GRETA GARBO “SLEEPS” AT BERLIN’S HOTEL ADLON – Travel Social History: Greta Garbo and many celebrities stayed at the HOTEL ADLON Kempinski. The finest hotel in BERLIN. One of the great hotels of the world.  Berlin was a port of call by train in 1929 — after sailing from New York to Germany aboard the SS BREMEN.

Garbo and Mauritz Stiller aboard ship on way to Germany where they stayed at the Adlon.

The restored Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin.

Greta Garbo and many celebrities stayed at the beautifully restored HOTEL ADLON Kempinski.  Still the finest hotel in BERLIN.  The Adlon is one of the great hotels of the world.   Located in the very heart of Berlin, right by the Brandenburg Gate and in the immediate vicinity of the Reichstag, which houses the German Parliament, one of the world’s most illustrious luxury hotels in all its majestic splendor cordially welcomes its guests: not only is the Hotel Adlon a legend in its own time, it was – just like the famous Pariser Platz on which it is built – a witness of Germany’s eventful and turbulent history of the 20th century.

History of the Hotel Adlon Kempinski

On October 24, 1907 the Vossische Zeitung in Berlin reported: “Yesterday, His Majesty the German Emperor, Her Majesty the German Empress, the Princesses and the Princes visited the impressive building of the Hotel Adlon and paid their tribute to that site.” From this day on the history of the Hotel Adlon began taking its course – the history of a hotel which was built with the support of Emperor Wilhelm II, and which within three years would become the most beautiful and most luxurious hotel in the world.

The founder of the hotel was Lorenz Adlon, the son of a shoemaker from the city of Mainz. His professional career, however, did not begin with the hotel trade. In 1872 he finished his first apprenticeship as a carpenter.

His master was the well-known manufacturer Bembé, who later made the interior of the Hotel Adlon. During his apprenticeship as a carpenter, Lorenz Adlon had already begun to work in the catering business. He had his first experience catering for a large crowd in 1876, during festivities such as the Marksman Festival. By 1888 his reputation had grown to the point where he was put in charge of the catering for the World Fair of 1888 in Amsterdam. For the first time the name “Adlon” gained international recognition. [Read more...]