List of hotel chains for your next city trip

A list of cool hotel chains that I have come across over the years. For inspiration for myself, but also useful for your next city trip. I will mention whether I have already tested the hotel chain and in which city exactly. I can definitely recommend the ones I tested (otherwise I won't mention them). But if you have a question about one of the hotels I have already tested, you can always contact me personally.

25hours hotels

• Locations: Berlin, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Florence, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Paris, Vienna and Zurich
• Member discount? they joined the ALL – Accor Live Limitless loyalty programme and also give a discount via their socials and newsletter
• Instagram? @25hourshotels
• Already tested? Yes, I have booked this hotel in Düsseldorf (in 2020)
  
  

Bunk hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam and Utrecht
• Member discount? Discount via their socials and newsletter
• Instagram? @wearebunk
• Already tested? Yes, I have booked this hotel in Utrecht (in 2019)
  
  

chic&basic

• Locations: Barcelona, Madrid and Porto
• Member discount? only via their website?
• Instagram? @chicandbasichotels
• Already tested? Yes, I have booked their chic&basic Born Boutique Hotel in Barcelona (in 2015)
  
  

Conscious hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam (multiple locations)
• Member discount? Yes, 10% discount for members
• Instagram? @conscioushotels
• Already tested? Yes, I have booked this hotel in Amsterdam City (in 2017)
  
  

Freehand hotels

• Locations: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York
• Member discount? Yes, 5% discount via their newsletter
• Instagram? @freehandhotels
• Already tested? No, not yet
  
  

Generator hotels & hostels

• Locations: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, Hamburg, Londen, Madrid, Miami, New York, Paris, Rome, Stockholm, Venice and Washington DC.
• Member discount? Yes, 5% discount if you book via their website
• Instagram? @staygenerator
• Already tested? Yes, I booked their hostel in London (private single room, in 2018)
  
  

Mama Shelter

• Locations: Belgrade, Bordeaux, Dijon, Dubaï, LA, Lille, Lisbon, London, Luxembourg, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Prague, Rennes, Rome and Toulouse
• Member discount? they joined the ALL – Accor Live Limitless loyalty programme
• Instagram? @mamashelter
• Already tested? No, not yet
   

Max Brown hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Milan and Vienna
• Member discount? Yes, 10% discount when you subscribe to their newsletter and 15% discount for members
• Instagram? @maxbrownhotels
• Already tested? No, not yet
  
  

MEININGER hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Bordeaux, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Frankfurt, Genève, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Innsbruck, Leipzig, Lyon, Marseille, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, Salzburg, Vienna and Zurich
• Member discount? Yes, 5% discount if you subscribe to their newsletter
• Instagram? @meininger_hotels
• Already tested? Yes, I booked their hotel in London (in 2016), their hotel in Copenhagen (in 2017), one of their hotels in Berlin (in 2020) and their hotel in Lyon (2023). Their hotel in London Hyde Park is unfortunately permanently closed.
  
  

Pentahotels

• Locations: Beijing, Berlin, Birmingham, Bremen, Brussels, Derby, Hong Kong, Leipzig, Leuven, Liege, Paris, Prague, Reading, Vienna, Wiesbaden and a lot more
• Member discount? Yes, 10% discount on your stay, food and drinks (if you sign up to be their friend)
• Instagram? @pentahotels
• Already tested? No, not yet
  
  

Pillows hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam, Baarlo, Brussels, Deventer, Ghent and Zwolle
• Member discount? Yes, 10% discount via their newsletter
• Instagram? @pillowshotels
• Already tested? No, not yet
  
  

Ruby hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, London, Munich, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich
• Member discount? Discount via their socials and newsletter
• Instagram? @rubyhotels
• Already tested? Yes, I booked this hotel in Hamburg (in 2020)

The Hoxton hotels

• Locations: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Chicago, Londen, Los Angeles, Paris, Portland, Rome and Williamsburg (NY)
• Member discount? Discount via their socials and newsletter
• Instagram? @thehoxtonhotel
• Already tested? No, not yet
  
  

The Social Hub (formerly known as The Student Hotel)

• Locations: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Delft, Den Haag, Eindhoven, Florence, Glasgow (in 2024), Groningen, Lisbon (in June 2026), Maastricht, Madrid, Paris, Porto (in 2024), Rome (in 2024), Rotterdam, San Sebastian (in 2024), Toulouse, Turin (in September 2025) and Vienna
• Member discount? Discount via their socials and newsletter. Discover their current deals on https://www.thesocialhub.co/current-promotions/. They also give a 50% discount when a new hotel opens!
• Instagram? @thesocialhub
• Already tested? No, not yet. But a colleague of mine did book their hotel in Bologna (in 2021) and he approves it!