blackavar

Trip Report -- Stayed 25/06/17 - 30/06/17

Arrival:
Large boxy lobby, many comfortable chairs. Funny feature of 4 large screen TVs showing individual members of a musical quartet playing elevator music version of pop songs. I enjoyed it, but another colleague hated it (to each their own). We arrived at about 1pm for our 4pm check in. There was a large line of people for whatever reason and it took about 10 minutes to check in with someone. We were told our room wasn't ready, but as a Platinum member, was provided with a key to wait in the Executive Lounge and they checked our luggage.
No upgrade offered, though they did provide the "guaranteed" 2 queen beds we requested. They didn't mention it at check in, but I did receive my arrival gift points later on.
I asked when the room would be ready, but was told I had to come back down to check. After an hour or so in the executive lounge, I wandered down and was told my room was ready now.

Room:
2 Queen Room on 9th Floor on South side of building -- view was of the back of the Canadian Embassy -- not much to look at. Room itself was clean and modern. Beds were quite comfy. Large HDTV which I fell asleep to one night while watching something in German, but otherwise went unused. Bathroom was average size, but I'm a big fan of waterfall shower heads the shower had. Also had handheld shower head option. No tub option in this room. I'm afraid I don't recall the toiletries brand, but they felt of high quality and I enjoyed it (yellow label). Room service did an excellent job each day.

Lounge:
Lounge was excellent, views towards the East of the City -- which included a great view of Fernsehturm (Berlin TV Tower). Breakfast had a large spread of hot and cold foods. It was the same spread each day, but varied enough such that over 5 days, I didn't eat the same breakfast twice. Self serve espresso machine with to-go cups provided. Ample soft drinks all day with snacks of pastries in afternoon. A true Dinner provided from 5:30-8:00pn with hot and cold options -- the one night I took advantage, there was turkey, vegetables and dumplings and decent cold cuts with fresh baked breads. In the evenings wine and beer (bottled and tap) were provided. I've read elsewhere of complaints that the lounge can get crowded...I always found ample room, the one exception being a day of torrential rain, and even then there was space to get food and drink.

Staff:
Staff was okay overall, I didn't interact a ton with them. At check in they seemed somewhat overwhelmed, but that didn't seem the norm. When there was a light rain one morning, staff kindly provided an umbrella to me. They were sometimes more helpful then others in obtaining taxis (sometimes calling one and other times telling me to just walk around the corner). One night I walked in, somewhat late and there was no one at the desk or in the lobby at all. You do need a key to access your floor on the elevator, so this wasn't a huge concern to me. Everyone was very fluent in English, German, and several seemed to speak Spanish.

Wifi:
Worked excellent with no issues during stay.

Location:
Location is excellent. I was attending a conference nearby -- but beyond that convenience, the hotel has an excellent location for exploring Berlin. Walking distance to Potsdamer Plotz and the subway. Walking distance to Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Reichstag and the Mall of Berlin. Very easy to take public transportation or walk around the city on a nice day. At night, certain subway lines do stop running or run limited, so be prepared to wait, use alternative transportation, or just take a cab.

Interesting Fact!:
Throughout the city, the former Berlin wall is illustrated with a path of bricks embedded in the street. The path of formal wall passes RIGHT THROUGH this hotel.

Minor Negatives:
I wish the staff would've contacted me when my room was ready or at least just given me a time rather then told me to just "check in with them."

Overall:
For visiting Berlin, the hotel makes an excellent home base. The room was very comfortable. Access to the lounge put this hotel over the top for me. Without lounge access, I might consider checking out one of the other nearby hotels next time I'm in Berlin.

UpgradeMe

Is there some reason you did not add this to an existing thread for this property?

blackavar

searched but could not find a dedicated one, just general ones about berlin hotels -- if i missed it, happy to post it there and delete this thread...

yurtripper

This is the probably the thread being referred to (but it covers all MR properties rather than a specific one): https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marr...n-germany.html

DL-Don

I have stayed at this hotel a number of times while on business in Berlin. The variety and quality of food in the lounge at Breakfast and in the evenings is very, very nice. The location is also great for tourists as the 100 and 200 tourist buses stop very near the hotel. The proximity to tourist sights, restaurants and the subway is also great. I never look anywhere else when I need to stay in Berlin even if this property is not the most convenient.

windhund

It's been a few years since I've been there, but I'm glad to know that many of the good qualities of this hotel are still there. The lounge's offerings are great, especially in the evenings: you can have a small meal there easily if you are tired and don't want to go out again. The wi-fi was some of the fastest I've ever had: it felt like my internet connection at home (or a little faster even!).

Xeno

Thank you for this helpful thread. I hope to be staying there about one week from now.

IndyDave

I stayed at the Berlin Marriott during the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The lounge yellow tape the length of the lounge denoting where the wall would have been. Great hotel and location

Xeno

According to the hotel web, the subway cost is 2.7E from the airport.

Are there several changes getting from the airport to the hotel when using the subway?

To buy such a train ticket at the airport, must I have a chip Visa rather than a chip AMEX (no pin)?

bitterproffit

If by airport you mean Tegel, then there is no direct subway route from TXL to the hotel. There is a combo of bus and U Bahn or S Bahn routes.

There are several different combos to get to the hotel from the airport. I would probably take TXL Bus from Tegel to Berlin Hauptbahnhoff and then S Bahn to Postdamer platz. Google Maps can outline the best combo for the time of day.

I have used a chip Visa in the machine to buy a transit pass. I don't have a pin. I think Amex will work as well. I also recall a counter at Tegel to purchase tickets as well.

The transit system is much easier than it looks. And the hotel is right across from Potsdamer Platz Bahnhoff

Xeno

Thank you. That clarifies the options before me nicely.

Too bad Uber is not an option in Germany.

CPH-Flyer

A taxi from the airport (Tegel) to the hotel would be about 22 euros, no tipping required. It is a bit hit or miss getting taxis that take credit card, so prepare cash.

1973 Ford Pinto

I believe there's a bus that runs direct from Tegel to Potsdamer Platz, I'm not exactly sure, because when I arrived I had to stop at the Intercontinetal first but I think that bus continues down Tiergartenstraße. In any case, there's definitely a bus directly from Potsdamer to the intercontiental, so you wouldn't need to transfer to the Sbahn. In any case, google maps is very good about telling you exactly which bus/train to take and where to transfer, I had no problems going all over the city for about a week.

Kacee

And it's a great bargain. You'll get a clean Mercedes (or similar) and the drivers are highly professional. Nothing like what you get in most US cities.

Tizzette