Concerto

I think it is time to draw all the Berlin properties into one thread and share experiences to see which might be the best ones. Somehow, those properties which are more upmarket in nature, such as Sofitel, are generally going to be good. More interesting will be to determine which are the better hotels at lower price levels, such as Mercure or Ibis. I am looking at an upcoming stay, and although I am not a fan whatsoever of Mercure hotels, a couple of them are looking interesting in Berlin.

LondonElite

Jasper2009

The Sofitel Gendarmenmarkt illegally advertised itself as a 5* hotel for many years (without being accredited as such). Are you suggesting it's not a true 5* luxury hotel?

And I agree - Das Stue is likely by far the best Accor property in Berlin.

The Sofitel Kurfürstendamm and the Swissotel Berlin are both solid 4.5*+ hotels. The Swissotel often has pretty decent rates IME, and since it will close completely in 2019, I wouldn't be surprised if they offered some decent promotional rates until then.

Goldorak

I fully agree with your assessment of the Sofitel Kurfürstendamm and Sofitel Gendarmenmarkt. I truly disliked the Elite treatment at the former (although the hotel was OK) and I was very very disappointed by the latter. I have no experience at the So Das Stue.
The Pullman Schweizerhof (a former Sofitel) is very decent Accor option in Berlin. For my next stay in Berlin, I'd like certainly to try the new So, but otherwise, I'd go for the Pullman.

lhrpete

My go to is the Pullman, I like the location, I'm recognised by the staff as I'm there every month at some point and it just works for me. This was a Sofitel ten years ago and I can't remember exactly when it was rebranded but it remains way above average.

I find the Sofitel Kurfürstendamm way below standard and the staff poorly trained, I've used it a couple of times when I couldn't get in at the Pullman but I won't go back and will choose the Mercure in Wittenbergplatz if I need an alternative in future.

The only other place I've stayed but only a couple of times is the Novotel Tiergarten which is fine provided you don't have a room overlooking the S-Bahn line and station which is very noisy but the hotel itself is fine for a Novotel which I find the most consistent of all Accor brands.

IMH

We were very pleasantly surprised by the Mercure Berlin City a few weeks ago. Excellent value for money, too. The Invalidenstraße location will work well for a lot of people, with trams, U-Bahn, S-Bahn and the main railway station all nearby. We will return.

We are unlikely to return to the Sofitel Kurfürstendamm.

Concerto

Interesting, I see Das Stue in my Lonely Planet guide and I had no idea it was an Accor property. Same goes for Swissôtel, that one passed me by completely (although I vaguely recall talk about them being taken over by Accor). Very useful info about the Sofitel properties, as well as the Mercure Berlin City. There are a lot of properties in Berlin, so I think it is useful to have some discussion about the pros and cons of some of them.

LondonElite

aapee

Mercure Wittenbergplatz is definitely my favorite Mercure, used it pretty often and at least two of the staff already know me by name. And my name is long and in Finnish

On the other hand would never visit Mercure Berlin Zentrum again .

wyddfa

IMH

Anyone booking a Mercure in Berlin needs to double check the hotel name: four properties in quite different locations have names that even German-speaking visitors could easily mix up:

Mercure Berlin City
Mercure Berlin City West
Mercure Berlin Mitte
Mercure Berlin Zentrum.

Dover2Golf

I'm a Schweizerhof fan and also like the Swissotel and am sad it's closing. I can see why there had to be some rationalising of the Swissotel / Sofitel Kurfürstendamm situation but the Swissotel was simply a better and established property with a well trained team of staff and IMO it's sad it's gone. The Ku'damm Sofitel is inferior in all regards but particularly in terms of staff training and consistency where the answer you get depends very much on the person you speak to particularly at reception.

JTCz

On the opposite end of the scale, Ibis Kurfuerstendamm has a location that is hard to beat, friendly service, is relatively new and tends not to be more expensive than other Ibises in remote locations. If you need a place to stay for the night, it is more than OK, and a great way to burn your LCAH points.

Mercure Checkpoint Charlie is great for longer stays, as the rooms deserve the "Residenz" moniker with ample space to double as both bedroom and office space, and it is also very central. A big plus if you are travelling by car or renting one is the fact that there are usually free on-street parking places right in front of the hotel, as it is a bit of a side street despite being around the corner from the Checkpoint and Friedrichstrasse. The only downside is the decor of some of the rooms, with garish clashing puke-orange vs deep blue.

A hidden option if you are attending a fair like FRUIT LOGISTICA at Berliner Messe is Mercure Potsdam, which is easy to get to and from the fairgrounds by means of S-Bahn while usually not charging extortionate rates (and having beds when others are booked out).

Concerto

Ok, I was naughty and went and booked the Melia Berlin. The day after I was looking at the Melia options in Berlin, an offer bounced into my inbox offered a 45% reduction on Melia Berlin stays, So that will help keep my Melia points alive. But I will certainly be trying some Berlin Accor hotels in the near future!

IMH

This is obviously OT, so I'll keep it brief: we've stayed at the Meliá a few times and always been very happy. (The 45% offer didn't reach my inbox, unfortunately.)

I often find myself wishing Meliá would take control of Accor...