Berlin - hotel suggestions

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PetPal

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Has anybody visited Berlin and, if so, can you recommend a hotel. We have not visited Berlin before, and intend going for a week in March (using the Aer Lingus cheap flights currently available). We are looking at hotels on the internet, but would prefer to get the views of AAM posters .... if anybody has stayed in a reasonably good hotel in Berlin, close to centre, easily accessible from airport, then perhaps you could let me have the hotel name. Also, would you advise me on places to go, things to see etc. Many thanks.
 
I would recommend the Park Inn at Alexanderplatz as a good central place to stay. The view from the 37th floor is rather spectacular.
The en suite arrangement is rather weird as it's no more than a glass booth so if you're the bashful type bear this in mind.
It's convenient as it's right beside the station for Schonefeld & also for the U & S bahns. It's only a €2.10 fare straight from the airport on the train.

Look out for special deals though...it'll get cheaper if you leave it till nearer your time of travel as it's a huge hotel. A double/twin should be roughly €90 per night B& B. Check it out on the internet yourself. I think I got the best deal through www.otel.com

It's not a spectacular hotel as places go but it's for the convenience I'd recommend it.


You can walk to Museum Island from here & Unter den Linden.

It's a fascinating city especially if you're at all interested in history. Take one of the Absolute walking tours from Hopensacken (?) market. I did the main sights inclusive tour which really gives you a good grasp of the city & takes you to all the main places like the Brandenburg Gate & Checkpoint Charlie etc.
 
I was in Berlin at the beginning of December and stayed at the GoldenTulip Hotel Hamburg. . Great quiet location. About a 10 minute straight walk from the train station from the airport. Close to the KaDeWe store, an absolute must to visit, 5th floor food hall and 6th floor restaurant. This hotel was great. I think we booked it through www.Octopustravel.com during one of their 10% off sales. We upgraded to a superior room that came in at about €85 for a double including breakfast. Huge room, tea and coffee, two seater couch etc. Spotlessly clean. Pleasant staff, good breakfast. Right outside the hotel you can get the number 100 bus that for €2 will take you to the Brandenburg Gate area including the Reichstag. From here it is a short walk to Checkpoint Charlie, Jewish Museum and the surviving memorial of the Berlin Wall. I would definitely go back to this hotel again and I am hard enough to please...
 
Thanks for the hotel suggestions - I've had a look at both, as well as some others. As I don't know a huge amount about Berlin attractions (apart from the obvious "wall"), would either of you recommend any particular sights? I've been looking on the internet and there are many sightseeing tours recommended. I imagine that the city bus tour is probably a good place to start - I've heard it's very good. Any other suggestions? We're thinking of going for a week. Is that too long? Not long enough?
 
Berlin is a big city, pop of 3m+, so a week is ok. Lots to see and do.

First of all, check www.accorhotels.com for hotels. They have 34 in Berlin. I entered the 1st March 2007 into their website and got this:

[broken link removed]

I stayed in the Berlin Mercure an der Charite for 45 per room per night. This is a 3*, nice room, not huge. Good location, 25m from a tram stop and U-Bahn station.

It is 414 euro for 6 nights from 1st March.
 
Hi PetPal,
It really depends on your interests. I'm a self confessed history nut & for me Berlin is fascinating for that reason. Nowhere else in the world can you find a city that was literally divided in two & it's very evident looking at the architecture etc.

Apologies but Absolute walks is actually in Budapest ! The tour group I had in mind was www.berlinwalks.de I went on 2 different tours with them :- Discover Berlin & the Nest of Spies. Their guides are excellent & give you a really indepth tour. I went on a bus tour also which I didn't find near as good but perhaps if the weather is bad, it might be a better choice.

If you're there for a week I believe San Soucis is a beautiful place to visit. I hadn't time unfortunately.

If you only visit one museum, make it the Pergamon. They have the old gates of Bablyon. It's a huge place !

If it's shopping or nightlife I'd be useless for suggestions, though I believe they've plenty of both. I went with a preconceived notion that the Germans were stuffy & unfriendly & I must say they couldn't have been more helpful, so I came home with much changed views.

If you feel like splurging out a bit, have a cup of coffee in the Hotel Adlon in front of the Brandenburg Gate. It's an experience of old world luxury !

