Hotel Steigenberger a Sonderborg

A beautiful new waterfront property which strives for the stars. Even the side rooms have a view. It was the high season and the hotel was fully booked, which may have attributed to minor hiccups in the service due to insufficient staffing. Although our room was a side room near back landside corner on the second floor we still had a reasonable river view. The 16th floor is an open viewing platform (Point of View) and provides a stunning 360 degree panoramic view of the area. A must visit. Go there after 7 p.m. when it only is open for the hotel guests. Entrance is free, get a key at the front desk. Breakfast was excellent with a wide range of food, but strangely enough no orange juice. We didn't try the main restaurant, instead eating at the bar where the snacks were delicious and well presented. We didn't try the 17th story 1-starred Michelin restaurant. Rooms are tastefully appointed, with motor-controlled elevation beds. One USB port is provided on each side of the bed and at the desk. Motion activated bedside floor lighting makes nighttime visits to the bathroom easy. But the bathroom lacks this feature. A half width sliding door between the bathroom and bed gives a choice of privacy or through-the-room outside views. However, the sliding door does not provide adequate sound proofing of flatulence. We also used the large, beautiful spa with sauna, pools, steam room etc. There are also two large outdoor whirlpools with a great river view. You must book a 3-hour slot in advance at a cost of 295 DKK per person. The spa café also provides light snacks, with healthy as well as alcoholic drinks. The waterfront was also part of the third stage of Tour de France in 2022. It's a short walk along the waterfront to Sønderborg fortress, and in July you may see the royal yacht berthed there, since the queen regularly spends some time in the summer at Gråsten castle about 10 km west of Sønderborg. But do not expect over the top staffing and service with valet parking, bell hops to carry your baggage, a professional concierge desk and you might find at Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton. But it is a top-notch excellent hotel with a modern Danish minimalistic design, I would probably consider this the best hotel in Denmark outside Copenhagen.