Bristol Hotel Frankfurt

Class: First

Style: Modern design

Rooms: 145

One might expect the hotels in Germany’s banking capital to tend toward the traditional side, perhaps confined to the city’s signature skyscrapers. This may be in some measure true, but there’s more to Frankfurt than finance. Around the corner from the Hauptbahnhof station is a hotel that caters to a different crowd altogether: the Bristol Hotel is less about suits and ties than it is turtlenecks and spectacles, the sort of place that’s inevitably a hit with the arts and media sectors. And why not? The Bristol benefits from the kind of savvy modern design that’s becoming more common in German boutiques: stylish but not overwrought, more functional than theatrical, in warm colors and rich materials rather than icy whites and cold metal. The bedrooms don’t exactly sprawl, nor do they have air-conditioning, but even the smallest are highly organized, perfectly livable, and handsome in black and tan leather. What they may lack in luxurious excess they make up for in sensible convenience; wireless internet access and thoughtful work spaces help keep business travelers focused. Of course the Bristol isn’t all work and no play. The hotel bar stays open round the clock, and there’s no end of things to do in the immediate area — restaurants and shops abound, and the city center is just ten minutes away.