Berlin

Photo by flickr user temporalata

Berlin has 22 five-star luxury hotels competing for your business and there are now over three times the number of hotel rooms of all grades than there were when the Wall came down. So ask for a discount. Many of the new hotels are rather characterless tour group processors. But for people who mind about where they stay....for you...there are two very typically Berlin types of hotel to be tried. There are a number of pensions, often in converted pre-war apartment blocks, which have added modern touches that make them into something quite new, refreshing and comfortable. Askanischer Hof and Art Nouveau are examples that we like. There are others that have gone way down the designer route and have become art objects in themselves. Lux 11 is not so extreme, but will please the young and design-conscious. Brandenburger Hof caters for the same people once they have become successful. Traditionalists are well catered for...at a price. All in all the burgeoning hotel scene makes Berlin an even more desirable place to visit, both for the young (there is a vibrant club scene) and the not-so-young (the city is amazingly rich in culture, from museums to music). The order by which the hotels are listed bears no reflection on our preference.

Written by George Pownall