"We used to go to the Condi on Sundays". Many guests fondly tell us about their first encounter with the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten and many of these first encounters took place in the Condi. In most cases, as related, it was the grandmother who associated many a memory with the Condi and wanted to show her grandchildren something really nice on Sundays.

This is where one met for coffee and a cosy chat after a long walk around the Alster. It smelled of freshly made coffee and the grand layered cakes wobbled merrily when one of the Condi ladies with white starched apron and cap placed them on the tables.

One sat in the so-called loft and gazed upon the glistening water of the inner Alster. The floorboards creaked at every step of the nimble feet of the waitresses who hurried up and down the stairs to serve the guests cakes, tarts, chocolates and café specialties.

Outside at the entrance stood the Condi carriage - a pony wagon with a coach box and lantern. On the loading area there was a large chocolate box with a very large bow ribbon. The inscription, "home deliveries - cakes, tarts, chocolates and ice cream", promised many customers a sweet delight at home. A young man with a velvet cape and top-hat and the wagon drawn by two ponies transported the sweet delicacies to customers throughout the city.

This all happened in 1934 when Fritz Haerlin took over the business from his father Friedrich Haerlin. The son of the legendary hotel founder succeeded in a masterpiece of gastronomic innovation with the opening of the Café Condi. In no time the Condi became the popular meeting place of the Hamburger citizens. Home-made chocolates, confectionery made of fudge, nougat, brittle and marzipan, lovingly and delicately prepared and wrapped by hand, are still today a specialty of the house.

Fritz Haerlin succeeded in reviving a style era, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in the thirties. Through arduous work he collected furniture and works of arts from the Biedermeier period. The pictures, clocks, chairs, tables, chandeliers and copperplates which adorn the Condi to this day, date back to the period 1800 to 1830. A journalist wrote benevolently in his notebook: "there is an aura of romantic splendour in the rooms, which are furnished with so much affection and expertise like no one has ever seen before in a café in any city on the continent."

At that time, as is the case today, the menu of the Condi was not limited to confectionery selections only. 70 years ago you could find "roast pork with prunes" and "Swiss cheese with goose fat" on the menu and in present times you can indulge in a selection of fresh and crisp salad or for example with a "Penne Rigate in rocket salad-pesto and grilled shrimps" for lunch.

The major afternoon shopping tour in the elegant shopping arcades of Hamburg is crowned perfectly with an extended visit for an afternoon coffee gossip.

The grand layered gâteaus and the home-made cakes still wobble merrily as they did 70 years ago. "Lübeck nut gateau", mousse au-chocolat gâteau, "champagne gâteau", Brahms tart and other selections like "Berliner", "Petit Fours", "Copenhagen and Mocha tartlets" are waiting for you to come along and be devoured. Everything tastes delicious. Deli derives from delicious - which takes us to our next topic.

Jahreszeiten Deli

Under the management of Fairmont International the concept was continued and refined. In 2001 the Fairmont Deli evolved in the former rooms of the Condi. The new "coffee shop concept" is not only a terminological bridging to the legendary parent hotel in Singapore, but also a step towards a new coffee house culture in the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten. In the juvenile atmosphere, both old and young enjoy a cappuccino, lattte macchiata, freshly pressed orange juice or an after work drink like "Cava Torreblanca". The selection is extensive and sometimes makes it hard to choose something. The lusty, crisp sandwiches can be made to your whims. With our selection of spreads and fillings we can make up to sixty different sandwiches. The muffins or the cream cheese brownies are also enticing - everything is available as take away or for consumption in the Jahreszeiten Deli.

"A good breakfast is better than someone wishing you a good morning." - Proverb!

…and that is how it should be. However, we will, as always, wish all our guests a good morning. It is true though - breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The day couldn't start any better than with a substantial breakfast in the Condi. If the breakfast is fine - then the rest of the day is fine too.

guests, even in the present day "rush", a relaxed and pleasurable start to the day. In the Condi a breakfast à la carte can be prepared to suit your appetite and liking. At your table you can easily order freshly pressed orange juice, various cold cuts, fish specialties, fresh fruit and egg dishes prepared à la minute. You determine the choice of toast, crisp rolls or hearty wholemeal bread.To round it off, a tip for those who like bircher muesli - in the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeitenwe serve the best in the whole area.

The Condi was benignly restored at the beginning of 2005. The Biedermeier furniture was upholstered and the creaking floorboards were sanded down and polished. This may not seem worthwhile to mention, but it is, because long-standing employees of the hotel like our first housekeeper, Ms. Ulrike Müller-Grunau and our upholster, Ms. Anja Pohl spent hours after work looking for fabrics, colour schemes and materials so as to give the Biedermeier treasure chamber a fresh gleam. Inspired by the new colouring, the ladies "found" a chandelier in the attic, which perfectly rounded off the new "old" ambience. There is no better place to shop around than in the attic of the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten.

Breakfast

Monday to Saturday: 6.15 a.m. to 10.30 a.m.
Sunday: 7.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.

Café Condi

Monday to Saturday: 10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Sunday: closed

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