Hotel Transit Loft - Berlin, Germany     

I stayed at the Transit Loft with my brother. We are both in our 30s and were looking for well-priced Berlin accommodations, particularly given that the dollar's collapse has made most of Europe very expensive for Americans. We emailed the hotel and were permitted to check in at 11AM to a vacant room, which I thought was very accommodating of the hotel staff. The location of the hotel is very good, although a tram is required to access the U- and S-Bahns at Alexanderplatz. Trams seem to run every few minutes so access to the rest of the city is extremely easy. Prenzlauer Berg is becoming a sort of Williamsburg/Park Slope- very attractive older buildings, rapidly being gentrified, with an excellent selection of eating and bars within walking distance of the hotel. The problem came from the position of the Transit Loft's rooms in relation to the rest of the hotel. The hotel lobby resembles a cafe, with much seating and hang out space. It is very user-friendly, but attracts a lot of traffic. This still wouldn't have been a problem, except that the Transit Loft attracts large numbers of students and/or 20-somethings on group visits and tours to Berlin. It is clearly on the itinerary of travel agencies, and we could see why. The hordes of group visitors meant that the hotel lobby was occupied until very late in the evening (actually early in the morning) by people hanging out. Not far down the hall, separated from the noise and smoke only by a door, we found it insufferable. Upon moving upstairs in the morning (again, the staff were very gracious about this and transferred us to an excellent room), we found more students sitting in the hallways at all hours of the day (and night), typing away on their laptops. Why they couldn't use their rooms I don't know, but we thought it was bizarre. In any event, the lobby noise was gone! The rooms were very clean and staff refreshed them daily. The private bathroom was comfortable and attractive. But the presence of 4 single beds in the room made it again clear that the Transit Loft is mostly designed for groups of students. This is an excellent option for people travelling in groups of 3 to 8, either independently in a group, who don't mind noise and are interested in socializing with like-minded travelers in their early 20s. In this sense, despite its higher prices, the Transit Loft functions like a true hostel. But I would advise other travelers to approach with caution, particularly during the busy summer season.

A very basic hotel. Difficult to access, although it does have a (slow) lift up to its 3rd or 4th floor location. Clean rooms although bathroom was terrible, in particular the shower which flooded the rest of the bathroom. I would not recommend the food here either.