The Best Places To Sleep In Berlin
The Best Places To Sleep In Berlin

The Best Places To Sleep In Berlin

Compared to the other great cities of Europe, Berlin’s hotel prices are competitive – but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality. From famous old names like the Adlon Kempinski to arty recent openings like the Chateau Royal, these are the best places to stay in the German capital…
Image: CHATEAU ROYALE
Waldorf Astoria
Waldorf Astoria

Sir Savigny (£)

The conceit here is that you’re in the home of Sir Savigny, a famous old epicurean. It pays to play along. Occupying a 19th-century residential building with a small garden out back, the hotel has an intimate feel, with just 47 rooms and suites. The lobby is a place you’ll want to spend time, while the Butcher restaurant does exactly what it promises – bedrooms even have a ‘ring for burger’ button. 

Visit SirHotels.com

Kater Apartments (£)

Kater looks after a host of self-catering apartments across the city – some actually offer breakfast if you’re not quite ready for all-out independence. Its suites, studios and group-sized properties all share a clean, unfussy aesthetic that makes for easy temporary living. Wi-fi and kitchen facilities come as standard. You just need to decide where you want to base yourself – whether that’s cool Kreuzberg, lively Schöneberg or smart Wilmersdorf. 

Visit NumaStays.com

Chateau Royal
Chateau Royal

Waldorf Astoria (££)

At the southwestern tip of the Tiergarten, the Waldorf Astoria is also a gateway to Berlin’s well-to-do City West district. Many of Europe’s biggest fashion houses have their German flagships within walking distance. There’s another big-name inside the hotel – Guerlain has its only spa in Germany on the fifth floor. Ten floors further up this tower property, the Lang bar is named for the great film director Fritz Lang and oozes old-school charm, whether there’s live jazz or not. All rooms and suites have retro touches and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Visit Hilton.com

SO/ Berlin Das Stue (££)

On the southern edge of the Tiergarten, this design-led hotel makes quite a splash. The impressive lobby of this 1930s building retains its original marble staircase. More recently, the hotel’s public spaces have been filled with animal art – inspired, surely, by the zoo next door. There’s a Michelin-starred tasting menu on offer at Cinco, or the Casual Restaurant for something a little more… relaxed. The Stue Bar has a terrace looking onto the zoo’s ostriches. As for the little touches, it’s Diptyque in the bedrooms, while the first-class spa is full of Susanne Kaufmann. 

Visit So-Berlin-Das-Stue.com

Chateau Royal
Chateau Royal

Gorki Apartments (££)

These serviced apartments all sit within a 19th-century building in Mitte – an area that’s loaded with enough restaurants and bars for you not to miss the usual hotel facilities that are absent here. You’ll still get a glass of fizz on arrival, and the concierge is a WhatsApp message away. The apartments run from small to spacious, and all are comfortable in their classical good looks. The two penthouses have their own roof decks. 

Visit GorkiApartments.com

Telegraphenamt (££)

Telegraphenamt occupies a grand telegraph office in Mitte that dates from 1910. Inside, it embraces so many of the design styles that have come after the original building went up – look for art-deco flourishes amid the clean modernist lines and even a bit of post-industrial austerity. The overall effect is striking – and befits a city that has been built, rebuilt and rebuilt again. The hotel’s Root restaurant is similarly cosmopolitan, using local ingredients to deliver Asian-influenced menus. A Japanese bakery is slated to open in 2024, offering sushi alongside its baked goods.

Visit Telegraphenamt.com

Telegraphenamt
Telegraphenamt

Chateau Royal (££)

This 2023 opening has slotted smoothly into the very centre of the city, one street back from Unter den Linden, close to the Brandenburg Gate. Like so many of the best hotels in Berlin, it channels the city’s fin-de-siecle heyday to create a classic yet contemporary feel – picture parquet flooring and colourful marble surfaces. Menus at the in-house restaurant run the length of the Med. Close by on the ground floor, there’s a decent cocktail bar. Winters in the city are cold – that’s why there’s also a fireside lounge.

