+ places-spaces: 25hours Hotels {Part 1}

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Hotels are such amazing and interesting places. They are no longer just a room with a number where you spend the night and move on.

I picked up the book 'Hotel Vendome' by Danielle Steel the other day; I hardly read her books, but this particular one caught my interest. The book revolves around the lives of a hotelier, his daughter, his luxurious boutique hotel on the Upper East Side, his staffs, the guests, and illustrates behind the scenes of an operating hotel, from the reception desk to the room service kitchen to the back offices. It's quite an easy read; I'm already half way and really enjoying it!

On that note, I want to share with you another group of fascinating, creative and fun hotels I came across: the 25hours Hotels.

The 25hours Hotels are a group of Germany-based hotels with unconventional and unique style, carrying themes inspired by literature and pop culture. CEO Christoph Hoffman and three other partners are the masterminds behind the concept, and they've managed to create boutique design hotels where guests and visitors are transported into different eras and across realms.

“We try not to answer questions, but to create them,” says Goldman. “They are ideas that can grow in a person’s mind. We aim to give people the possibility to think in a big way or to think in a small way, but always to think. What is important is how you create and tell a story. We like to tell stories.” - Ardi Goldman (via Made by Originals)

And I love stories! Especially ones which are super imaginative, challenges the boundaries and stretching ideas and creativities!

There are currently five 25hours Hotel which in operation, 2 in Hamburg, 2 in Frankfurt, 1 in Vienna, Austria, and another one opening in Zurich, Switzerland, later this year. Each hotel has its own theme, mostly inspired by their location, and are all so beautiful and distinctive in style.

I probably could have written a post on each of them, but I'll let you discover some of their stories on your own, which I'm sure you'll find them fun and amazing too! However, they would still end up making a really long post, hence I'm splitting it into 3 parts. Hope you'll enjoy the them!

25hours Hotel Hamburg No.1 is located in the western business district of Hamburg, and its design is inspired by a cheerful retro mix from the 60s and 70s. Furnitures are in curved geometric shapes and comes in popping pink, red and orange, catching the sparkles of the disco ball. In the rooms, the cool retro style continues with exposed concrete, bright whites, floral wallpaper and playful color accents.

I'm especially loving those glass pendant lamps in the rooms. The whites and simple lines also managed to give the retro look a very updated and contemporary spin, which is refreshing!

In another part of Hamburg, in the heart of the HafenCity district, the largest and most ambitious urban construction project in Europe, you'll find the 25hours Hotel HafenCity. The area's rich maritime history and seafaring life strongly influenced the concept of the hotel.

In reflection to the 'nomad' spirit (in reference to both modern seamen and travellers alike), storyteller Markus Stoll put together the narration of 25 international sailors and adapted them into semi-fictional tales that became one of the themes inspiring the conceptualisation of the hotel. Guests will find these stories in a specially created log books in each room, which are designed to look cabin-like, complete with a 'travel trunk' in place of the standard dressing/writing table and mini bar.

I really enjoy the raw, industrial look; those yellow markings on the floor, planked walls, freight container for conference room, and of course the trunks in every cabin-room - each element tells an elegant story, and together, they form an extraordinary dialogue with the people, history and location in context.

How amazing and inspiring are these spaces and their concepts? Hope you're loving them too! More 25hours Hotel to share with you - come back soon! And have an awesome day ahead!

{Images by 25hours Hotel, found via Design Hotels}