Dorint Sofitel am Gendarmenmarkt
Charlottenstrasse 50-52
Many of Berlin's "boutique" hotels are exercises in passé, Philippe Starck "avant garde" and self-conscious design: the Sorat Art'otel and the Maritim Pro Arte come to mind. So where to go if the other extreme--the opulent excesses (and prices) of the Berlin Hilton, the Kempinski Hotel Bristol Berlin, or the Hotel Adlon--aren't your style? My preferred hotel in Berlin is the Dorint Sofitel am Gendarmenmarkt, a 92-room hotel that is both lofty and intimate. Although the building's facade still has Jugendstil elements, it's a far cry from its earlier incarnations, including one as a youth hostel in the early 1980s in what was then East Germany. Smack dab in the heart of Mitte, its location can't be beat (these days, you'll be hard-pressed to venture into what was formerly West Berlin), and some rooms have small balconies that overlook the Gendarmenmarkt, a jewel-box square anchored at one end by the Konzerthaus and at the other by the Franzsischer Dom.
The building has been painstakingly transformed by the Dorint chain into an upscale hotel that is artfully minimalist while maintaining an unmistakable edge of luxury. Overall, there is a great continuity to the hotel's design and style that is soothing and tranquil without calling attention to its cleverness. The rooms have all the high-tech accessories you'd expect of a five-star hotel, combined with high ceilings, rich brown and creamy white furniture, luxe linens, marble and wood floors, and understated lighting. The bathrooms are works of art, with a single-paneled door that opens into one area while closing off another, making the best of the rooms' size, which, admittedly, is not large. The hotel's wellness area, on the seventh floor, offers a steam bath, sauna, a state-of-the-art fitness room, and--low and behold--a meditation room. The staff are extremely helpful and friendly, yet unobtrusive.
The hotel, which opened in April 1999, is off Unter den Linden, and within easy walking distance to the Brandenburg Gate, the Pergamon Museum, the Reichstag, the Marienkirche, the Berlin Concert Hall, and other destinations. It's close to Hackescher Markt and Oranienburger Strasse, where many of the best, coolest restaurants can be found, and accessible by bus or metro to the happening areas of Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg. And, should you find yourself craving "Viennese chandeliers, classic antiques, and silk-covered chairs," the Four Seasons is right next door. But if you're anything like me, a drink there will probably send you fleeing back to the Zen-like calm of the Dorint.
Comments