Although Berlin is a famously sprawling city, most of its best hotels are conveniently clustered around the central nodes of Mitte (in former East Berlin) and Charlottenburg (in former West Berlin), with a few choice spots scattered around vibrant and charming inner-city neighbourhoods such as Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. Options run the gamut from opulent five-stars, plush boutiques, facility-packed business hotels and cheaper indie alternatives, with all the familiar global brands represented from Rocco Forte and Westin Grand to Soho House and 25hours.
Regardless of which part of the city you plump for as a base, with the hotels below you’ll always be within easy strolling distance of classy boutiques and buzzy restaurants and cafes, as well as the city’s fantastic array of historic and cultural sights. More often than not there’ll also usually be a decadent cocktail bar, theatre or opera house nearby too, in case you feel like swapping out the comforts of your room for a night out on the tiles.
Mitte (city centre)
Conveniently called Mitte, or ‘middle’, the city centre is the best area to stay in Berlin for the traditional sightseer. Mitte encompasses many of the city’s tourist hubs, including Alexanderplatz, Potsdamer Platz, the Nikolaiviertel and Unter den Linden. Here you will find a heady mix of sights (Brandenburger Tor, Reichstag, TV Tower) alongside a buzzy blend of shops, cafés, restaurants and clubs that are more or less equally split between the touristy and the trendy.
