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Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin's Gift Shop Overflows With Pricey Products

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Unter den Linden 77, Berlin, Germany, 10117
June 2, 2009 at 8:57 AM | by | Comments (0)

It may be the Berlin hotel of choice for visiting dignitaries, like Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama, and it may occupy a sweet spot next to the Brandenburg Gate, but the Hotel Adlon Kempinski suffers from a serious case of inflated ego.

Perhaps they'd remember that it was out of their windows that Michael Jackson dangled his baby? Or maybe they'd take a second look at their less than 5-star website? But no, the Hotel Adlon sure loves itself and knows that when you pay some 1,900 Euro for one night, you too are head over heels for their snooty exclusivity.

For the reason that the Adlon simply can't imagine that their guests would stay with them and be able to continue living without a hotel-monogrammed cheeseboard, you will find the hotel's very own store around the corner on Wilhelmstrasse. If you think the W Hotels' stores are a bit much, then please stay away from the Adlon.

Similar to entering a ritzy curio shop, where touching anything would summon a gloved associate to replace the item, the Adlon store is all about getting into your wallet. Like Westin, you can purchase the bedding of the Adlon, or its room furniture. But that's not all— fancy dropping another 4,000 Euro on a Berlin-made Askania watch? Maybe you'll find an audio history of the hotel more to your liking; it's just the thing to accompany a 20 Euro, 2 GB flash drive engraved with the hotel's logo—that's so last year's hot free promotional giveaway item.

While we're well aware that a hotel wouldn't be selling this stuff if there wasn't a market for it, we're still surprised that the Adlon can get away with such a boringly uppity selection. It's almost like if Skymall offered a special version for first class passengers, complete with cigars. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything at the Hotel Adlon shop; we've already got a very nice wine bottle opener, thank you very much, and we didn't stay in a 2,000 Euro+ suite overseas to find it.

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