Excelsior Hotel Ernst

Cologne, Germany. Located in the heart of Cologne, facing the cathedral.

Excelsior Hotel ErnstCologne, Germany

Compare rates for your dates: Booking.com Expedia Hotels.com

Practical information

133 rooms and suites, still owned by the Kracht-Roulet family and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.
Hanse Stube for French cuisine, the Michelin-starred taku, the Wintergarten tea room and the Charles Bar with cigar lounge.
Spa and fitness area and eight conference and event rooms.
Located in the heart of Cologne, facing the cathedral.

11 dates, written by Grand Hotels of the World from the sources below.

16 May 1863
Carl Ernst opens the Hotel Ernst beside Cologne Cathedral.
1871
Ernst sells the hotel to Friedrich Kracht; after his death in 1875 his widow and son Carl take over.
1884
With the hotel now a favourite of Cologne’s elite, the city names its owner Carl Kracht Prince of the Cologne Carnival.
1889
Carl Kracht marries into the Swiss Baur hotel family and moves to Zurich to run the Baur au Lac.
1908 – 1910
Entirely rebuilt, it reopens as the Excelsior Hotel Ernst; 60 of its 200 rooms have a private bathroom, a rare luxury.
1918
The British Army makes the hotel its headquarters during the occupation of the Rhineland.
31 December 1926
The hotel celebrates its reopening after the British depart.
1943 – 1945
Air raids damage the upper floors; in May 1945 the staff leave a note declaring it Swiss property, and the British requisition it again.
1948
The hotel reopens after the currency reform introducing the Deutsche Mark.
1986
A new wing with 29 rooms and suites is added under interior designer Count Siegwart Pilati.
2001
The Asian-inspired restaurant taku opens alongside the Hanse Stube.