Hotel Bogota

Hotel Bogota is a classy place. Beautiful building, lovely decor, great amenities, clean rooms, good breakfast offerings, calming music and art displays throughout and more. I stayed here while in Berlin in June, and it was a complete gem of a place.

Also, the location is PRIME, especially if you're a shopper. Right by or within walking distances of all the fancy schmancy places on Ku'Damm, like Gucci, Diesel, Vidal Sassoon, Bulgari and more. I had no concerns about safety, and was about a 10 minute walk (or less) from most everything I needed, including S and U-Bahn stops. There were little cafes and restaurants and stores nearby as well, all with reasonably priced goods.

The hotel itself was quiet at night. Aside from a handful of obnoxious children on the first afternoon, the entirety of my stay was peaceful. The staff really keeps guests in check, in order to maintain a nice atmosphere.

Unfortunately, some of this carried over to myself and my friend. For example, half of the staff treated us like we were vagrants of sorts. Admittedly, we look a little more punk rock than the average guest there, I'd imagine, with our tattoos and piercings and hipster haircuts, but seriously, I felt like I was being judged every time they looked at me. And when I'd address them in polite German, a couple employees were inclined to snap back in English... and not very friendly English at that. While it wasn't off-putting enough to make me lower my rating of the hotel significantly, I do admit I was a bit offended that we were treated like second-rate guests by some staff members. Luckily, the majority of the staff made up for the lack of hospitality their co-workers extended.

And God bless those young men who work serving breakfast in the morning, cause their handsome faces helped me start each day off on the proper foot, so to speak.

I guess Rupert Everett lists Hotel Bogota as his favourite place to stay in Berlin, and I can see why, because it's quirky but not cheap, and classy but not (too) pretentious. If I ever needed a place to stay in town, I'd definitely consider staying here again, although fact that Internet costs extra still baffles me...