The QVest Hideaway

The brainchild of designer Michael Kaune (owner of Qvest magazine), the hotel website professes to being a Qvest hideaway. It very much is: the minute you step into the small square in the shadow of the Basilica that houses the Qvest Hotel, you leave bustling Cologne behind. It is calm, serene, and extremely beautiful. The hotel itself is a former city archive hall, but the inside gives no hint of its past life. The welcome area and reception boast high stone ceilings and walls, giving an almost medieval feel from the neo-Gothic architecture, that sit alongside a selection of ornate furniture, photography and artworks. Directly opposite the reception, head up stairs and pass a neon sign on the wall, next to a huge glass bay window – oxymoronic, yet well suited, to its stone arching surroundings. Peruse the library (fashion tomes galore) and unassuming work space. Next, head down to the bar come breakfast room and enjoy a tasty German beer, or a delicious brunch served on the weekends – pastries, breads, eggs – the works. The lights in the bar are fun – they hang down low from the ceiling in bubble-like bulbs, as they might in a hipster cafe in East London. The grandiose nature of the building is not, however, reflected in the manner of the staff. They are friendly, diligent and know much to recommend in Cologne. Upstairs, all the rooms are different. Ours came complete with parquet flooring, a seriously comfortable big double bed, an interesting geometric design (the blinds fit the rhombus shaped window), excellent walk-in shower complete with stunning view of central Cologne and the neighbouring basilica. The room, had tastefully white walls but was peppered with lovely marble features (in the bathroom), skinny black metallic lamps, a beautiful black writing desk, and a leather bound mirror above the sink. Serious minimalism - proper design stuff!