This hotel has been around for years, but only recently appeared in the Bonvoy app. Apparently it has been a member of Design Hotels for a while, but not of Bonvoy (?). It is near Potsdamer Platz (same area as the RC, Marriott and JW Marriott).
I was already somewhat familiar with the property because it has a two Michelin Star restaurant (Facil) which I visit once or twice a year. So when the hotel became bookable through Bonvoy, I decided to try it out for a night (obviously combined with an overdue restaurant visit, now with the additional upside of getting points and spend credit for the bill!)
The entrance of the hotel is quite unassuming and easy to overlook although it is on a busy street. The reception area is tiny - it has two workstations for staff, but standing at that small desk next to another guest (stranger) might already feel a bit too close by normal standards. There is also practically no space for any queuing. I'm not sure how they arrange that area during busy periods.
During checkin there was no elite recognition (not unusual in my limited experience at Design Hotels). Nothing was said about an upgrade, but I am 99% sure that my room was a "Management Suite" rather than the "1 Queen City Studio" that I had booked. I don't know whether that upgrade was triggered by status or anything else.
I asked about the possibility of a late checkout (knowing that this is not guaranteed at Design Hotels). Initially the FDA reacted in a way that suggested an upsell routine ("Our normal checkout time is 11am, and after that we can ..."), but then another staff member interrupted her and said "We can do up to 4pm, no problem". I said that 3pm will do. The first FDA looked slightly confused, asked her colleague for confirmation that she should just process 3pm, and then did so. I don't know whether the second person's intervention had anything to do with Bonvoy status or general policies. It was a bit odd, but in the end all good.
All rooms at this property have a small kitchenette. This did nothing for me, but is a pretty unique feature amongst central Berlin hotels.
The room is quite spacious with a work desk in the middle which doubles as a divider between living area and bed (the TV is installed on the "bed side" of the desk). Unfortunalely, the desk is very impractical to use. It doesn't feature a chair, but only a low stool (reminded me more of a footrest) without backrest or armrests. Totally unsuitable for sitting for any extended period. Using the electrical outlets at that desk required rearranging the hotel's devices (lamp, tablet, TV) which were plugged in.
Lights and DND/Housekeeping indicators are all controlled electronically. Although I like to think that I am not illiterate at such things, I could't figure out how many of the functions worked (also couldn't get a tablet which is supposed to display information and offer several online functionalities, including contact to reception, to work). I had to walk back to reception and ask someone to come with me and show me around. It turned out that some indicators on buttons were not working which contributed to my confusion. They sent a technician who fixed these and also the tablet (which apparently needed a "hard reset").
Even after I had been shown all functionality and the technician had fixed things, I still found the controls somewhere between unintuitive and impractical. For example, Do Not Disturb can only be switched on and off from the bed. I later figured out that you can override it by using the "Please service room now" button which is next to the door. Also, there are strange indicators outside the room which show whether the card which activates electricity in the room is in place, and a second indicator which shows whether electricity in the room is generally working (what's the point of all that?!).
All manageable and I'm sure not a big deal as a repeat visitor, but a bit frustrating at first. And to top it off, later at night when I wanted to sleep I still couldn't figure out how to switch off one of the lights in the kitchenette without switching off *all* electricity. It wasn't too bad and at that point I couldn't be bothered to get up again and ask the front desk, but it was a bit annoying.
The bed was quite comfortable, although I didn't like the fact that it featured two separate duvets even for single occupancy. At least they weren't tiny. The bathrooom was big but only had a combined tub/shower (and empty space on one side which would be perfect for installing a walk-in shower).
As usual at Design Hotels, breakfast is not included for any status members. It is served from 7am to 10am at a cost of 39€. I didn't partake.
Objectively, nothing about the property stands out as terrible, but it isn't really for me. The lack of elite benefits at Design Hotels is a negative and isn't compensated (to my taste) by the more unique features - here, similar to other Design Hotels, the unique features are not useful to me, and sometimes instead turn out to be impractical (small) annoyances.
