AMAR ANWAR
July 11, 2023
Location
Walk 7 minutes in one direction and you are at Checkpoint Charlie. Walk 10 mins in the other direction and you are at the Mall of Berlin. Walk 20 mins in another direction and you are in the Museum area of Berlin. Loads of restaurants, supermarkets and stores right next door to the apartment. Wonderful location. Can walk everywhere, plus the subway station is right outside.
Room
Large. Clean. It's a studio apartment, so in one room you will have your bed, sofa, coffee table, desk, wardrobe and TV. Then in another room you will have your kitchen and another room is your bathroom.
Bedroom
Bed is comfortable, but for some reason, despite having a 1 double bed, the duvets supplied were for 2 single beds, rather than one big bed.
Plug sockets near the beds are useful, but they are not VERY near, but close enough.
The room is large and clean.
The TV is small and because of the size of the room, it's almost hard to see. Yes it's on a wheeled table so you can bring it closer to the bed, but the power cord limits the range of movement. It is a Smart TV though so you can cast your android phone to it. Not iOS
There is a balcony area with tables and chairs which is nice.
The AC is wall mounted as if it was a TV. It did cool the room which is surprising as the room is big.
Bathroom
Super clean. Towels and such changed daily. It's a bathtub with a shower combined. And now I am going to be SUPER picky when I say this......do NOT let this impact your decision to stay here or not, but the water pressure is good but not great. But that may be because I like to feel like the water is really shooting at my skin. Also, the shower head holder kept sliding down. Annoying, ever so slightly, but not a deal breaker
Kitchen
So useful. It's a large kitchen with a fridge plus freezer. Induction hob with 2 rings. Sink, dishwasher. Plates, bowls, cups, tea saucers and cups, cutlery, cooking pots, frying pans, utensils for them, cutlery for eating, kitchen knives, tea towels, sieves... all great and all provided. There was one review that said it only offered 1 plate set.... we had several and it was very very useful.
Laundry
The apartment has a laundry room. 3 washing machines, 3 drying units, an ironing board and good steam iron. Even the powder is provided and having a laundry room was super useful. It's on -1 floor of the West side of the building.
Breakfast
The breakfast room, on the 8th floor does have an amazing view, and the room is lovely - everything is white with stone-coloured chairs, super clean... as if designed by Apple
It's a half-buffet style, cereal, pastry, cheese, and cured meats are all help yourself. Eggs, tea and coffee are on request. I didn't like this. The staff are wonderful and very polite and well trained, but, for me, I prefer less interaction and would have preferred a full buffet-style where I can help myself to whatever I wanted without having to ask.
Gym and Sauna
Also on the 8th floor. The gym has wonderful views, there is a seated bike, treadmill, rowing machine, weight bench and some dumbbells. Max weight was 10kg for the dumbbells so really its more of a cardio room.
Service.
We arrived around 11pm, but reception is not open. You have to scan a QR code, fill in all your details, upload a photo of your passport.... then wait after it successfully registers you you can open the doors. Or you can pop into the security office where the guy will hand you a key. Much easier, but you are not explicitly told.
But, the service is good here. Everyone is very polite, very helpful, all speak English. Cannot fault them at all. Just wish the reception was 24 hours
The location is great, the room is large and clean, the laundry room is useful and the gym and breakfast room have great views. It is expensive which is the only hesitant thing about returning here, but it is comparable in price to other similar hotels but here you get a much larger room with a kitchen. Great stay!