Germany Berlin Westin Grand

[Welldone Rumproast]

The Westin Grand is a modern hotel in arguably the best area of Berlin.

The rooms are average-size based on European standards and are very well-equipped. By showing my Starwood Gold Preferred card I was upgraded to a "Westin Office" - although the room was not any larger (not a problem) the Office rooms have a fax machine (I didn't use it), an in-room safe and, best of all, the famous Westin Heavenly Bed :)

The rooms have beautiful dark wood baseboards and doorframes and excellent light-blocking drapes. Housekeeping was impeccible, water pressure in the shower was nice and strong, and two types of robes are provided (terry-cloth and a less-heavy, sort-of weave fabric one). TV has over 20 stations including CNN and BBC World (very handy during the Iraq war).

Staff was warm and friendly, and seemed to appreciate my comical attempts to speak German.

The best thing about the Westin is the location. There are lots of attractions within easy walking distance (Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag with its glass dome) and the twin cathedrals of the Gedarmanmarkt square. There is a U-Bahn (subway) station across the street from the hotel's door, giving you fast access to almost any part of Berlin. And the express bus to and from Tegel airport stops one block away.

A hint: There is a gourmet market in the basement of Galleries Lafayette just one block away from the hotel - you can easily put together a tasty meal or picnic for a very reasonable price. There are numerous other food options nearby, including a Starbucks a quick 3-block walk up the street, just before the entrance to the Friedreichstrasse U-Bahn / S-Bahn station if you need your Grande Latte fix :)

[WillTravel]

This is a beautiful classic hotel. I am not 100% sure of the history, but I think it's something like this. The hotel was first built in the 19th century. Like a multitude of other buildings, it suffered war damage. It was rebuilt by the East Germans using their prefab, 'Lego' architecture, and it was meant to be impressive and to house visiting Communist dignitaries. After the fall of that regime, Westin acquired the hotel and refurbished it.

The style is like a grand 19th century mansion (or palace), as you can see on the web site: http://www.westin-grand.de

At first my son and I were assigned a room with a single double bed, with the 'Heavenly Bed' styling on it. I had previously emailed and gotten a positive reply that we wanted twin beds, and forgot to confirm at check-in. Down we went immediately and were assigned another room with twin beds, without the 'Heavenly Bed' styling. These beds were not great at all. They had very heavy winter-weight duvets on them, quite unsuitable for the summer weather. Plus, they were just very uncomfortable.

The bath/shower was also quite uncomfortable indeed. The tub was too narrow for me to feel comfortable standing in it for a shower (although I could have done so, I wouldn't have felt comfortable). It required some dexterity to disembark from the tub without slipping. Perhaps these were old East-German style bathroom fixtures.

I know the Westin Grand has excellent reviews, but I can only presume these posters got a better bed and bathroom.

On the plus side, the location is extremely convenient. We came in from Schoenfelde Airport (in east Berlin, with EasyJet) and caught the S-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse Station (previously the station that separated West Berlin from East Berlin). From there, it was only 350m to Unter den Linden, and the Westin Grand is at the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Unter den Linden. Prior to WWII, that was perhaps the most fashionable of locations in Berlin. Across the street there is an extremely extensive car showroom, which I did not look at much, but did note some Bugliattis in the show windows. There are bakeries and a grocery store and restaurants in and around Friedrichstrasse Station. The Westin is also pretty close to the Brandenburg Gate (about 2 blocks I think).

This hotel has a small swimming pool and whirlpools and fitness center, available free to guests. I didn't get a chance to use them much, because I was so busy in Berlin, but I certainly appreciated the pool the one time I used it.

Berlin is a fabulously exciting city, with of course a very grim and horrible history. I would really recommend visiting. I spent almost all of my time there in former East Berlin, which is changing at a phenomenal rate. I would also recommend taking Terry Brewer's two separate walking tours of Berlin and Potsdam (note the word 'walking' - these tours each last a vigorous 9 or 10 hours). Amazingly, each tour is only 10 Euros, as the target market tends to be young people traveling on the cheap. But Mr. Brewer's knowledge of Berlin is truly encyclopedic (short version is that he is an Englishman who lived in Berlin in various public and private capacities for decades).

One other thing - I viewed the bill on the TV every night, and under 'Misc' I first saw 55 Euros, and this amount kept incrementing every day by 55 Euros. Presumably this is the hotel's rate to Priceline.

The Westin has not been coming up much at all lately on Priceline, sadly. Since with a Priceline 4* bid you cannot be assured of either this great eastern location within the Tiergarten zone, or of air conditioning (which the Westin Grand has), I don't know if I would bid on Priceline again for Berlin, because the odds of being disappointed are high. Despite the bedding and bathroom, I was quite happy to stay here.