Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts is known for its chic European flair, sophisticated aesthetics, and commitment to culture and art. One of its most celebrated initiatives, Au Soleil, captures the essence of the quintessential summer experience, savoring everything that comes with luxurious leisure under the sun. Au Soleil brings the enchanting spirit of a European summer to life worldwide, offering guests in every locale a chance to bask in the sun-soaked ambiance of the Côte d’Azure. I recently flew to northern Germany to immerse myself in all things Au Soleil at Le Méridien Hamburg on the summer solstice. Hamburg experienced only three hours of total darkness, and here’s what I discovered.

© Marriott International

Arriving in Le Méridien Hamburg’s lakefront lobby, I was greeted by an enormous sundial flanked by eye-popping yellow and white floral arrangements, heralding my change in time zone, not just from New York to Hamburg, but to Au Soleil Time (AST), a symbolic ethos eschewing classic time and confirming summer and even sunshine are merely mindsets. As Au Soleil evolves from a summer program to a year-round celebration of the elegant simplicity of carefree living, life becomes a bit more relaxed.

At its core, Au Soleil is about celebrating the spirit of travel and exploration at its most effortless. It encapsulates this philosophy by encouraging guests to embrace the leisurely, sun-kissed lifestyle of the French Riviera through simple moments of quiet joy, from playing classic seaside games to sipping rosé. Newer to the program is the Sorbet Sidecar offering, which launched in 2023 and sees sorbet carts dishing scoops into glass cones placed delicately atop a stemless glass of rosé — two favorite summer moments combined into one blissful experience.

© Marriott International

On the eve of the solstice, we eased into Au Soleil Time with a 15-course dinner at the hotel’s top-floor restaurant with floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking sailboats flitting about Lake Alster below. As courses lingered long into the night, we learned to lose track of time. In the morning, sun salutations were offered on the rooftop terrace for those eager to greet the sun on its longest day. I slept in. The famous Sorbet Sidecar cart made an appearance in the lobby in the afternoon, but the main event was the AST launch party in the evening.

Featuring signature cocktails and a chic spread of elevated breakfast-for-dinner bites (Remember: Time doesn’t matter here.), the sun managed to steal the show from the terrace of Heritage, the rooftop bar. Hamburg isn’t typically known for its sunny skies, but it blazed bright all day and eased its way down with a dazzling display of vibrant oranges turning to vibrant pinks reflecting across the lake, before settling on deep purples for dusk. It seemed a bold choice to host a sun-worshipping party in an infamously gray city, but it paid off magnificently, only proving the point Au Soleil exists whenever and wherever you want it.