The Mandala Suites - Berlin, Germany     

I stayed here on May 29th and made reservation on Hotels' website. Getting there: Hotel is located right at the Stadtmitte U-Bahn station. Room was capacious , clean, quite. Staff were very friendly and very helpfull. One of the best hotels I ever stayed in Europe. I recomment it to families and couples.

I stayed here in the middle of March and paid $200 per night through a travel website. Getting there: Hotel is located right at the Stadtmitte U-Bahn station. If you come from the airport on the S-Bahn, get to Friedrichstrasse and you can walk 500 meters or continue to use your train ticket to get on the U-Bahn. As long as there is no transit strike, as there was last week, life is good. The hotel is inside a large office building and you wouldn't know there is a hotel there from the street. Once inside the building, walk towards the back of the courtyard to the entrance. Rooms: Very large. It's a suite with a small kitchenette (microwave, fridge, stove, dishwasher, plates, utensils). Tastefully decorated with a separate bedroom. We had a king size bed, which is really firm. Small TV with a couple of English speak channels, but I also got by watching South Park in German. If you are an American frustrated by low-flow showerheads, the shower will be a religious experience. The missus was pleasantly surprised that there was a magifying mirror in the bathroom. Service: OK. They have a breakfast which is about 15 euro. That's a bit rich for me considering the prices I paid for food in Berlin. I believe you have to arrange breakfast in advance. There is a fitness room upstairs which we didn't use. The young women at the front desk all seemed pleasant enough but reception is not 24 hours. They close at 10 most nights and 5 on Sundays. Their English is ok, but I think misunderstood me when I sought to buy a City Tour Card which includes public transit and museum discounts. Apparently, the hotel says that they sell these at reception, but no one seemed to know what I was talking about. Neighborhood: Downtown. You are a short walk from the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag and to the Pergamon Museum. The Ku'Damm shopping street can be reached by subway. There is a Kaiser's grocery store and a pharmacy only a few meters down the road on Leipzigerstrasse and you can buy everything you need there. The grocery is open reasonably late as well. Given prices for a lot of 4- and 5-star hotels in the city, I think $200 a night was pretty reasonable for a suite in the center. They do have an additional person fee which can bite if you are bringing kids. We were extremely happy with the stay and would use this place again.