Berlin Travel Guide
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Autograph Collection Debuts In Germany With Hotel Am Steinplatz
Germany just became a little more appealing to Marriott Rewards members, as the brand announced yesterday it will be adding Berlin's Hotel Am Steinplatz to the Autograph Collection later this summer. That's even more reason to get excited about Berlin right now (aside from the fact that it's a kick-ass city), as Waldorf-Astoria just popped up there in January.
The Hotel Am Steinplatz building originally opened in 1907 with a design by August Endell (also responsible for Berlin's Hackesche Hoefe), though it didn't become a hotel until 1913. Which makes 2013 its one hundredth hotel-iversary. Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
To mark the occasion, Marriott's spruced the place up with an "extensive renovation," and the result is an 87-room property with 3 luxury suites, a restaurant, and a spa.
Knowing what we know about Autograph Collection (and having stayed at one in Budapest), we fully trust that the brand's German debut will be a stunner. The hotel is described as having once been "an exclusive meeting point for artists, writers, philosophers and even aristocratcy." Well. We'd expect nothing less.
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Get a Local Friend And A Place To Stay With Plus One Berlin
There’s been so much activity on the hotel app front this past year that we named it the Must-Have Hotel Amenity in our HotelChatter 2012 Awards. From booking stays and checking in, to ordering room service and finding things to do and see at your destination, it’s all a click away. There is of course the front desk or traditional concierge you can prod for more personal recommendations, but what to do when you are looking to get the true insider track on the city you’re visiting based on your own interests?
Enter the concept created by Plus One Berlin, which allows you to book time with one of over 30 locals and be their “plus one” when getting to know the city. Here’s how it all works.
Hotel Openings / Waldorf Astoria Hotels / Germany Hotels / Berlin Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Waldorf Astoria Aims High Opening in Berlin's Zoofenster Skyscraper
When we took an early look at the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam last week, we promised we’d follow up with more details on its sister hotel in Berlin, which is now officially open. Set within the brilliantly named Zoofenster skyscraper in West Berlin, the Waldorf Astoria Berlin first popped up on our radar four years ago this month.
We won’t spend much time dwelling on their missed 2011 opening and move right on to what you can expect at the 232-room hotel.
Hotels Under $100 / Berlin Hotels / Germany Hotels / Budget hotels - / → All Tags
1 Hotel Under $100: Hotel Pension-Funk, Berlin
There's travel talk everywhere about how expensive it'll be to fly and drive this summer, so there has to be some savings somewhere, yes? The most obvious place will be in hotel rates, and so our gift to you this week will be one hotel a day that comes in under $100 a night. Now, we're not saying every place will be of Ritz quality, because then it would be...well, the bloody Ritz. But the places will be nice enough for you to sleep at night.
Our Pick: Hotel Pension-Funk, Berlin
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8 Of Our Favorite Rooms Inside Berlin's Propeller Island City Lodge
No, this isn't the first time HotelChatter has taken a look at Berlin's art-tastic Propeller Island City Lodge, a collection of 34 rooms individually designed and crafted by German artist Lars Stroschen. But to end the week on a more positive note, we thought we'd re-visit one of our favorite odd hotels.
The themes at PICL, which range from "Prison Cell" and "Grandma's Room" to "The Upside Down Room" (above) and "Coffin Room," mostly draw on places where you'd never, ever want to sleep, but then again we've stayed at far more sensible (read: boring) hotels that charge way more per night.
Interestingly, rates here vary among the different rooms, so a night inside the Prison Cell will only set you back 79 EUR, while a night in the "Two Lions" suite, which, yes, comes with a cage, goes for 190 EUR. We browsed through the hotel's collection of photos and have picked out the ones that appeal most to us. And just for kicks, we put them into a gallery for you to look at.
Click below to take a peek at the odd, odder, and oddest rooms!
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Fancy Seeing You Here, Mr. Scuba Diver
We've written about the outstanding AquaDom at the Radisson Blu Berlin before but this snapshot of a scuba diver inside the cylindrical aquarium (the largest in the world) kinda cracks us up.
He looks like one of those fake diver dolls you drop in your home aquarium! Except this diver is doing some hard work--scrubbing clean the aquarium which houses tropical fish. Meanwhile, guests who want to go inside the aquarium will have to settle for riding up the elevator through the middle of the cylinder.
The aquarium is run by SeaLife Berlin next door which operates the elevator ride as well but hotel guests can get a special discount on admission--adult tickets are 11,50€ compared with 16,95€. Room rates at the Radisson, which come with free WiFi, start at 225€ a night.
[Photo: CorinnaWitt/HotelChatter Flickr Pool]
Reader Reviews / Berlin Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / → All Tags
What 'In-Your Face' Luxury Means at The Ritz-Carlton Berlin
Every so often we feature a hotel review from our readers that we feel should be shared with the rest of you dear hotel guests. These reviews are highlighted because they are timely, about cool hotels in cool places and are relatively level-headed. Think you can submit one just like this? Send it in.
Arrival & Check-in
Quick and efficient. The doorman has your suitcase inside before you finish paying the taxi (which is about 20 minutes and 20 euros from Tegel airport). The lady checking me in escorted me to the elevator to show me how to operate the keycard that is required to go up.
