pjrubindc

I'm going to Berlin in the summer and want to stay near Potsdammer Platz. The reviews of all the 5-star hotels (Ritz, Grand Hyatt, etc.) indicate that during a heat wave the air conditioning is inadequate to truly cool down the room. Anyone stay at a hotel with icy-cold air conditioning?

Yes, I am American. Don't judge. 😛 And yes, I know many people think air conditioning is not necessary in Berlin.

offerendum

Once I had to get "fixed" my aircon at Ritz, as it was much too cold. They changed it for American guests..... I guess the aircon is not the Problem, the Problem is that the hotel blocks low temperatures as they arenīt ready to pay the energy costs.

pjrubindc

Thanks.

Anyone else?

pjrubindc

I rely on you. Berlin experts, but I have heard nothing! No hotels with strong A/C in Berlin?

fastflyer

Your best option, and this works throughout the world (there is inadequate air conditioning throughout the Former Soviet Union, for example), is to take a cold or mildly lukewarm shower upon every return to the room.

It really cools you down. And it also creates a satisfyingly perverse incentive: increased total cost to the hotel.

WorldLux

Getting used to local standards!?

If your room in Berlin won't be cool enough think of all the Italians, Spanish and Portuguese living completely without A/C.

offerendum

Again: Itīs a Business-decision in nearly every case. Which temperature do you prefer? Much Germans would eben call a hotel a polluter if they allow very low temperatures. You are here in another cultural area.

LondonElite

How does taking a cold shower increase hotel costs?

LondonElite

I've found the rooms in the Adlon cold enough for my liking, but if you want meat locker temperatures you're out of luck in pretty much all of Europe.

pjrubindc

Newly built hotels in other European cities have what I would call "modern" air conditioning. Europe is not the backwater it once was. Is Berlin?!

offerendum

Waldorf Astoria is a new hotel........

Otherwise you got a lot of answers with explanations, believe it or not......

Ber2dca

Some hotels of the budget variety won't have *any* A/C in Germany. The reality is that German houses don't have A/C so most people aren't used to it. They open the windows when it gets hot.

Moreover, many Germans are raised to be wary of cold air drafts and thus may actually find the feeling of cold air flowing onto their heated skin uncomfortable.

In general, 90+% of the time an A/C *is* unnecessary in Germany because even during warm periods the nighttime humidity and temperatures are nowhere near the levels commonly experienced in a typical American summer in the Midwest or on the East Coast (never mind the South). Opening the window at night will generally cool things down sufficiently except for the hottest nights of the year.

Aside from that, I don't know how the OP question can be reliably answered as (1) no-one can define what OP finds to be acceptable level of cooling and (2) the degree of A/C use is not a constant element of a hotel but dependent on whoever is operating that feature.

offerendum

Question was asked befor but no answer. For me 20 degree is cold, normally I choose 22 degree. I guess itīs not what OP has in mind....

Kathrin

Europe "backwater"?

I think it is rather progressive to take pollution and waste of energy into consideration, and in that respect, it's rather Northern America who is "backwater".

Time traveller

I have stayed at the Marriott Berlin during a heatwave (90 degrees F) and the room was cold enough (by US standards). It is located across the street from the Ritz Carlton.