Last September, the Hamburg-based RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group won the tender to operate a hotel and restaurant in the St. Pauli tower. The hotel Reverb by Hard Rock features 134 rooms and will be the first of its kind in Europe targeting international visitors should open later in 2022 and all going well. Reverb, which is a pun on reverberation, was founded by Hard Rock International (HRI), which operates hotels, casinos, Rock Shops, live event venues and cafés in 67 countries and is best known for its collection of music memorabilia. "A new hotel for music fans inspired by hard rock heritage, Reverb is a place where music, entertainment and local culture are at home," according to the company's website. The site in Hamburg is being transformed from a grim war memorial into a green and vibrant community space. Forced labourers built the flak tower in just 300 days in 1942. The 21st century tower will feature a memorial and information site for the victims of the Nazi regime and World War II.
Work is underway to complete Hamburg's latest "wow" music scene in a flak tower turned hotel on Heiligengeistfeld, St. Pauli. An elevator takes visitors to site up to level zero or the roof of the listed tower. Five storeys have been added like a pyramid since 2019. Meanwhile, work on the city's highest garden at a lofty 58 metres is going full steam ahead and to ensure it opens to the public this year. Visitors can soon reach the green oasis via a 300-metre long and five-metre-wide mountain trail. Plants are set to dot the trail which winds its way around the exterior to the pinnacle. The effort of the climb culminates in a spectacular 360° panoramic view of Hamburg. Two outer elevators also lead up to the top.
New hard rock hotel brand arrives in Hamburg
Total flak tower experience
Several thousand visitors a day are expected, according to Patrick Gehrmann, Head of Commercial at RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group. The view is likely to attract visitors and complement the spectacular vistas from the Elbphilharmonie, Michel and harbour. Naturally, the idea of the hard rock brand will appeal to guests as well. "We are creating a total flak tower experience which goes way beyond a hotel here." A bar on three storeys in one of the tower's four corner pillars and which served as fortification for the anti-aircraft guns in the past, will be covered with a glass plate and become part of the space. The former control room will be part of the information site. An initiative by residents called Hilldegarden e. V. is going to great efforts to keep a culture of remembrance alive. Gehrmann stressed: "Champagne corks popped when we won the tender. To be able to complete such a project in Hamburg in our home city is really special." Over the past 30 years, RIMC has carried out some 200 hotel projects in Germany and abroad. Apart from the Hamburg Reverb in which Hard Rock® is investing EUR 70 million, plans are being laid for projects in Milan, Rome and Madrid.
Wide-ranging use
A multifunctional hall for sporting and cultural events will also liven things up in the tower. Thanks to LED screens, the high-tech floor can display markings for a basketball court among others. The tower still houses the Uebel & Gefährlich club, the Hamburg School of Music and the Bühnenstudio Hamburg both of which are recognized vocational schools. Urban apes began offering climbing enthusiasts bouldering in late 2021 and UFC Gym has announced its first gym and mixed martial arts centre in Germany, which will see the tower reverberate with all kinds of music in future.
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