SINCE YOU’VE BEEN GONE…
Five new hotels have opened this year in Berlin, all very different, but each reflecting a different facet of this ever evolving city. The long awaited Stilwerk Hotel KantGaragen
(stilwerk.com), which occupies the shell of a former multistory garage on newly zeitgeisty Kantstrasse in Charlottenburg, “offers everything to do with interior design and lifestyle under one roof.” The Insta-baiting compound combines 61 guest rooms with a range of eating options, a bookstore/café, concept stores, a flower shop, and cultural event space.
Another ambitious transformation is Wilmina (wilmina. com), fashioned from a former courthouse and women’s prison. This family-run hotel, surrounded by lush gardens and interflowing courtyards, has 44 rooms and suites, all with a mainly white design palette, a spa and gym. The atmospheric
Lovis restaurant, which serves regional and seasonal foods, is a big hit with locals.
Meanwhile, at Gendarmenmarkt—one of the most beautiful squares in Berlin—is the handsome 70-room, 22-suite
Hotel Luc (marriott.com), part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. In keeping with its surroundings, the design accent here is Prussian blue, embellished with plenty of quirky touches. À la carte breakfasts and French bistro fare are served in plushly relaxed surroundings until 3 p.m., with terrace tables having a great view of the French Cathedral.
Behind the historical facades and architectural features of two neighboring buildings moments from Unter den Linden,
Château Royal (chateauroyalberlin.com) is an elegant 93-room boutique hotel with interiors inspired by the colored marble and herringbone parquet of 1920s Berlin. Capping the discreet luxury is Dóttir, a cult seafood-skewed Nordic restaurant that had previously been located nearby. There is also a classic cocktail bar and a winter garden.
Also new in the East is Greet
Berlin Alexanderplatz (all. accor.com), the second in hospitality giant Accor’s eco brand—a renovation of an existing hotel building, fitted out with sustainable materials and secondhand furniture and ac
cessories. There are 61 colorful rooms and a lounge area.
Of the city’s many superb established hotels, the best are the Hotel Adlon Kempinski (kempinski.com), on historic Pariser Platz, flanked by the Brandenburg Gate, and
The Ritz-Carlton (ritzcarlton. com), which lords over the restaurants, cinemas, theaters, shopping centers and modern architecture of Potsdamer Platz. The Adlon is celebrating the silver anniversary of its 1997 reopening (and also Kempinski’s 125th anniversary), so there are plenty of special packages worth checking out. Of course, with its old-world ambience and service, its three restaurants, including the two-Michelin-starred Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, and its 9,000-square-foot spa, every stay here feels like a special occasion. (Who doesn’t like a harpist playing through breakfast?) The wide range of plush guest rooms and suites are all optimized for relaxation and in-room working. The Executive Rooms are sited on the hotel’s quietest side. Fit Rooms include Techogym indoor cycling bikes and other workout paraphernalia. Or you could always use one of the hotel’s real bikes to explore the Tiergarten, a stone’s throw away, or the newly spruced up Unter den Linden, which runs from the Brandenburg Gate to the Berlin Cathedral.
It is also a great time to visit The Ritz-Carlton, which completed a $39 million renovation in 2019, just before the pandemic shuttered the city. Sparkling as much as the hotel’s white-glove service, the public rooms are all contemporary furnishings and art deco touches, a look also carried off with aplomb in the redesigned guest rooms and suites—all curvy furniture and rich 1920s purples and golds. The property’s highlights include the acclaimed restaurant Pots, which serves high-grade modern German cuisine in pleasantly informal surroundings, two innovative concept bars—one with a daily Cigar Club experience—and pool, sauna and fitness center. Best for business travelers on expense accounts are the 42 Club Level rooms and suites, which offer 24-hour access to a superb lounge—the best in the city—with panoramic vistas, complimentary food and drink and a private concierge.