Upstalsboom Hotel Friedrichshain, Berlin

Advantages: Great value for 5* hotel, very modern, clean
Disadvantages: Air-con was broken down..

...Just came back from our long weekend (2nd May Bank Holiday, 26May-28May) with 4 other friends. We went to Berlin with Easyjet; it was about £120 per person (a little pricey due to peak period) and the flight time is a little inconvenience because it departed at 6.30am, and check-in time is from 4.30am so we took the last train from London Bridge to Luton airport (about 1hour). We got there by 1.30am and slept on the benches for few hours. There are three airports in Berlin, which are Schoenefled, Tegel and Tempelhof. We went to Berlin Schoenefled with Easyjet and this is the furthest airport from town centre and to the hotel (Grand Hotel Esplanade), it took us about 1 hour. The closest airport is Berlin Tempelhof it would be about 20 minutes from town and 30minutes from Berlin Tegel Airport to town. Grand Hotel Esplanade is a 5... Read review

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Advantages: Stylish hotel in a superb location. Unique feature of huge aquarium in hotel atrium.
Disadvantages: One bed rather than two pushed together would have been nice!

...streets. Situated on Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse in the Mitte district of Berlin, this hotel is superbly situated for sightseeing. The River Spree runs to one side of the hotel and if you leave from the main door and turn right you are just a few metres away from a boarding point for sight-seeing boat trips. You will also be facing the Cathedral (Dom) with its baroque style dome and stunning architecture. Very close at hand is Museum Island and the National Gallery. Continue in this direction and you will be strolling down "Unter den Linden" . This will lead you to the Brandenburg gate - just about 15 - 20 minutes stroll from the hotel. If you were to turn left from the hotel entrance you would reach Alexanderplatz and the TV tower within minutes So what does the hotel offer inside? Well, I have to say that if you are hoping for a taste... Read review

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Advantages: Germany's capital and most interesting city
Disadvantages: a bit too large, distances too long

...Berlin*, Berlin, Wir fahren nach Berlin! (Berlin, Berlin, We're heading for Berlin!) (pronounced Ber-leen, stress on the second syllable) This slogan has been chanted enthusiastically for ages whenever a German sports team made it to the capital for the last round, meanwhile it has left the confines of sports and is now even used by the Berlin Tourist Board for a campaign to attract visitors. I've been to four Berlins in my life: when in my mother's womb I was in Berlin, then the capital of the Third Reich, from the GDR (German Democratic Republic), where we later lived, I visited Berlin once in the 1950s, a much smaller city then (only the Soviet sector), but still a capital, the capital of the GDR. After fleeing to West Germany I visited West Berlin, not a capital any more, but no ordinary city, either, it had become... Read review

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