My wife and I were big fans of the Arcotel Velvet on Oranienburgerstrasse in East Berlin when we visited two Februarys ago. Tacheles, the artist squatters' building, is next door, there are nice bars and restaurants near the Hackescher Markt down the strasse, the Friedrichstrasse Station is a 10 minute walk, Unter den Linden and all attendant attractions within 15-30 minutes' walk, and the U6 stop is a block away, which connects to the TXL express bus (128) at Kurt Schumaker Platz. We made it from the door of the hotel to our gate in about 25 minutes flat on a Sunday morning. As for the hotel, it was modern with floor-to-ceiling windows, and was unexpectedly cheap if booked through the company website (http://www.arcotel.at -they are an Austrian chain). The lobby bar is quite swish as well. No matter the choice, the East is the place to be in my estimation; West Berlin feels like Atlanta to me. 1960s brutalist architecture and high prices; the east is bohemian with a gilded past.