Surprisingly good
Written: Oct 04 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: good location, interesting contemporary design, spacious rooms and some very good staff
Cons: slow room internet connection
The Bottom Line: This was an attractive and well maintained hotel with some exceptional staff. It is well located for transport, shopping and all the interesting sights that Berlin offers.
|
|
|
| deltafly's Full Review: Swissotel Berlin |
Our family group of 3 enjoyed an 3 night stay here during the summer of 2005. We chose this hotel because of its convenient location on the Kurfurstendamm and because it was part of a reputable chain. It was also positioned within a smart shopping area including the KaDeWe department store and close to a number of interesting restaurants.
The hotel has a very impressive appearance both inside and out and in my opinion its modern design sits very well with the older buildings around it. The area is smart and we felt safe when venturing out at night.
The greetings from the uniformed doormen were very warm and friendly and we immediately felt welcome. They assisted us with our luggage and parked our car in the underground car park. My immediate thoughts were that these men were very well trained and made a good first impression for the hotel.
The hotel foyer was attractive with several glass sided lifts and smart leather furniture. There were two bars towards the back of the foyer and both were doing good business.
The check in was efficient and we were shown to our rooms by the same staff member who explained the facilities including the coffeemaker which incidentally, did not make good tea.
Our rooms faced inward towards the atrium and I was initially disappointed by this. However these rooms were more spacious than the outward facing ones which had lovely views. It didn't matter because either way, you got something good. The furnishings and fittings were stylish and contemporary. The lighting was sophisticated and the bathrooms were spacious and well designed with quality fittings.
Some of the reception and concierge staff at this hotel were extremely skilled at their jobs. We used them frequently for seeking advice on a number of occasions. At one time we needed some Polish consular information and because our German and Polish language skills were inadequate, the staff member offered to make the enquiry to the Polish Embassy in Berlin on our behalf.
Breakfast was buffet style, plentiful and busy, but the dinner room service was a shambles. Neither of us got what we ordered and we suspected it was the result of the kitchen staff's poor understanding of English. We were compensated by a small bottle of wine.
The room's "high speed" internet connection was disappointing. It was slow and appeared to have more complex problems which were beyond the control of the hotel staff. However, there were 2 internet computers off the lobby for hotel guests' use which were very useful and free of charge.
One piece of advice I would offer.... Each day after breakfast we would find the housekeeping staff in full flight in our rooms. They did not offer to step aside nor understand our need for us to return to our rooms to prepare for our days out. So my advice is - do not forget to put the "Do not Disturb" sign on your door handle before going down to breakfast.
We didn't use the fitness centre nor the restaurant apart from breakfast. However, many others did and the hotel seemed well patronised by business and leisure guests.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
deltafly
|
|
Member: Lyndall Green
Location: Canberra, Australia
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
travel a lot and working my way through "1,000 Places To See Before You Die"
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.