Kempinski Club 1897
Grand European hotels, since 1897.
Kempinski dates from 1897, which makes it the oldest luxury hotel group in Europe. It runs 80+ hotels and resorts in 35+ countries, and many of them are single landmark buildings rather than chain hotels: Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is one; Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, once an Ottoman imperial palace on the Bosphorus, is another. The group’s pride is European workmanship and service.
Club 1897 is Kempinski’s programme for accredited luxury travel advisors. It works by invitation, and LVXVRY is among the advisors who can use it for you.
We deal with the hotel ourselves, from the reservation to your arrival notes, so the staff know you are a Club 1897 guest and the privileges are ready when you check in.
- Breakfast for two each morning
- A credit to spend in the hotel, where it takes part
- A room upgrade, availability permitting
- An early room on arrival and a later departure, availability permitting
- VIP treatment and a welcome amenity
Fixed privileges and day-of extras
Two things are set by Club 1897 and come with every qualifying booking: breakfast for two each day and the hotel credit. The upgrade and the early or late room are not fixed. The hotel grants them from the rooms it has on the day, so we request them ahead of time and let the hotel confirm.
Where we book it most
These are the Kempinski hotels our clients return to most often, each covered in our destination portraits.
Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul in Istanbul, Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski München in Munich, Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski in St. Moritz, Kempinski Hotel The Dome Belek in Antalya and Kempinski Hotel Bahía, Marbella Estepona on the Costa del Sol.
Which rate to book
Kempinski attaches Club 1897 to a short list of advisor rates. In most cases we book the flexible public one; for some dates a pay-ahead version also works. Anything discounted for members, paid up front without refund, bundled into a package, agreed for a company, sold as a promotion or booked with points falls outside the programme.
That does not make those other prices wrong for you. We look at the whole range the hotel offers on your nights and tell you honestly which works out cheaper or more useful, even if it is not a booking we make.
GHA DISCOVERY and Club 1897
Kempinski is part of GHA DISCOVERY. Give us your member number and we put it on the reservation; the front desk then sees your tier, and the stay earns whenever the rate counts. Should your tier and Club 1897 overlap, say on breakfast, you get the richer version once.
Questions we hear
- Is there a fee for Kempinski Club 1897?
- None at all. The hotel bills you its own rate when you leave, and Club 1897 adds nothing to it.
- Which rates include the privileges?
- Mainly the flexible public rate offered to advisors, plus a pay-ahead version on some dates. Member, non-refundable, package, company, promotional and points prices are left out.
- Is everything on the list certain?
- Two items are: daily breakfast for two and the credit. A bigger room, an early key or a later departure rest on how full the hotel is, so you will hear about them at the desk.
- Will GHA DISCOVERY count the stay?
- It will, if the rate counts. We enter your number when we make the reservation, so nothing needs doing at check-in.
Last reviewed 31 August 2026. Kempinski writes the rules of Club 1897 and may revise them whenever it likes, so each time you enquire we check the current terms for that hotel, those nights and that price.
Plan a Kempinski stay with LVXVRY
Tell us when you want to travel and which hotel interests you. We reply with the rate that qualifies and what comes with it.
Enquiry — Kempinski Hotels
We advise on the hotels in this collection and book each stay directly with the hotel.
The enquiry opens your e-mail programme — nothing you enter is stored on this page.
For the whole story of this group, its hotels, approach and rivals, plus a candid note on who it does not suit, read the Library entry.