I would allow at least 3 hours. We were there last June and the lines were long and slow. The Stiegenberger Airport Hotel is nice with a bus to the airport every 30 minutes. The price is about 120 euros a night.

Flying towards the US it's rather 3 hrs you should be there in advance.

As long as you don't stay directly at the Sheraton hotel at the airport it plays no big role if you stay in one of these "airport" hotels and use a shuttle bus or if you stay in the city centre near the main train station (S-Bahn train need 11 minutes from there to Terminal 1).

http://www.hrs.com

3 hrs... great. There's nothing like leaving for the airport at 5:00am!

Thank you for the replies

Just a follow-up to reflect actual experience...

You ABSOLUTLEY DO NOT need to be at FRA 3 hours in advance for a first flight out at 8:25am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As advised on this board, I showed up at 5:30am for my 8:25am flight only to find that UAL/Lufthansa check-in desks don't even open until 6:00 !!!

Needless to say, my family was not happy as I am sure were not the people at my hotel who had to listen to us tramp around at 4:00am getting ready to leave, etc.

Maybe a later flight might require 3 hours, but the first flights out of FRA all had minimal check-in lines (regardless of airline) and security took all of 5 minutes! Spending 3 hours in the lousy FRA airport was not a great way to end an otherwise nice trip.