Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Fantastic location by the river |
| Disadvantages: |
No lift |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
The Hotel Hansablick is a three star hotel based in a lovely 100-year old Berlin town house. It has 29 rooms over 4 floors, and was refurbished in 2005.
~~~ Location ~~~
The hotel is set in a quiet residential area right next to the River Spree. It is on the north west corner of the Tiergarten, and only a couple of tube stops to the main shops on Kurfurstendamm.
The nearest U-Bahn station is Hansaplatz (approx 4 minute walk) and the S-Bahn station Tiergarten is about a 2 minute walk. Tickets for public transport can be purchased at the reception, although I found it pretty easy to do this directly at the station, despite my limited German.
~~~ Reception ~~~
From the quiet street you enter the hotel through a large door (sometimes open, sometime you have to buzz for entry). This leads to the foot of two flights of stairs, all wood and marble with very high ceilings. On the same level are a full length mirror and a tourist leaflet stand. On the first floor landing is the reception area, with the desk to your right, a little lounge/bar on your left, and the two breakfast rooms straight ahead. On the desk they had a large vase full of white lilies which smelt fantastic. Also some little boiled sweets, a bowl of apples and some hotel postcards.
The breakfast room was clean and neatly laid out, and the lounge had several black boxy sofas and armchairs, with another huge vase of lilies and several old fashioned artefacts, like a gramophone and sewing machine. The black coffee tables looked distinctly Ikeay but had a strip of tablecloth over them which improved them somewhat. There was a large flatscreen TV which showed muted nature programmes or a screensaver-like fishtank. Around all the walls were bright and colourful original paintings - all modern and frankly not to my taste (see photo below). Artists include Anna Kathrin Kleeberg, Hartwig Ebersbach, Heinrich Zille and Otmar Alt, if that means anything to you. Also in one corner of the lounge was an old fashioned writing desk with a laptop and free internet access for guests.
We were greeted at the reception by a fairly casually dressed, but very polite gentlemen, who perhaps was the proprietor, or certainly the manager. We (or rather my partner) conversed in German, but the manager and all the staff spoke some basic English. The bookings were all kept on paper, rather than a computer, making you realise pretty early on that this was a small independent hotel, where you wouldn't get impersonal service. Throughout our stay all the staff were polite and welcoming, and happy to help when we wanted to extend our stay, ask for a recommended route to a Berlin suburb, or for ideas of a stop-off point between Berlin and Calais. Staff in large hotels can be this helpful too, but this was the kind of place where you don't have to give your room number too often.
~~~ Rooms ~~~
The hotel doesn't have a lift, so we had to walk up two flights of stairs with our bags. On each landing is a huge door leading to the rooms - the door is about 9ft in height! High ceilings everywhere - they must be 11 or 12ft I should think. The doors to the individual rooms are normal size though. The hallway carpet is rather grotty, unfortunately, with patches where they have replaced a small section with a newer piece, which rather stands out.
We booked a 'large' double room, which was of reasonable size and obviously used to be just one room when the whole floor was one large apartment. The smaller rooms have partition walls which aren't too soundproof, and really are very small. On the hotel's website they show the three sizes of room which is a nice idea - most hotel websites show you a photo of their deluxe rooms right next to the standard room rates.
Anyway, our room had twin beds with individual sheets and a really thin duvet each (which doesn't make it a double room in my book, but I think I'm fighting a losing battle with Germany on this one). The wardrobe unit was half enclosed, half open, with plenty of hanging space and a safe. Then a long dressing table/mini bar/TV stand unit, and a little table with two individual chairs. The furniture was pretty modern in a mixture of oak and green finishing. The décor was neutral with five framed pictures in a colourful Jackson Pollock style.
The bathroom was on the small side, with just a shower cubicle (none of the rooms have a bath as far as I can tell), sink and WC. The lino flooring was clean but showing some wear and tear. Along one wall above the sink and WC was a large mirror with a little shelf in front of it. A few freebies here (like shower cap) and also a large ominous dispenser of purple liquid with no label that was in the shower. A little towel and an even smaller towel were provided, and were not very soft or absorbent at all. There was also a fairly pathetic hairdryer.
Our room did have a balcony, however, which we didn't pay extra for. From the balcony there is a pavement and small road for residential access/parking, then some bushes, then another pavement for riverside walkers, and then the river Spree (see photos below). The balcony just had space for two white plastic reclining chairs and a white plastic table. It never seemed to get the sun, though, but I can imagine in a month warmer than March it would be lovely to sit out there feeling the warmth but not direct sunlight.
We only saw one chambermaid/housekeeping staff member during our three night stay, and she always greeted us nicely but seemed to be rushing around the place, often with a toddler in tow. This really reinforced the independent and family feel of the hotel - you felt that she probably helped out on the front desk or with putting out the breakfast buffet too.
~~~ Drinking and Dining ~~~
The hotel doesn't really have a bar, but from midday you can order coffee, tea, hot chocolate, wine and beer from reception and they will bring it to you in the lounge. The options are fairly limited, but prices aren't extortionate. The hotel doesn't offer lunch or dinner either.
For breakfast there is a reasonable selection of cheese, ham, salami, fruit juice, cereal, bread, yoghurt and fruit. There is also a self-service hot breakfast section, offering scrambled egg, sausage, and sausage patties. The hot food wasn't very well stocked when I was there, and the scrambled egg had a very strange consistency, like a yellow savoury Aero bar. Solid with bubbles in. Weird. In their marketing literature, they describe their breakfasts as 'rich', 'great' or opulent'. Don't expect to be wowed though. It's fine, and there's a variety, but that's it. Breakfast is served from 6.30 -10am weekdays and until 11am on weekends, which is very sociable.
As the hotel is in a residential area there aren't any restaurants or bars in the immediate vicinity, although across the river in another residential area are two restaurants - about a 10 minute stroll away. One is a cocktail/American style place, and the other is more traditional, serving a large range of food and drinks, many of which are German favourites. If you weren't familiar with the area you'd have to go a couple of stops on the U-bahn to find somewhere with more choice.
~~~Other Facilities~~~
There is a small fitness room with a few weights and machines across the landing from the reception, and is free to guests. They can also organise a personal trainer for you.
As the hotel is situated right by the river it makes a very pleasant walk. There are many bridges and there is an easy path to follow. There is also a docking point for the boat tours only a few minutes walk from the hotel.
The hotel has a small car park which is free, or there are usually some spaces right outside the building.
There is also a small conference/meeting room but I don't know where it was located.
~~~ Booking and Costs ~~~
We booked directly with the hotel (contact details below); the rates are as follows:
Single room €82
Small double €101 per room
Medium double €111 per room
Large double €121 per room
Rates include buffet breakfast. The cost of an extra bed is €31. These are higher than the costs on their website, however.
Overall, this is a lovely little hotel. It isn't particularly swish or swanky, but it does make you feel like you're actually living in Berlin, rather than the safe cosy bubble that larger chain hotels provide. The location is excellent, but I'd fork out for a larger room if I were you.
Address : Flotowstraße 6, 10555 Berlin-Tiergarten
Tel: 00 49 (0) 30-390 48 00
Email: info@hansablick.de
Website: http://www.hansablick.de/en/01e.htm
Thanks for reading.
GK
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