Only disappointment I had upon entering the room was two single beds - as a single business traveler two beds are pretty pointless. No luck in getting that changed though, not a king bed free in the house.
Snapshot / Hotel Housekeeping / Marriott Hotels / Berlin Hotels / → All Tags
Good to Know: The Marriott Berlin is Checking Under the Bed
While we're not quite sure what is going on with that ironing board in New Orleans, over in Germany, The Marriott Berlin hotel wants you to know that their housekeeping is doing a thorough job of cleaning--even under the bed. Another kind HotelChatter reader writes in:
When I got into my room on Monday and started to settle in, I saw something peeking out from under the bed. First reaction is of course: oh great, I wonder how long that has been there. When I looked closer I thought, hang on a minute - when I pulled it out much to my delight it's the note from housekeeping in the picture saying: "Yes, it's true, we look here too!". On the back are individually signed lines by each member of staff when they clean the room. How great is that? I hadn't seen it anywhere before, thought it was a neat thing to do.
This is a "neat" thing to do so now we can sleep comfortably knowing that there are no monsters or other scary things under the bed. We only wish they could do something about that WiFi situation. For more on the Marriott Berlin, read the HotelChatter review here.
Got a hotel snapshot you think we should see? Don't be shy, send it to us!!
Hotel Openings / Design Hotels / Germany Hotels / Berlin Hotels / Hotel News / → All Tags
Berlin's Newest Hotel Balances 'Brutal Living' with iMacs and a Rooftop Pool
The Germans may only have won third place at the World Cup, but they take first in our book when it comes to the funkiest new design hotels. And—speak of the devil—the Design Hotels chain has just opened up a new property right in Berlin-Mitte, a walk away from the very hip Hackescher Markt area.
Called the Weinmeister Berlin-Mitte, the new property (which debuted on July 6) calls its aesthetic "Brutal Living/Luxury Punk," and yet all 88 rooms look pretty cozy from the photographs we've seen.
Perhaps the "brutal" refers to the main facade of the building, which is a flat, gold modernistic one. The Weinmeister hopes it'll be called the "golden cage" as a result, but we think the locals will think of far better nicknames than that.
Hotel Openings / Soho House Hotels / Berlin Hotels / → All Tags
Soho House Berlin and Its 'Tiny' Rooms are Now Open
It looks like Soho House and its hotel rooms are on a major expansion kick. The Soho House West Hollywood opened earlier this year (but without hotel rooms) as did two new annexes in London--Dean Street Townhouse and Shoreditch--and Soho Beach House in Miami is expected to open in September.
But back on The Continent, it looks like Soho House has opened a new club and hotel Berlin as well. This photo shows a Damien Hirst shark "painting" in the hotel's lobby.
The good news is that rooms are quite affordable here starting at 100 Euros a night for non-members (members can get it for 75 Euros.) The bad news is that rooms are tiny and indeed that is the name of the starting room category, "Tiny." These rooms are also on the top of the hotel in the attic and boast a "dormitory feel." (Other room sizes are Small, Medium, Large and Extra-Large.) There's also only 40 guestrooms at the hotel so chances for availability are slimmer.
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Grand Theft Autobahn: Berlin Hotel Robbed During Poker Tournament
German police responding to an unrelated 1995 Berlin heist, as seen in "Masterminds: The Berlin Heist".
If they can wake up without a post-Oscars hangover this morning, Hollywood screenwriters could find the next big action caper writing itself with a little help from the headlines. A group of armed and masked bandits made off with a million-euro haul on Saturday after storming a poker tournament taking place at the Berlin Grand Hyatt in the middle of the day. German police said today that while the theft was captured on video, they still have no firm leads on the crooks.
The downtown hotel was home to a lineup of stars during the recent Berlin Film Festival, but the panic was real this weekend when the robbers toting machetes and guns forced hotel staff to hand over bags stuffed with cash. At least seven people were injured while trying to escape, according to reports.
Despite the attack—and the loss of part of the prize money—the five-day tournament organized by the European Poker Tour resumed again on Sunday.
[Photo: Crime and Investigation Network ]
Berlin Hotels / Hipster Hotels / Design Hotels / Budget Hotels / → All Tags
The Michelberger in Berlin: A Cross Between Hipster Hotel and Hostel
Whoa whoa whoa. Do we have a new Ace Hotel-like concept going on here? This hipster haven you see above is the recently opened Michelberger Hotel in Berlin, and it's looking pretty sweet and polished for a budget hotel concept. Or at least, that's how the group behind the place describe it:
The Michelbergerhotel is a budget hotel concept created by a group of friends, who had the idea to make the best hotel they could, the kind of hotel they’d like to stay in. A place that’s individual, charismatic, stylish, fun, rebellious and inexpensive, a place where anything goes, just like Berlin itself.
Yes, that lobby is super cool and decorated with repurposed books and magazines; yes, it has an awesome and individual website; and yes, the rooms actually fall in the budget category by beginning at 59 Euro a night. Where was this place when we found ourselves bedding down at the Marriott Berlin in May?!