Visit ChateauRoyalBerlin.com

KPM Hotel (££)

KPM is best known in Germany as a storied porcelain maker, but you wouldn’t necessarily glean this from a tour of its smartly contemporary hotel close to the Tiergarten park. Architects Axthelm Rolvien have matched a modern glass building to on-point wood and concrete interiors – with just a few nods to KPM’s heritage included. The in-house restaurant, for example, focuses on crowd-pleasing south-east Asian cuisine like summer rolls or sashimi served on some very fine porcelain.

Visit KPMHotel.de

Hotel Zoo (££)

This design hotel sits right on the Kurfürstendamm. Known locally as the Ku’damm, it might be Berlin’s most famous street – a wide, two-mile-long boulevard embellished with big-name boutiques from Chanel to YSL. Close to the eastern end, Hotel Zoo makes an impression of its own with Diane von Fürstenberg carpets, Tom Dixon chairs and art by Andreas Kock. Its Grace Bar has speakeasy appeal, then there’s the Rooftop for summer months, and a restaurant turning out international modern classics like miso black cod. Service is good and rooms are just what you need them to be after a busy day on the Ku’damm.

Visit HotelZoo.de

KPM Hotel
KPM Hotel

Hotel Am Steinplatz (££)

Brigitte Bardot used to stay at Hotel Am Steinplatz when she was in town, and you can still see why. It’s an art-nouveau beauty tucked away on a quiet square within easy reach of the Tiergarten and all that surrounds it. Today, sleek monochrome rooms have all mod cons, and there’s a well-equipped fitness centre and spa, as well as an elegant restaurant and classic cocktail bar. Destination department store KaDeWe and the Ku’damm are both within easy walking distance.

Visit Marriott.com

Soho House Berlin (££)

Back in 2010, Soho House chose Berlin for its first European outpost. It captured the zeitgeist with mid-century interiors and warehouse-style spaces that still buzz today. The lobby has a Damien Hirst shark. Around and about, there’s a rooftop pool and bar, gym, spa with hammam, and a Cecconi’s. Available to non-members, bedrooms span six categories from Tiny to Extra Large. The Mitte location is a good one – Museum Island is a 10-minute walk away, Alexanderplatz half that.

Visit SohoHouse.com

Hotel Adlon Kempinski (£££)

The Adlon Kempinski sets the standard for hotels in Berlin. On the Unter den Linden boulevard, close to the Brandenburg Gate, it occupies a large fin-de-siecle building that’s been regularly upgraded over the decades but retains its original elegance. The Lobby bar is known for its elephant fountain, and the Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer holds two Michelin stars. Room service is charmingly old school, while the spa encompasses a pool, sauna and treatment rooms. When you step outside, so many of the city’s finest sights are nearby, including the Reichstag and the Tiergarten. 

Visit Kempinski.com

Hotel Adlon Kempinski
Hotel Adlon Kempinski
Soho House Berlin
Soho House Berlin

Ritz-Carlton (£££)

The Ritz-Carlton summons the spirit of Berlin’s ‘Golden Twenties’ a century ago to deliver a luxe experience. In a handsome tower next to the sprawling Tiergarten park, the art-deco touches impress across 300-plus rooms, and so do other little details like the Diptyque toiletries. At POTS, celeb chef Dieter Müller delivers modern German cuisine using quality local ingredients. With live piano most evenings, the Curtain Club is a classic spot for a drink. There’s a small pool in the basement, next to the hotel’s wellness and fitness facilities. Service is impeccable throughout.

Visit RitzCarlton.com

Schlosshotel Berlin (£££)

In a well-to-do residential area next to the urban retreat that is the Grunewald forest, the Schlosshotel sits apart from downtown Berlin and slightly away from its top-end rivals. German designer Patrick Hellmann has done a fine job with the interiors, revivifying an old renaissance-style building for the 21st century. Statement artworks catch the eye throughout, as do some of the garden views from the rooms. The idea of the Schlosshotel as a city oasis is only enhanced by a large pool and activity options such as horse riding. 

Visit SchlosshotelBerlin.com

Fashion. Beauty. Culture. Life. Home
Delivered to your inbox, daily