Citadines Michel Hamburg ★★★★

Despite rumours that my long lost cousin has resided in Hamburg for quite some time I have never made it up there to visit her; I’ve rarely been to Germany in fact, so I put the idea to my husband, who of course, couldn’t say no. We chose to stay at the Citadines Michel for its fantastic location, though we often prefer hotels to apartments, we thought that the Citadines was a good compromise for a great location, but we also had breakfasts included, so we could still be a little spoiled!

We went for the Deluxe Studio, which felt like once of the first apartments we’d had, it didn’t have a separate bedroom to the living room but we had a little living space and a simple kitchenette, but it was all that we needed to feel cosy and homely. It had none of the hassle of our first apartment however; it was pristine with weekly housekeeping and had all the necessary mod-cons of this day and age. Above our bed was a little reminder that we are in a sailing city with various knotted ropes in different shapes and ways. The rest of the décor was pleasingly neutral; there was a sleek kitchen and sleek bathroom, and plenty of storage space as my husband always likes to note. I revelled in the space and the freedom of movement our apartment allowed us.

My husband made the most of the iPod dock and put on some jazzy music whilst we took some time to relax after our trip. We took a cheeky selfie of us beside our large and comfortable bed and sent it to my sister to announce our arrival, using the free wifi. Then we decided it was about time to emerge from the room and get exploring, and of course satisfy those rumbling tummies.

As we left we discovered the U-Bahn station (the metro) just a quick five minute walk away to take us to anyway we should wish. Hamburg, although it looked so thoroughly German, harboured a selection of multi-ethnic foods and left us spoilt for choice that evening. The beautiful Hamburg, its harbour and the boats that lined the canals sparkled, and it felt like it was welcoming us especially, to its attractive centre. I sighed a happy sigh, I think we are going to like it here, I thought to myself.

That night we left the curtains open so that we could welcome the sunny sun as our natural wake-up call, better than any manmade alarm! We arose to a plentiful breakfast served in the hall downstairs. There was a wide range of choice and the room was gleefully lit with light thanks to large windows. With satisfied stomachs we nodded a “see you later” to the friendly staff at reception and ventured out. This time we hadn’t created a scheduled itinerary, it was going to be a spontaneous city break – may destiny guide us!