Even from the outside, The Ritz-Carlton Berlin makes a statement. Surrounded by gleaming glass skyscrapers, this five-star hotel harks back to a different age with smart sandstone bricks and gold embossed lettering which look straight from 1920’s New York.
First opened in 2004, the hotel underwent a multi-million-euro renovation in 2019 and still looks brand new. It’s built right on Potsdamer Platz, once the largest public square in Europe and the cultural hub of Berlin before it was all-but-destroyed in the Second World War. After the end of the war, the Berlin Wall ran straight through the middle of the square, dividing it in two and leaving it deserted for 30 years.
More recently, following reunification in 1990, the square has been transformed into a new urban centre for the city, lined with shops and restaurants, just next to the tree-lined 519-acre Tiergarten Park with lakeside beer garden. Many of the city’s must-visit tourist attractions are also within walking distance including the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Checkpoint Charlie museum and Reichstag, the German parliament building.
The Vibe
The art deco delights continue inside. White-gloved doormen open heavy wooden doors onto a double-height lobby built around a sweeping curved staircase and lit by several spiked sphere chandeliers, designed to mimic a camera flash in a nod to the 1920’s golden era of German film. A surprisingly cosy feel comes from geometric-patterned rugs, a fireplace, a martini trolley and artfully curated shelves displaying vases and books on art. Everywhere smells divine, scented by a series of mammoth-sized Diptyque Philosykos candles.
Beyond the reception area, there’s an open-plan lobby bar, with a white baby grand piano, a mirrored art installation and coupe glasses arranged on top of each other ready to create a Champagne tower. Afternoon tea including cakes from the hotel’s own patisserie is served here each day to live piano music.
The Rooms
Photo by & copyright 2018 Matthew Shaw.
There’s a glamorous feel to the hotel’s 303 bedrooms. All are decorated in colours of champagne gold and soft creams, with the occasional pop of regal purple in dramatic floor-to-ceiling headboards and cushions. Art deco touches are added with chevron wooden floors, oval cherry wood tables, well-lit dressing tables and statement chrome lamps. The deluxe junior suite I stayed in also had a large lacquered armoire doubling up as an expansive mini-bar, a stylish curved sofa and a very-welcome Dyson hairdryer.
All rooms are generously sized so there’s plenty of space to crash after a day’s sightseeing. Bathrooms have walls of Portuguese or Italian marble, underfloor heating, full-sized Diptyque products and bathtubs for a welcome soak, plus handy extras including mouthwash, nail files and toothpaste.
The Food + Drink
Traditional German dishes with a modern twist take centre stage at the hotel’s POTS restaurant. A sleek space with an open kitchen, copper accents and black marble tables, the restaurant serves mainly regional ingredients alongside more than 200 mostly German wines. Opt for the four-course chef’s choice menu to sample the day’s best dishes, including burrata with blackberry sauce served with a chilled red Syrah, veal with sauerkraut and pumpkin matched to a biting Riesling, and an unexpectedly delicious layered beetroot cake dessert with goat’s cheese and yoghurt ice cream.
Save plenty of time the next day for the breakfast buffet too, which is a real treat and includes the usual freshly cooked eggs and pancakes plus more than 20 cheeses, caviar, traditional Gugelhupf cake and even a mimosa and bloody mary station on weekends.
Just off the lobby behind a dark green curtain is The Curtain Club, often voted one of the best bars in Berlin. It serves a huge range of whiskey and Champagne by the glass plus 1920s-inspired cocktails, though bar staff will happily create one just for you. There’s also a separate cigar room and live jazz most nights, ensuring this is far from a bog-standard hotel bar. During summer, you can also decamp to the Secret Champagne Garden, a hidden al fresco terrace overlooking Tiergarten Park.
The Little Extras
Photo by René Riis
There are plenty of small details to add sparkle to your stay, from the glass of Champagne offered at check-in to the chocolates left on the pillow at turn-down. Breakfast includes a takeaway coffee section in case you need to grab and go, while towels, mineral water, fruit and route suggestions are by the front door each morning for guests who fancy a jog around Tiergarten Park.
There are also e-bikes to hire and a wellness centre including a 24-hour gym, a steam room, a Finnish sauna and a lap pool with a nifty Jetstream to create a current for serious swim training.
The To-Do List
It’s impossible to see everything the German capital has to offer, but grabbing a Berlin Welcome Card gives you the best shot by offering discounts on more than 170 attractions plus optional free public transport. I used this to look out over the city from the Berlin Television Tower, peek into the stately Berlin Cathedral and take a steamboat trip on the Spree River.
There are museums aplenty but the city’s two newest are a great place to start, and are both less than five minutes’ walk from the hotel. The interactive German Spy Museum is a fascinating trawl through the history of espionage while The Deutschlandmuseum allows you to travel back in time and immerse yourself in twelve key moments of German history in extraordinarily detailed life-sized sets. If art appeals, it’s well worth investing in a three-day Berlin Museum Pass, which gives free admission to over 30 museums including Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum of Contemporary Art and Old National Gallery, which has works by Constable, Monet and Renoir.
If you don’t fancy wandering far for dinner after all that, pop to the nearby JW steakhouse which is ideal for a romantic dinner a deux, with flickering candles, cosy tables and dark red velvet chairs. Prime aged steaks grilled in a Josper oven come with sweetly roasted half heads of garlic, buttermilk chicken burgers are piled high with gherkins and honey mustard sauce and roasted beetroot tartare is a revelation. And don’t skip dessert, with options including layered chocolate praline, iced Bailey’s coffee parfait and a Graham cracker cheesecake big enough for two, but too delicious to share.
All image credit: Ritz-Carlton Berlin. Lead image credit & copyright 2018 Matthew Shaw.
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