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BerlinLast Updated : September 1, 2015

Prices

You’ll hear a lot about how Berlin is so cheap. That’s also a bit of a myth. The reality is that Berlin is, generally speaking, reasonably priced, but only cheap when compared to other European capitals like Paris and London, which are outrageously expensive. It’s not hard to get a nice hotel room in Berlin for under $200, which you certainly can’t do in Paris or London as a general rule. On the other hand, when a major convention, such as the annual conventions for consumer electronic devices, or communication technologies, comes to town, you’ll find that all those affordable hotel rooms quickly evaporate, and a nice room becomes just as expensive as in any capital city.  Food is also generally reasonably priced – but it’s not the gourmet dining you’ll find in London or Paris, so, to some degree, you get what you pay for. A taxi from Mitte to Potzdammer Platz will cost $10-15, and, again, that’s reasonable but no steal. Berlin is a fairly spread out city and going all the way across town could easily cost $40 or more.  Like anyplace in Europe (other than Great Britain)  how affordable it is will to some degree depend on the exchange rate for the euro.

Hotels

Potzdammer Platz Area  - Hotel Grand Wyndham, just opened in 2013, is a good business hotel. This is not a particularly interesting hotel, but it does have an interesting history - during the Second World War it was the central post office for Berlin.  This hotel is pretty generic, but the big, comfortable lobby is useful for meetings. Wifi is free in the lobby, but has to be paid for in the rooms.  The rooms tend to be small, but with nice bathrooms. Quiet location, but also dull; a few blocks walk to Potzdammer Platz. This is a fine choice if you’re here on business and you want something in a central location but a bit removed from distractions, but otherwise there’s no real reason to stay here.

The Hotel Mani is in our favorite general area, near Rosenthaler Platz, and the hotel oozes hipness, maybe because its so dark. There’s a cool restaurant and nice but small bar area, but the rooms are the size of small jail cells, and there’s no real separate bathroom. The shower door is clear and across from a mirror, which may be just fine for a sexy weekend with a lover but not so great if you’re sharing a room with a child. In any event, you really shouldn’t be sharing this room with anything other than your reflection, as they’re just way too small. This hotel is fine for meeting someone for a drink or dinner, but the rooms are just too small.

Interestingly, the same company that owns Hotel Mani also owns the Amano Hotel, which is a far better choice. The lobby is much bigger (although also often close to pitch black) and the rooms are much bigger, especially if you opt for an “apartment”, which gives far more space for a bit more money. Best of all, the location may be the best in Berlin, directly across from the coolest street in Berlin, Auguststrabe, and about a half mile from Museum Island, and generally in the heart of hipdom. But get a quiet room on the back of the hotel facing the cemetery; the rooms on the front face trams, which run all night on the weekend. Lots of good restaurant choices right around here as well; a cool Vietnamese place across the street with terrible service, a nice Japanese place a block away, a number of other cafes as well.

Only a couple blocks from the Hotel Amano you’ll find The Weinmeister, which is just working way too hard at being as hip as the hood its in. Some interior design fan just went wild here – they should have been stopped, by force if necessary.  First of all, the wildly painted doors barely appear to be doors at all, so if you can’t find the entrance you’re apparently just not cool enough to stay here. If you make it inside, you’ll see the lobby is filled with Alice in Wonderland chairs; maybe they just got a great deal on them. Huge beds dominates the rooms. There are too many doors and passcodes, and noise from multiple doors slamming as revelers return late at night. However, you’re only steps away from a small but cool absinthe bar, and if you have a few drinks there before you retire you’re not going to be bothered by any noises, or anything at all.

In this same general area, the Circus apartments are far and away the best choice; however make sure you’re booking the apartments; the same company also has a hotel and a hostel that are very close by, hitting all price points. But is the apartments that you want. The apartments are on Choriner StraBe, a quiet side street but only a block from the TorstraBe, which is the main drag . They have about 10 times as much space as the rooms at Mani, at the same price. They have very helpful, friendly staff, which is hired on the basis of attitude rather than experience or education.  There is a laundry in the basement which is a huge help if you’ve been traveling a while. Sort of amazingly, they have brand new iPads in the rooms. Everything is very clean, and the kitchens are stocked with plates, glasses, a microwave and a full sized frig.  A few of the apartments have great porches overlooking the street, but you really can’t go wrong with the rooms here. If you’re going to stay in the hip part of Mitte, the only reason not to stay here would be to be a few blocks closer to the action, in which case Hotel Amano is your best bet.

There are few reasons to stay In the area near the zoo; the Tiergarten makes for nice walks,  and there is  lots of shopping - although not much you won’ find elsewhere – and some fancy hotels. But if you do find yourself in this area, the Art Apartments in Kempinski Plaza are huge, but weird. Lots of space, but hard to find, no reception, no lobby, you must use a different elevator if you come home late, early checkout, and generally lots of hassles. There is no AC, which should only be a problem if it’s an unusually warm summer. We had a very nice housekeeper, but she had access to our in-room safe. We thought one of the points of in-room safes was to hide things from the cleaning staff?

A few blocks away, the Dormero Hotel Brandenburger is a five star hotel, although you would never know from the neighborhood. The very quiet and generally residential location isn’t really near anything, but a sketchy massage place. My $300 a night room was right over the kitchen, which kept me up all night.  But the room itself was fine, if not special, and they have a nice interior garden area.  Still, no real reason to stay here unless you get some special deal.

 

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