Thies Sponholz has quietly helped reshape the way international travellers look at Hamburg. As General Manager of The Fontenay, the city’s most design-forward contemporary address, he has been instrumental in turning the lakeside property into a reference point for modern, aesthetically driven luxury since it opened in 2018. That long-term vision has now been recognised with one of the industry’s most respected accolades: Hotelier of the Year 2026 from ahgz, Germany’s leading hotel trade publication. In the wake of the announcement, I had the opportunity to sit down with Sponholz to discuss what it takes to build a design-worthy luxury hotel that feels both culturally rooted and internationally compelling.
