Berlin rental advice

I recommend the Adina Apartment Hotel in Hackescher Markt. They have 1-2 bedroom apartments with fully equipped kitchens, washers and dryers and so on. They do have hotels in other Berlin locations as well, but I personally really liked this location. The staff was friendly and courteous, and the rooms were very well prepared, large, clean and nice. Breakfast is available although given the kitchen facilities, I just ate in my room in the morning. Price was reasonable for what was offered.

Also, the hotel is very convenient to the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and trams, and is an easy walk to the major museums. The DDR museum is only a few blocks away, along with the TV Tower, and Museum Island is a quick 5 minute walk. You can easily walk to Lindenstraß from there, There are several grocery stores a few blocks away along with a couple of wine shops, many cafes and good restaurants. I would definitely stay in the Hackescher Markt location again.

Adina has also other locations in Berlin besides the one mentioned by Mardee. The one at Checkpoint Charlie is highly rated.

All of them are highly rated, but I checked out a few of the other locations (including the one at Checkpoint Charlie) and liked the Hackescher Markt location the best for convenience to the main sights and dining/shopping opportunities. I found the Checkpoint Charlie location to be a bit depressing and more touristed. Of course, that's my opinion, but I just found the HM area to be so much fun to stay in and loved being able to get around and use public transportation.

I found that the Hackescher Markt area has several sharp tram curves that are incredibly noisy. If you will have an open window, take that into consideration.

Edit: That is, Haeckescher Markt neighborhood, not referring directly to any one business.

I didn't have any noise problem when I was there, and there is a thread where several people who have stayed there agreed. Either way, you can always ask for a quiet apartment.

Berlin and all other large cities have a ban against misusing housing
space for vacation rentals.

I havent heard about "all other large cities in Germany", but from what I have read, short term rentals are pretty much illegal in Berlin. I guess there are exceptions, but I would be careful. Nothing I read about Berlin identified the term "misusing" when identifying short term rentals relative to long term rentals when discussing the need for legal changes.

I think the whole discussion is facinating. I discovered in Berlin only 16% of the population owns a home. Since this is a very wealthy society we are talking about, its a cultural difference not a cost issue. Not right or wrong, just an interesting difference from the US. (for a little context Berlin low, but isnt terribly low for Western Europe, the US is about 65% and most of Eastern Europe its over 90%; and its usually defined as "the percentage of people who live in a home which is owned by one of the occupants of the home")

Apparently apartment hotels are legal. That appears to be where a large company comes in and buys and converts an entire apartment block as opposed to a landowner renting one place in an apartment block. So look for apartment hotels as I think is mentioned above.

If 16% is the accurate number in terms of Berlin districts, I would be interested in which district these places are? Zehlendorf, Charlottenburg or Grunewald would be the logical guesses.

Years ago, maybe 2015 or so, I saw at breakfast in a Berlin Pension in a newspaper, can't recall which, ( "Berliner Morgenpost"? ) an article about which nationality of tourists spent the most, buying up things, etc in Berlin. This was shown in a pie-chart followed by the more detailed article. Americans were even listed, let alone shown in the pie-chart.

The top two contenders were Russians and the Chinese, who obviously had no compunctions about spending.

So we are down to someone renting their home 2 weeks a year? Imagine strangers living in your home while you were away .... Yup, short term rentals are pretty much illegal. It will probably be beneficial for the Berlin tourism industry as the trend i keep reading about is to eliminate working class tourists by pricing them out of the market; making the environment more attractive to wealthy tourists that spend more money. Which is their right to do. No complaint from me. I just go where my kind are welcome.

Very different opinion from a local. The hotel area is very much in private living and small business area - not directly Checkpoint Charlie. Hackescher Markt is nearly full tourist-driven.

Mark, locals usually don't stay at hotels in their home town. I was there at the Checkpoint Charlie location. I actually walked to the hotel because I was in the area and happened to see it, so my statement above stands. FWIW, here is a photo of its location and it is definitely not in a "private living and small business area." https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOFeYSklSO39U_58PIy4Lv2exkieFQJw8SxuWqO=s1360-w1360-h1020

Yes, Hackescher Markt does have tourists who stay there, and there's a reason for that. It's a nice hotel, and it's very convenient to sights and public transportation. I'm also sure that the Adina Checkpoint Charlie is also a nice hotel. The Adina brand is a good one and I would stay in any of them. I'm just pointing out that I preferred the location at HM for all the reasons named here.

I usually pay attention to someone who has actually stayed at a particular hotel, rather than a local who has not. If people ask me questions about hotels where I live, I usually tell them I don't know, because I don't stay at them.

Mardee, I have discovered (and know first hand from my foul ups) that locals are great for how to get from A to B, but beyond that tourists often provide better insight for all the obvious reasons.

Mardee, please just look at a map. The Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Checkpoint Charlie is by far NOT located at Checkpoint Charlie. Got it now???

Mark, I did look at a map. Even better, I was there! And I didn't say it was located AT Checkpoint Charlie, but it is in that area (hence the name). All I'm saying is that I liked the HM location better than the CC location. And unlike what you said, it is a business area. Look at the photo I linked to - that is a photo of the Adina CC Hotel. I'm not trying to one-up you here, honestly; I'm just giving my opinion as a tourist who stayed at one of the hotels and had the chance to compare it to the same hotel at a different location.

I am more interested in knowing which of the large cities that have this Verbot that are not frequented by foreign tourists, makes no difference to me whether "my kind are welcome." (ie, as a foreign traveler/visitor in Germany).

Then this option of getting rentals is not one of my accommodation options, relying rather on small hotels/Pensionen or good hotel offers by local chains.