Former Nazi bunker that’s now a tourist complex after £84m revamp – with restaurants, Hard Rock Hotel and rooftop garden
A FORMER Nazi bunker has been turned into a new tourist complex in a popular European city break destination.
Hamburg is just a short flight away from the UK, with returns trips available from as little as £34.
And it’s there where tourists can now head to the St Pauli bunker, a former Nazi air defence tower built during the Second World War.
As many as 25,000 people sometimes found shelter in the bunker during bombing raids on the city.
While similar structures were blown up as part of the “denazification” of Germany, the St Pauli bunker remained because destroying it would have “endangered the adjacent residential areas” according to its website.
Instead, the bunker has now become a tourist complex, following a €100m (£84m) renovation.
Earlier this month, it opened its doors to visitors, with hotels, restaurants and a sky garden all now on offer within the imposing, grey structure.
It stated: “Starting July 5, all citizens can enjoy this spectacular view from Hamburg’s highest rooftop garden for free.
“On this date, the new Reverb by Hard Rock hotel, a restaurant, a bar, and a café will also be open.”
The revamp took around two years longer than was initially expected, and cost a lot more too, with an initial budget of €35m (£30m).
The work has seen public spaces “for culture, leisure, and gastronomy” built across five floors, while 23,000 trees, shrubs, and perennials have been planted as part of the roof garden.
The garden, which offers views over Hamburg, can be accessed via a “mountain path” that starts on the ground floor and works its way up to the top of the building.
Once there, they can find the “Hanging Gardens of Hamburg” – a feature that the bunker’s website boasts as being “unique”.
Back inside the bunker, visitors can choose to spend the night in Reverb, a hotel operated by Hard Rock, with 134 rooms.
A night in the hotel can be booked from around £143.
Several “catering concepts” will be on offer within the bunker, according to Hamburg Business ranging from changing pop-up restaurants on the roof, to the “Constant Grind”, a bakery and cafe.
Unusual hotel locations
As well as the bunker, you can also find hotels in these strange places.
Former airport terminal, New York, USA
The TWA hotel at New York’s JFK Airport has rooms and an infinity pool that overlook the runway.
It also has a cocktail bar built into a now disused plane.
That’s far from where the quirkiness ends however, with plenty of strange features completely unrelated to aviation.
They include the curling rink and the giant Twister room, allowing guests to play a wall-to-wall version of the 1960s game.
Abandoned quarry, Shanghai, China
The Intercontinental, Shanghai Wonderland is wedged between two walls of a disused quarry.
It has previously been labelled the “world’s first underwater hotel” because two of its floors are submerged.
Meanwhile, above the surface, rooms look out over a huge pond and over a waterfall.
Inside a crane, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Crane Hotel Faralda in Amsterdam is built, as its name suggests, inside a crane overlooking the city.
As you might expect, it offers terrific views out over Amsterdam, while its insides have been described as “opulent and obscure in equal measure”.
The hotel has only three suites, so getting a booking isn’t always the easiest.
A main restaurant called La Sala has more than 170 seats, an adjoining terrace and two private dining areas.
Meanwhile, the “Karo & Paul” bar extends over three floors providing plenty of room for tourists to have a cocktail or two.
Patrick Weber, Head Chef and the person in charge of catering at St Pauli told the publication: “We are a multicultural team of around 30 chefs.
“We will use this diversity and serve ‘bunker bites’ from all over the world.”
It is not the first Nazi-related building in Hamburg to have been repurposed.
Back in 2018, the headquarters of the Gestapo was converted into luxury apartments and offices.
Fortune wrote: “The bunker joins a slew of Nazi-era developments that are trying to reintegrate into the present day.
“It has been a venue for art and music events long before adopting its hospitality side.
“The bunker will also have a memorial for Nazi victims, along with exhibition areas.”
Meanwhile, this new £22m tourist attraction is set to be built in secret tunnels beneath a UK city.
And this is now London’s most-visited tourist attraction.