Offenburg Hotel Liberty

OFFENBURG | GERMANY

Hotel Liberty A place where history becomes pleasure

At Hotel Liberty in Offenburg, the concept of freedom is redefined. That’s because the hotel is located in a former prison for radical visionaries and pioneers of freedom and democracy. The team from KnoblauchDesign is responsible for the transformation from a dreary prison to a fascinating design hotel. Thus, the historical and sensitive heritage of the building was rethought with the right portion of comfort and lightness and a careful handling of existing substance. Retreat, concentration and the moment are also needs of our contemporary society and form the philosophical basis of the design concept.

The hotel with its total of 38 exceptional rooms and suites consists of two separate buildings and a new intermediate building. The rooms and suites are distributed in the buildings, while the public area with restaurant, bar and lobby is located in the large glass cube sitting in between. On the one hand, it is a visual link between the two hotel wings, but it also symbolises the former prison yard. On an intermediate level, a living room for the hotel guests was built in, based on the former common room of the prisoners. Many robust materials and dark, rough surfaces are used throughout the hotel. Many of the former cells have been connected to create more spacious rooms. The thick original walls and steel doors do not let the history of the building be forgotten, but they create a new definition of cosiness and combine with the expectations of the discerning guest. Fine parquet flooring and multiple vaults made of historic bricks, mouldings hidden in the walls now flood the old structures with warm light. Large, freestanding bathtubs and exquisite fittings as well as noble interiors turn the rooms into cosy oases of wellbeing paired with uniqueness.

A place of comfort can also be found in the “Water & Bread” restaurant with open grill, serving contemporary local and international cuisine, while the White & Brown Bar on the mezzanine floor offers local fruit brandies, gin specialities and homemade rum from Baden and many other specialities in a stylish ambience. Outstanding wines and small delicacies can also be tasted in the historic vaulted cellar.