Hauptbahnhof / Europacity

MEININGER Hotel Berlin Central Station

★★★★★

MEININGER Hotel Berlin Central Station is one of the best budget choices in the city for families, groups and travellers arriving by train. It stands on Ella-Trebe-Strasse, about a minute's walk from the main entrance of Berlin Hauptbahnhof, in the new Europacity district north of the station, and it is a large, modern building with 296 rooms and around 820 beds over nine floors. MEININGER's formula combines the comfort and privacy of a hotel with the prices and social spaces of a hostel, and it works especially well for families. Private rooms come as singles, doubles, twins and triples; family rooms combine single beds and bunk beds, including four-bed rooms; and for travellers aged eighteen and over there are mixed and female-only four-bed dorms. Every room has its own bathroom. The communal facilities are a big part of the appeal: a guest kitchen where you can cook your own meals and save money, a games zone that children and teenagers love, and a hotel bar for a relaxed drink in the evening. Breakfast is served daily for an extra charge, with vegan options, and it is free for young children and half price for older ones. Bikes can be hired on request. The location is excellent for sightseeing as well as for trains: the Bundestag and the Reichstag are about a quarter of an hour on foot, the Brandenburg Gate around twenty minutes, and the S-Bahn and U-Bahn at the station connect you to the whole city and to BER airport. The hotel is non-smoking and cashless, and its rates include Berlin's City Tax.

Who it suits: families on a budget, who can share a family room and cook in the guest kitchen; school groups and groups of friends; and travellers arriving or leaving by train who want to be as close to the platforms as possible. It is a busy, lively property, so travellers who want a quiet boutique stay or hotel services such as room service and a spa should look elsewhere. The dorms are for adults only.

Living in it: book a family room early, as they are popular in school holidays, and decide whether to add breakfast, since children under six eat free. Use the guest kitchen for simple dinners after long days of sightseeing, and let children burn off energy in the games zone. Walk to the Reichstag dome for a booked visit, or follow the Spree past the government quarter to the Brandenburg Gate. Check-in is from mid-afternoon and check-out in the late morning; luggage storage and lockers are available for a small fee, and parking is only nearby, not on site.

Value: rates are firmly in the budget range for central Berlin, and for a family sharing one room with access to a kitchen it is one of the cheapest well-located options in the city. Berlin's City Tax of 7.5 percent of the net room price is included in MEININGER's rates, which makes the price you see easier to compare. For a practical, affordable base by the main station, it is hard to beat.