Location, Location and Location... (Hilton Berlin)

Name: HelenHancox

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Product:	Hilton Berlin
Date:	19/07/02 (323 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Location, Quality, Breakfasts

Disadvantages: Expensive if you're on your own, Large hotel

When I booked my first visit to Berlin (through a travel agent) I just couldn't resist the Hilton. It's the whole idea of luxury and wonderful surroundings. The photo of the swimming pool looked good too.

When I got there I couldn't believe my luck. I had happened upon a great hotel (as you would expect) but in the most fantastic location.

Berlin is divided into different districts. The Hilton is in Mitte, the old East Berlin, just a 5 minute walk from Checkpoint Charlie and a 20 minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag/Bundestag.

The Hotel has obviously been built since the Berlin wall came down. It is situated on the edge of the Gendarmenmarkt, a large platz/square with three huge buildings - two domed Churches (the Deutsche Dom and the Französische Dom) and, between them, the Opera house. It's a very attractive view from the first floor room where the Hilton serve the fantastic buffet breakfast.

But I'm moving on too quickly. Mohrenstrasse runs at right angles to Friedrichstrasse which is a major road with upmarket shops which comes down from the main station (Friedrichstrasse Bahnhof) towards Checkpoint Charlie. Friedrichstrasse has an underground shopping area, called Quartier 201/204 which has food halls, designer shops, gift shops etc and ends up in a huge Galeries Lafayette with an amazing mirrored cone as part of the structure. The food hall in the bottom floor is just wonderful.

Walking a little further up Friedrichstrasse brings you to the junction with Unter Den Linden, the wide road that ends in the Brandenburg Gate. This road used to have lots of embassies, a lot of which have now relocated, and there are some very swish Daimler and Audi showrooms, as well as art galleries and the like, which have taken up residence in their place. It's a wonderful road to window shop along, with the impressive sight of the Brandenburg Gate and the dome of the Reichstag in vi
ew.

So... some more about the Hilton. It's a large hotel (think it has about 500-ish rooms) and very well set out. As you walk in the revolving front doors (or, in my case, get your suitcase stuck in them) you enter the main atrium which is three or four storeys high. It has a stream running around it, is on different levels and has lots of secluded seating, as well as a bar that serves hot and cold drinks, spirits and snacks. It's a really good place to chill out if you want. There is also a newsagent/gift shop, an art shop, a Swarovski shop and various other odds and ends.

Check in was very efficient the three times that I have stayed. They give you a keycard and it's off to find your room.

The rooms are all spacious, decorated as you would expect. They have satellite TV, mini bar, desk, lots of wardrobe space, comfortable beds and pleasant bathrooms. They don't have a kettle!

The Hilton has a reasonable sized swimming pool available for guests, as well as sunbed and sauna (available at extra charge). The pool has water jets and is a good way to expend some calories to counteract the fantastic breakfasts.

The breakfasts... As you pay for the breakfast, you tend to think it is good value to eat as much as you can. And there's a LOT! There's a selection of cereals (continental ones, not necessarily what you'd get in a UK supermarket), yoghurts, fresh fruit, croissants, fantastic bread rolls, ham, jams, fish, everything you could expect. And the cooked breakfast is great too - Bratwurst, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, Kaiser's Pancake (pancake with sultanas and icing sugar - surprisingly lovely at breakfast time) and all sorts of eggs. It's great stuff! On your way out you can grab an apple and a newspaper. It's most pleasant.

Pricing. If you go for holidaymaker deals the price can be pretty good. James and I had three nights for £315 last December. I think it&
#39;s often cheaper if you stay one weekend evening (which we usually do anyway). For 5 star accommodation in the centre of the capital city of Germany, including fantastic food, I think that's brilliant.

The Hotel has a couple of restaurants attached which I have to say I haven't sampled. The Mark Brandenburg is very well known in Berlin but the prices were out of my league. The other restaurant is an Italian one. However, we spent most of our time at Cafe Mohring restaurant just over the road which did excellent food at a very reasonable price. There is no shortage of good food in Berlin.

Many other Berlin hotels are situated around the Kufürstendamm area, which is more "happening". It could perhaps be quite noisy there - the Hilton is situated in a quiet area which is more business-based, and that worked well for me. It is so near the main train routes and within walking distance of so many sites (including the path of the Wall) that I think its location cannot be bettered for me, at least.

How to you find it? Very conveniently, the Underground station Stadtmitte is literally outside the front door. This is on the line two stops down from Friedrichstrasse Station which is one of the main stations. You can also get a train direct from Stadtmitte to Alexanderplatz, another major station.

If you fly to Berlin with Buzz they now fly to Schönefeld Airport which is in the south of the city and a little further out than the former Buzz airport, Tegel. To get from Schönefeld you take a train which goes directly to Friedrichstrasse Station in about 25 minutes (it's a very good train, double decker indeed!), and then you can either walk from Friedrichstrasse (about 10-15 minutes) or take the U-Bahn two stops south to Stadtmitte. The U-Bahn trains are every couple of minutes. The cost for the transfer from the airport is about £1.70, if I remember correctly!

I have once been back to Berlin and s
tayed in a hotel that wasn't the Hilton (because I was on my own and the single supplement is quite high for the Hilton). Having done this, I concluded that when holidaying it's good to get the cheapest flight you can - after all, you're only on the plane for a couple of hours - and spend as much as you can on the accommodation which will be your home. If there are two of you to share a room, or if finances aren't too much of an issue, you can't go wrong with the Hilton.

Summary: