Mitte / Pariser Platz

Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin

★★★★★

The Hotel Adlon is the most famous hotel in Germany, and its location could hardly be more symbolic: on Pariser Platz at the end of Unter den Linden, right beside the Brandenburg Gate. The original Adlon was opened in October 1907 by the hotelier Lorenz Adlon, with the support of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and it quickly became the social centre of imperial and then Weimar Berlin, a place of diplomats, film stars, writers and scientists. The main building was destroyed by fire in May 1945; a surviving wing served as a hotel in East Berlin for some years, and it was demolished in the 1980s, when the site lay beside the Wall. After reunification, the Adlon was rebuilt in a style recalling the original, and it reopened under Kempinski on 23 August 1997, quickly regaining its role as the hotel of state visits, premieres and celebrations. Today it has 385 rooms and suites, 307 rooms and 78 suites, decorated in a classic, elegant style with warm woods, marble bathrooms and modern technology, and the most coveted categories look directly onto the Brandenburg Gate. The presidential suites include a Brandenburg Gate suite with views over the Quadriga, and a Royal Suite named after the 2015 visit of Queen Elizabeth II. The lobby, renovated in 2016, is a famous meeting place, centred on the elephant fountain, an exact replica of the one from the garden of the old Adlon. Dining ranges from the gourmet restaurant Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer to Brasserie Quarre, serving German and French classics with a terrace on Pariser Platz, plus the Lobby Bar and the Elephant Bar. The Adlon Spa covers three floors, alongside a separate pool area with saunas, a steam bath and a 24-hour gym. Rates are at the very top of the Berlin market; for a first visit, a milestone birthday or a honeymoon, nothing else feels quite like it.

Rooms and views: the classic rooms are comfortable and quiet rather than large by the standards of new luxury hotels, and the decor is traditional, so travellers who want contemporary design may prefer a younger hotel. The reason to stay is the sense of history and the view: rooms and suites facing Pariser Platz and the Brandenburg Gate are worth the premium, especially at night, when the gate is floodlit, and on New Year's Eve, when the party at the gate takes place under your window. Service is formal, polished and attentive, with a concierge team that can arrange almost anything in the city.

Eating, drinking and relaxing: a drink in the lobby by the elephant fountain is a Berlin ritual, open to non-residents too, and the Brasserie Quarre terrace on Pariser Platz is one of the best people-watching spots in central Berlin. The Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer is one of the city's leading fine-dining restaurants, ideal for a special occasion; book well ahead. The spa and pool are a welcome refuge after a day of museums, and the gym is open around the clock.

Location: you can walk to the Reichstag dome in five minutes, to the Holocaust memorial in three, to the Tiergarten in one, and along Unter den Linden to Museum Island in about twenty-five. Brandenburger Tor station on the U5 and S-Bahn is directly in front of the hotel, with direct trains to the main station and Alexanderplatz. On the downside, Pariser Platz is busy with tourists by day and closed for major events at times, and the area is quiet in the evenings compared with Mitte's livelier neighbourhoods. For a first trip where the hotel is part of the story, the Adlon is the natural choice.