Located in the leafy Sachsenhausen district, the 163-room Villa Kennedy redefines luxury lodgings in the age of the boutique hotel. For starters, it gets service just right—staff are well drilled and well mannered, and rooms have a low-key but fun decor, with acid-green patterned pillows on neutral natural-fiber couches and chairs, along with beds with heavy linen sheets. The bar is one of the coolest avant or après addresses in town, and Gusto, the hotel's restaurant, turns in a top-drawer performance on regional Italian cooking. The centerpiece of the superb spa is a 15-meter green-granite lap pool with a window wall overlooking a garden.
When to go: June or September, to beat the summer heat.
Which room to book: Third-floor rooms overlooking the courtyard garden are sunniest and quietest; go for No. 317, 319, or 321, or splurge on a suite like No. 315.
Amenities:
24-hour Room Service,
Bar/lounge,
Gym,
Pool,
Spa