art'otel berlin city center west by park plaza - Berlin, Germany     

Visited Berlin in early May. Picked the Art'otel because had stayed at other properties and liked them. The property is unique due to the Warhol theme. Get prepared for some bright purples and greens. It's all in fun though. I would stay here again due to the surrounding neighborhoods As usual, the good, bad and ugly. The Good - Room was clean and fairly-well kept (a new paint job could be used). The room had essentials and was fine. Nothing too amazing - everything fairly standard. Room had good size closet along with a sizeable enough room. It had bed only and no room for separate sitting area. - Bathroom - sizeable and clean. Had decent shower. - Location for the price. The location is about a 10ish minute walk to city-center (West Berlin). The subway could be had in about half that time. - Neighborhoods surrounding the hotel. We ate each night in the neighborhood at great restaurants with good value. Do yourself a favor, and branch out around the hotel and find some of these jewels. - Front desk arranged van service to airport for 15 Euros. Pick up was on time and the ride was quite pleasant. The Bad - 16ish Euros each for breakfast. Too high priced in my eyes. While there was a decent selection of OK food, close cafes made it a no-brainer for following mornings. - Check-in. While the hostess did a nice quick job, she assigned a smoking room after asking for a non-smoking. When I went down to inform her, she was waiting for me. My thought is she could have met me on the floor, admitted the mistake and gave me new room keys versus waiting for me. There were multiple people behind the desk so leaving the front area should have been fine. - If you are planning on spending most of your time in "East" Berlin, this may not be the best place. While the public transportation system was excellent, it took us 40ish minutes to get from hotel to Alexanderplatz including one metro line change (bus system was on strike). - The towels. The smell of the clean towels was absolutely horrid. The typical vinegar-like smell is horrid. I do not understand why hotels do not spend a bit more to ensure fresh smelling towels or have no smell at all. The Art'otel is not the only hotel with this issue. The Ugly - Nothing. I would recommend this place as long as one is mobile and does not mind walking a bit.