25 Hours tailored by Levi’s - Frankfurt

25Hours Hotel Frankfurt Tailored by Levi’s takes the first part of its name from its earlier sister hotels – the original 25Hours in Hamburg, and Goldman 25Hours in East Frankfurt.

The first hotel was opened by hotelier Kai Hollmann in 2003. Seeing the potential to roll this successful concept out to other European cities, Hollmann founded the 25Hours Hotel Company with partners Ardi Goldman, a Frankfurt-based real estate developer, Christoph Hoffmann, CEO of the group, and Stephan Herhard, founder of hotel consultancy Treugast Solutions Holding GmbH.

Where Goldman – an entrepreneur credited with the regeneration of Frankfurt’s East End, and the launch of clubs such as Cocoon and King Kamehameha – has lent his name to the second 25Hours, located on the other side of Frankfurt, this hotel in the heart of the city’s commercial centre takes its addendum from its neighbouring building, the new German headquarters of Levi Strauss.

Developed through LOFT GmbH – a joint venture between Ardi Goldman and fellow investor Ronny Weiner – the hotel is housed in a former office building revamped by architect Karl Dudler. Its exterior is rendered in pale brown to resemble cardboard packaging, complete with ‘FRAGILE – Handle With Care’ stamp, and insignia indicating shipping instructions.

Inside, designers Delphine Buhro and Michael Dreher have created funky, comfortable interiors that are “as timeless and familiar as a well worn pair of jeans.”

In a nod to the close working relationship between the hotel and the clothing label, Buhro and Dreher have incorporated elements of American popular culture throughout the design. Each of the six floors is dedicated to the fashion, culture and style of a different decade from the 1930s to the 1980s, with appropriate colour palette, furniture, finishings and music. The unifying design features are those of a pair of jeans; soft fabrics meeting coarse leather and bright, shiny copper.
All 71 guestrooms are decked out in different shades of blue, from cobalt to azure, indigo to turquoise. Each of these ‘urban retreats’ is equipped with flatscreen TV, iHome and free WiFi. In keeping with the jean theme, rooms are classified as ‘M’, ‘L’ or ‘XL’. In place of classic twin rooms, the hotel takes advantage of its proximity to the Messe exhibition centre, offering doubles specifically tailored to visitors in town for a trade fair, featuring bunk beds with individual TVs that afford privacy and leave more room space to spread out work. 

Guestrooms feature retro-patterned carpets and various classic 20th century pieces of furniture design alongside more utilitarian desks, chairs and cupboards. Walls are adored with pop-art style prints, pairs of jeans hanging from hooks, and photos of icons such as The Beatles and Marilyn Monroe. Doorplates have been created from the back pocket of a pair of jeans.

The open areas on the ground floor are multi-purpose lounge spaces which flow into one another, as opposed to clearly defined zones. In the lobby, a pair of cowboy boots forms the base for a table lamp beneath a stars-and-stripes flag, with chairs fashioned from cowhide leather either side. Lampshades hanging above the reception desk feature photographic images of good-looking young models, the kind you might see in a Levi’s ad. 

Frayed vintage fabrics are used for cushion upholstery in the 55-seat ‘Red Tab’ restaurant, with simple wooden floors, tables and chairs set against a backdrop of a denim-like distressed blue wallpaper. Innovative Frankfurt catering institution Nykke & Kokki has put together a small kitchen offering creative reinterpretations of traditional snacks, soups and salads – all prepared with healthy, organic, local ingredients. The most important gastronomic element is the speciality bread, ambitiously conceived as the best country bread in Frankfurt, served with homemade jams or sandwich-style with cold cuts.

The stairwell from the ground floor to the basement is plastered with posters and light fittings fashioned to look like the buttons on a pair of jeans. This leads to a 100m2 multifunction meeting and conference area – the ‘Freiraum’ or ‘living room’ which can be divided into two event spaces, featuring oversized Anglepoise lamps, an iMac workstation and a small foyer with giant bean bags for laidback breakout sessions.
The basement also houses a fully equipped rehearsal room created in co-operation with Gibson Musical Instruments, complete with bass, guitars, drum kit and mikes. Local bands can rehearse free of charge as can guests who fancy an impromptu rock’n’roll session – so fellow guests will appreciate the fully soundproofed walls. The hotel’s private rooftop terrace with skyline views over Frankfurt provides an alternative location for events and functions.

In each of its hotels, 25Hours Hotel Company has taken a different design approach, but each has succeeded in appealing to a young crowd of urban travellers. The group is currently planning further hotels in Budapest and Berlin, and locations such as Trieste, Cologne, Zurich, Vienna and Salzburg are also on their radar. The Levi’s collaboration however is likely to be a one-off, meaning future developments will each be as unique as the existing hotels in Hamburg and Frankfurt.

25HOURS HOTEL FRANKFURT BY LEVI’S 
Niddastrasse 56-58 60329 Frankfurt am Main Germany
Tel: +49 (0)69 25 66 77 0
www.25hours-hotels.com

Rooms    71 guestrooms
Dining    Red Tab restaurant 
Facilities    100m2 meeting facility, Rehearsal Room