Dorint City - Hotel Bremen

In the Brothers Grimm folktale “The Town Musicians of Bremen,” the four elderly animal protagonists never make it to the smallish city — they end up waylaid by an empty house instead. Barring any such fairy-tale mishaps, you’ll be satisfied with what you find here. Like its quietly stylish siblings worldwide, the Hotel Bremen appeals to both business and pleasure travelers, with clean, contemporary design, a convenient location, and highly professional service.

It might not challenge your notions of cutting-edge décor. You might not see a supermodel flanked by stylists or be able to rub elbows with royalty. Bremen’s charms are more modest than that, from the first-rate Gothic architecture to the annual Freimarktor, one of Germany’s oldest festivals. Businesspeople will like the built-in desk with ergonomic chair and speedy room service, while those traveling with little ones will appreciate the on-site playroom and special kids’ rooms, decorated with cartoon characters and connected to the parents’ rooms. All rooms either overlook a peaceful atrium or occasionally spirited street.

The hotel is an easy walk to Bremen’s Town Hall, home to the world’s largest wine cellar and some of its oldest wines. Tours of the brewery that makes Beck’s and St. Pauli’s Girl are also available; the Bremen Brewers Guild, founded in the late fifteenth century, is the oldest in the country, and the renovated waterfront or the Wallenlagen park (keep an eye out for the windmill) are good choices for pre-pint perambulations.