But if someone is looking for an alternative to the more mainstream Bonvoy properties in the area, it can certainly offer an alternative that's worth trying out.
I was already somewhat familiar with the property because it has a two Michelin Star restaurant (Facil) which I visit once or twice a year. So when the hotel became bookable through Bonvoy, I decided to try it out for a night (obviously combined with an overdue restaurant visit, now with the additional upside of getting points and spend credit for the bill!)
The entrance of the hotel is quite unassuming and easy to overlook although it is on a busy street. The reception area is tiny - it has two workstations for staff, but standing at that small desk next to another guest (stranger) might already feel a bit too close by normal standards. There is also practically no space for any queuing. I'm not sure how they arrange that area during busy periods.
During checkin there was no elite recognition (not unusual in my limited experience at Design Hotels). Nothing was said about an upgrade, but I am 99% sure that my room was a "Management Suite" rather than the "1 Queen City Studio" that I had booked. I don't know whether that upgrade was triggered by status or anything else.
I asked about the possibility of a late checkout (knowing that this is not guaranteed at Design Hotels). Initially the FDA reacted in a way that suggested an upsell routine ("Our normal checkout time is 11am, and after that we can ..."), but then another staff member interrupted her and said "We can do up to 4pm, no problem". I said that 3pm will do. The first FDA looked slightly confused, asked her colleague for confirmation that she should just process 3pm, and then did so. I don't know whether the second person's intervention had anything to do with Bonvoy status or general policies. It was a bit odd, but in the end all good.
All rooms at this property have a small kitchenette. This did nothing for me, but is a pretty unique feature amongst central Berlin hotels.
The room is quite spacious with a work desk in the middle which doubles as a divider between living area and bed (the TV is installed on the "bed side" of the desk). Unfortunalely, the desk is very impractical to use. It doesn't feature a chair, but only a low stool (reminded me more of a footrest) without backrest or armrests. Totally unsuitable for sitting for any extended period. Using the electrical outlets at that desk required rearranging the hotel's devices (lamp, tablet, TV) which were plugged in.
Lights and DND/Housekeeping indicators are all controlled electronically. Although I like to think that I am not illiterate at such things, I could't figure out how many of the functions worked (also couldn't get a tablet which is supposed to display information and offer several online functionalities, including contact to reception, to work). I had to walk back to reception and ask someone to come with me and show me around. It turned out that some indicators on buttons were not working which contributed to my confusion. They sent a technician who fixed these and also the tablet (which apparently needed a "hard reset").
Even after I had been shown all functionality and the technician had fixed things, I still found the controls somewhere between unintuitive and impractical. For example, Do Not Disturb can only be switched on and off from the bed. I later figured out that you can override it by using the "Please service room now" button which is next to the door. Also, there are strange indicators outside the room which show whether the card which activates electricity in the room is in place, and a second indicator which shows whether electricity in the room is generally working (what's the point of all that?!).
All manageable and I'm sure not a big deal as a repeat visitor, but a bit frustrating at first. And to top it off, later at night when I wanted to sleep I still couldn't figure out how to switch off one of the lights in the kitchenette without switching off *all* electricity. It wasn't too bad and at that point I couldn't be bothered to get up again and ask the front desk, but it was a bit annoying.
The bed was quite comfortable, although I didn't like the fact that it featured two separate duvets even for single occupancy. At least they weren't tiny. The bathrooom was big but only had a combined tub/shower (and empty space on one side which would be perfect for installing a walk-in shower).
As usual at Design Hotels, breakfast is not included for any status members. It is served from 7am to 10am at a cost of 39€. I didn't partake.
Objectively, nothing about the property stands out as terrible, but it isn't really for me. The lack of elite benefits at Design Hotels is a negative and isn't compensated (to my taste) by the more unique features - here, similar to other Design Hotels, the unique features are not useful to me, and sometimes instead turn out to be impractical (small) annoyances.
But if someone is looking for an alternative to the more mainstream Bonvoy properties in the area, it can certainly offer an alternative that's worth trying out.