dubai 6 h 45 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does The Fontenay have?
- Three, the highest level. In Hamburg it shares that with the Vier Jahreszeiten, also on the Alster.
- Who owns The Fontenay?
- Klaus-Michael Kühne, who built it as founder and owner on the site of the old InterContinental. The hotel belongs to The Leading Hotels of the World.
- Why is it called The Fontenay?
- After John Fontenay, a shipbroker who bought land on the Outer Alster in 1816. The street the hotel stands on carries his name.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Hamburg?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Hamburg, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Hamburg
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten On Neuer Jungfernstieg since 1897, 156 rooms and suites over the Inner Alster, with three-star Haerlin and a spa of almost 1,000 square metres.
- Hotel Louis C. Jacob Receiving guests on the Elbchaussee since 1791, with 84 rooms and a lime-tree terrace looking down on the river.
- Tortue Hamburg A design hotel in the centre with three restaurants, JIN GUI among them, and a run of bars from bar noir to bar bleu.
- Landhaus Flottbek Twenty-six rooms under 200-year-old beams in the green west of the city, with the Scandinavian HYGGE restaurant.
Staying at The Fontenay?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Hamburg, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.