Have been to Berlin, Germany a lot lately. Here are my deal-recommendations:

Sylter Hof ****. Decent hotel right behind the KADEWE department store. Internet works, sauna doesn't most of the time during the day. Internet costs 12-18 bucks. Got this hotel twice for $ 100-/night incl. great breakfast buffet. Parking costs extra. Downfall is an extremely arrogant front desk staff.

Grand Hotel Esplanade *****. Used to be the best hotel in town before `89. On occasions, rooms can go as low as $ 120, which is a great value.

Steigenberger *****, Los Angeles Square. Can only recommend this hotel if a price below $ 150 can be realized. After two stays, for me it's not an option any more, because WIFI doesn't work in all rooms, and staff keeps feeding people BS-stories about their laptops being not compatible, etc.

HSH Hotel Albergo *, Hohenzollerndamm. Great for small budget. I paid only 45 bucks/night, and it was well worth it. Internet works and does NOT COST EXTRA! Friendly staff and decent breakfast buffet It's right across from the German Social Security Administration, means, after office hours there is free parking on one side of the road.

I book these hotels either directly, or use the page agoda.com (VOUCHER), whatever is cheaper.

Do you ever stay east of Potsdamer Platz? It doesn't appear so.

HAve stayed in three places and no problems with any of them

ArtOtel near the K'damm (west Berlin)
Marriott Berlin via Priceline
Hilton Berlin via Priceline

Marriott and Hilton are both near the "main" attractions but are full service so things liek Intenet, etc. are overpriced.

ArtOtel is funky and kind of out of the way, but lots of good restaurants nearby

Holiday Inn Garden Court (Bleibtreustrasse) - next to the Ku'damm and the main sights are in walking distance. Perfect to reach from the airport by bus.

I stayed there several times. The standard rooms are small (beware), but the price was unbeatable for this location.

And my choice is the Leonardo Hotel very close to the Deutsche Oper ... close to small grocers and eateries and very close to the UBahn system - 1 min's walk. Also one block from the bus stop to Tegel airport.

Mercure Hotel & Residenz Berlin Checkpoint Charlie is my favourite Berlin hotel.

Nothing beats the Adlon in Berlin. You have to pay the price, though!

The Adlon does usually have discounts for 3 or more nights, with advance payment.

Update. Last week I stayed for the second time at the QUENTIN Design Hotel, Kalckreuthstra�e 12. I tried this hotel a while ago, when the Pope was in Berlin, and this was the only option, West of the Brandenburg Gate, where my work is. Not bad, nice interior, and I paid only 80 Euros. Internet works like a charm and is free. Well worth it. To whom it may concern: the area around the Quentin seems to have a lots of gay bars and adult bookstores, but still not a bad area.

I was there once and liked it. Small hotel with friendly staff. Met sime nice americans at the (very small) hotel bar. The location wasn't bad but when I was there (07/11) there underground system in the area was under construction. Hard to get to some areas. I don't know if they finished it meanwhile.

If you are hungry:

In the area of the hotel ("Sauvignyviertel") you will find some really nice restaurants. One of them is No. 1 on Tripadvisor. I personally liked http://www.zillemarkt.de/ very much. Good prices, nice authentic food and several kinds of beer. :-)

Berlin is great.

S.

The Westin Grand in Berlin is a solid choice.......

Friends stayed at the Adlon for 2 days. The room they got was one with the worst views ever. Service was good but slow, although the gave very good tip and ordered a lot of room-service, laundry, etc. Seemed to them if you dont stay for longer and if you dont book at least a Junior Suite, you dont seem to be important/valued for them at all.

Best choice in Berlin in my opinion is Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome, followed by the Ritz Carlton (at Potsdamer Platz).

Also pretty good at Potsdamer Platz are the Mandala and Hyatt. The Marriott Potsdamer Platz is the worst choice,... the rooms only have see-through curtains, so you cannot darken the room and there is the Ritz and lots of office buildings next to it.

Wouldnt recommend the Interconti in Berlin. It's old, very old building from the 80s and has only been refurbished partly. However, it is said to be the safest hotel in Berlin, lots of politicians stay there (just in case youre expecting a war to start during your stay )

Hilton looks good from outside and lobby, but havent stayed there,... it has a pretty good night club in the basement though.

Hi,

I will be at Hotel Alsterhof http://www.tripadvisor.de/Hotel_Revi...in-Berlin.html in May.

Does somebody have experience with this hotel?

S.

Overrated, small rooms, not too well connected to public transport (for Berlin standards) and in a somehow boring location compared to other hotels. This is a tourist place and a place for people who believe they see and will be seen.

From the 60s, not from the 80s. And a very important piece of architecture. And all rooms have been refurbished. The west wing very recently in 2010/11, the east wing probably in the 2006/07. Why do people talk about places they obviously have never seen.