[25/09/2007] The author informs that the "newest five-star hotel" in Berlin was constructed "during the Second Reich" and renovated and "reopened late 2006". In fact, before becoming a hotel the building "used to be a bank".Its architecture is "neoclassical" and "at first glance this pile still has the air of an august financial institution".
The lobby is "marble" but the "smaller spaces beyond" it "are less intimidating". Although the hotel offers "all the deluxe mod cons you'd expect" there is a relaxed ambiance "in the bar and restaurant " and the "service is never stuffy".The hotel's design is described as "dark and stark, as befits this moody metropolis" and, in the opinion of the author, the hotel is more "a hangout for chic business travelers" than a romantic love-nest for "honeymoon couples".
The hotel's location is "superb", being "only a minute's walk from Unter den Linden, Berlin's grandest boulevard" and "right opposite the Opera House" as well as "just across the road from IM Pei's new German Historical Museum". The "spacious gym" is "well equipped" and the spa next door to it features "a pretty mosaic pool ". The restaurant of the hotel offers a "light, Mediterranean menu", which "makes a welcome break from more solid Prussian cuisine".
In conclusion the author rates the hotel as a "resurrected landmark" and states that it is "a pleasant compromise between big and small", where guests can enjoy "all the amenities of a grand hotel" mixed with the "finesse" of a boutique hotel. The author especially recommends a visit during "June for the long evenings" when one can "wander around the city center".
This review is an interpretation of the above mentioned author
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