The Fontenay

An architectural sculpture: The Fontenay, Hamburg’s premier luxury hotel address. For eighteen years the Hanseatic city lacked a five-star superior rated hotel, but now that has changed. This spring, the exclusive new hotel opened its doors in the city’s elegant Rotherbaum district, equipped with taps and showers by AXOR.

Hotel guests who freshen up in the bathrooms fitted by AXOR can enjoy the essence of luxury. After all, AXOR and the Italian designer Antonio Citterio associate their AXOR Citterio E collection with the essence of things. Soft shapes, precise lines and slender, rounded handles are the defining characteristics of the collection’s design, while the taps and showers feature high-quality workmanship and an archetypal feel. This exceptional combination was the decisive factor for the interior design team of Aukett + Heese GmbH based in Berlin. AXOR Citterio E was also the first choice of the hotel’s Managing Director, Thies Sponholz: “We opted for AXOR products, because in addition to their outstanding quality, AXOR’s Signature and FinishPlus services make it possible to customise both the construction and the surface finish of the products. Brushed Nickel thus became the recurrent finish found on many of the metal elements in The Fontenay’s rooms and public areas.”

All the taps and showers were coated with a particularly resistant PVD surface in Brushed Nickel. The warm metal hue beautifully complements the light-coloured natural sandstone slabs used for the bathroom walls. AXOR Citterio E 2-hole wall-mounted taps are featured above the washbasins. The interior designers chose the AXOR Citterio E shower set for the shower areas. A native of Milan, Antonio Citterio’s inspiration for this collection came from that city’s modern vibe. This urban chic is perfectly suited to the cosmopolitan city on the Elbe River, which proudly calls itself the gateway to the world.

The hotel is named after the American-born shipbroker and merchant John Fontenay, who bought the plot of land on the shores of Hamburg’s Outer Alster Lake in the 19th century. He is also the eponym for the hotel’s address: Fontenay 10. From the gourmet restaurant on the top floor to the extensive park grounds, The Fontenay leaves nothing to be desired – it even offers spectacular sunrises as most of its 131 rooms and suites have magnificent views of the Alster and Hamburg’s city skyline.

The hotel caused a sensation as soon as the project was first presented. Star architect Jan Störmer of the Hamburg-based offices of Störmer, Murphy and Partners is responsible for the architectural design. The building, titled “Modern Classic”, flows across an 18,000 square-metre area in three intertwining circles. At the heart of the impressive building is a glassed-in courtyard featuring trees and an atrium, which is close to 30 metres high. The atrium is enclosed by 198 glass panels of varying hues equipped with LED strips that create an ambience of changing light scenarios.

Jan Störmer

Christian Meinert

Klaus-Michael Kühne