The place began its life as a crew hotel for the pilots of the Berlin Airlift.
     Frankfurt International Airport’s InterCity Hotel, located in Cargo City Süd, is a compact place steeped in character, with every corner echoing a time long since gone.
     Of course the hotel is completely updated, but it still retains a rich history that sets it apart from other local stays.

Breakfast of Champions

     Everything about this experience is stellar, including the “hackfleisch,” which is served daily as an elegant, piquant combination of bratwurst and spices, with beef and raw sweet onion served as a tartar (mett).
     The hackfleisch sits innocently enough near the cold cuts on the breakfast buffet.
     But I promise, one bite will tell you why you have taste buds.
     Restaurant Fluggi is bright and cheerful, in classic “good morning” colors, and it is usually filled with Asiana crew who bring a certain feeling of the excitement and expectation of flight.
     And oh! The food . . .
     Eggs any way you like them, always hot and fresh, and coffee freshly brewed from several machines in any configuration you can imagine.
     Crepes, pancakes, waffles, and stewed tomatoes, rice, bacon, sausages, and oatmeal, a dozen cheeses, cold cuts, and breads winding around and half way up a column centered in the middle of everything.
     Broad windows offer a super view outside while you are dining; one of the most important aviation artifacts of the world is on display for the public, sustained by this lovely, small hotel.
     In the center of an outdoor garden sits a column with a stylized globe of the world, bands of aircraft encircling it, atop which a bird of peace holds a gilded olive branch in its beak.
     The view is both beautiful and inspirational.
     Once upon a time in 1933, until the redevelopment of Frankfurt International Airport, the column was situated in the center of all the action at the FRA outdoor restaurant. It was a bit higher then.
     Credit Anton Wüstefeld for both building a better breakfast than many people have ever seen in a public place and creating a dreamlike atmosphere of relaxation and enjoyment.
     Herr Wüstefeld is general manager of Intercity Frankfurt in Cargo City Süd.
     He is in every sense an “olde world innkeeper,” keeping his eye on every detail and taking nothing for granted.
     InterCity not only permits their guest to pack up a snack from the breakfast buffet, but also provides the bags and wrapping paper—a rather endearing touch.
     “Families with a stopover night in Frankfurt especially appreciate the opportunity to pack a snack, which their little ones can munch on while going through security or waiting at the gate,” Anton confides.
     But as you might guess, he is no pushover either.
     This place sings, from its spotless rooms (small, compact, and efficient) and corridors to the aforementioned restaurant Fluggi, to the airport’s most inviting and cozy saloon, The JU52, with its old airline pictures and artifacts and Harry, JU52’s legendary bartender.
     Last time we were there, Intercity Cargo City Süd was packed, with meetings occurring everywhere.
     It seems word is getting out.
     So can a Berlin Airlift-era USAF hotel find a spot in the hearts and minds of the 21st century world?
InterCity has done just that and in the rubber-stamped era, this place looks better every day.
     Typically downplaying himself, Mr. Anton confides:
     “It’s all about the location.”
     But we say it is also about knowing what to do wherever you are, and on that score the big hostels up and down the strip could learn a lesson from InterCity.
     InterCity is conveniently located 500 meters off highway exit “Cargo City Süd/Moerfelden” of the German Autobahn A7. You simply can’t miss it.
     InterCity is also just a few 100 meters walking distance (or a few minutes by airport bus) away from the offices and warehouses that form the Cargo City South of Frankfurt Airport—the part of the airport where 75 percent of its cargo is not just handled, but also administrated.
     Handlers Fraport Cargo Services, LUG, Celebi, and WfS as well as the major airlines, trucking companies, and other cargo-related businesses reside there.

More than just location

     But of course, while the location is important, there are a multitude of other factors attracting more than cargo-related businessmen on a regular basis, to which a considerable number of semi-permanent and long-term guests bear witness:

Rooms With A View

     The rooms are small, bright, cheerful, and nicely furnished (with a desk, office chair, and equipment that actually make productive work possible).
     A huge business center as well as laundry rooms much appreciated by longstay guests ease the burden on those deployed for considerable lengths of time.

Bring Your Ciggies

     About 30 percent of the hotel’s 360 rooms are smoking rooms.
Unlike what you find in some other parts of the world, these rooms are as well appointed, immaculately clean, and cozy as those for non-smoking guests.
     “Less and less people smoke,” Mr. Wüstefeld points out, “but those who still do really stick to it. I can’t see any reason to make the stay for any of our guests inconvenient or miserable, as long as the non-smoking guests are not inconvenienced,”—which they aren’t.

More Upgrades

     Unlike most other hotels, the InterCity Frankfurt is just four stories high, which means that all windows can be fully opened, allowing the smoking rooms to be aired out.
     InterCity Cargo City Süd, with utilization in excess of 80 percent and 120,000 guests annually, proves that Mr. Wüstefeld and his team must be doing something right.
     Intercity will complete further upgrades of the rooms and facilities effective February 1st, 2015, for about 5.5 million Euros (US $7.29 million).
     And in case you haven’t heard, the thumbs-up has been given to go ahead with the expansion of the airport and begin construction of terminal 3.
     The hotel has already planned to expand by another 400 rooms and 800 beds, having acquired the necessary property rights adjacent to the existing hotel back in 1999.

Sustainability & Goofing With The Bees

      Speaking another politically incorrect truth, more than a few airline professionals (and not only those from the cargo section) may have grown a bit weary of hearing about carbon footprints while gladly supporting another sustainable and environmentally friendly mandate.
     True sustainability, to our mind, is when you can’t see and won’t notice the changes: things simply work.
     For example, the roof of the InterCity Hotel is covered with green moss that filters, rainwater and channels it into tanks where it is used for anything but tap water (toilets and alike).
     You may encounter another nice touch on the breakfast table:
     House-made honey is available, produced by hundreds of thousands of honey bees who occupy the hotel’s roof, producing enough of a crop that travellers can even purchase a bottle for carry away.
     Both the honeybees and the green space farm on the InterCity roof have existed since 1995, way before the go-green mantra reached deeply into the airline business.
     Suspend disbelief: there really is a lovable, enjoyable airport-adjacent hotel!
     In fact, we feel confident saying InterCity Cargo City Süd Frankurt is the best cargo area hotel on earth.
     Here’s hoping we see you there.
Geoffrey/Jens/Flossie