Also go to the glass dome on the Reichstag if you get a chance - everytime I tried queues were very long - the views from up there are supposed to be great.

Whatever you decide to do I believe you'll have a wonderful time. It's a really vibrant city. I've been to Berlin a few times & there are still lots of things I haven't gotten to see yet, so you'll certainly fill in a week no problem.I was there in early December & the Christmas markets were just magical.
 
Perplexed, you've hit the nail on the head. We are history buffs also. We like culture, architecture, history. No interest in night-life or shopping whatsoever. You make it sound wonderful, and your tips will be very useful I'm sure. I think hubbie would very much enjoy that hotel in front of the Brandenburg Gate, just to soak up the atmosphere. When we were in South Africa recently (Cape Town) we went to a very "posh" hotel for 'afternoon tea' (can't remember the name of it, but Collonial type of thing - would remind you of 'Gone with the Wind'), and it was just a lovely experience. You have been a great help, thanks. I'm sure we'll have a ball.
 
Things to see:

Brandeburg Gate
Tiergarten
Reichstag
Holocaust memorial
Few bits of the Berlin wall remaining
Checkpoint Charlie
French and German churches in Gendarmarkt
Berlin Cathedral
Altes Museum
Pergamon museum
plus all the other museum on the Museuminsel (island)
Funkturm (TV tower near Alexanderplatz)
Potsdamer platz
Alexander platz
Jewish synagoge and museum on Orianburger strasse
All the various districts, e.g. Mitte, Prenzlaur Berg, Kreuzberg, Charlottenburg, etc.
The half-bombed church

And loads more.............

Very good public transit. The 100 and 200 bus routes are just normal bus routes, but double up as sightseeing routes.

The metro, tram and bus operator is www.bvg.de. A day pass for the AB zone is 5.80, or a 3-day pass with discounts on certain attractions is 19.90.
 
We stayed in the Arc Hotel up on Oranienburger Str. Funky art deco place, would highly recommend it but not for a historic atmosphere. It was however next to one of those old decaying bullet holed buildings with a club and a bar in it, an art exhibition of burnt out buses and helicopters out the back.
 
I was in Berlin a few weeks before Christmas and stayed in the Relexa Hotel on Anhalter Strasse. Lovely hotel (breakfast included), which is very central. Within walking distance of Potsdam Platz (5mins) and checkpoint charlie (10mins). Nearest train station is 2mins from the hotel.
 
I stayed with my wife and three kids at the Hotel Pension Bregenz http://www.hotelbregenz-berlin.de/ We did a lot of research and took account of the reviews on While on a budget, we want a good standard of accomodation.

Two great rooms, both en suite. Good breakfasts. The hotel is in a good residential area just off the Kurfurstendamm and is very central. The 109 bus is a short walk away to Olivaer Platz which is 10 minutes away from the Zoologisher Garten bus hub. there are two great restaurants - an Italian on the same street and the superb Vogelweide (Austrian) on the street behind. If travelling from Schoenefeld Airport (Aer Lingus) you can take the S9 S-Bahn to Savigny-Platz and walk to the hotel in 10-15mins. This is not the Ritz, but, in our opinion is a better type of hotel for families and for chilling out. It is the standard of a very good Irish B & B, but, with more privacy and a great deal less expensive. Check it out.

Reviews:-


Berlin is a great city.
 
"Also go to the glass dome on the Reichstag if you get a chance - everytime I tried queues were very long - the views from up there are supposed to be great." Totally agree, the look of the queue can be very offputting, but moves very quickly, from the glass dome (designed by Norman Foster) you see directly into parliment, the idea being German parliment is open and transparant now. Buy a museum pass, Berlin has double the musuems, opera houses, theatres of other cities, many of them scarred by bullet and shrapnel holes! Most museums closed on Monday. The Story of Berlin exhibition on the Ku'dam is worth visiting. If possible stay in the Eastern part of the city, for the cute traffic signals if nothing else.
 
Would recommend the Swissotel on the Ku'dam, very good deals available also. Recommend taking hop on/off bus tour on day one to get your bearings. There are several companies doing this. Also don't miss the food hall (floor 9 I think) in KaDeWe dept store. this is just fantastic, sample all kinds of food and drink from the world here, seriously unmissable ! Great city, have a good time.
 
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