Charming hotel in Berlin?

Marie,

I'm not sure if it's a 3 or 4 star, but I'd highly recommend Pension Peters. It's in a nice area, about half way between Bahnhof Zoo and Savignyplatz stations, so very convenient transportation. I found the room to be very comfortable and the staff are wonderful.

There are lots of nice restaurants in the area and Dicke Wirtin's Pub is just across the street (great place to get some pub grub and a pint of Guinness). There's also Schwartze's Cafe a couple of doors down from the Pension, which I recall is open 24 hours.

" I like a 3 or 4 star hotel (no more two star hotels)... It seems like Berlin has a lot of the big chains...but with all due respect, I can get those here in Chicago. "

There's your dilemma. Due to historical factors, Berlin has far fewer of the kind of "boutique" hotels that you seem to want. Communism didn't permit the sort of private ownership that would have allowed those types of hotels to flourish, and after the wall came down, the big boys were the ones that rushed in to fill the void. Likewise, West Berlin was too isolated to thrive as a middle class holiday destination, so the types of lodging that developed there reflected the needs of the visitors- business class for government and industry types, cheap hostels for the counter-culture. Actually, in my research, I haven't really found any luxury options that aren't chains, with the notable exception of the historically important but incredibly expensive Hotel Adlon.

Berlin is really more a city of districts, and these districts aren't tightly joined to any one historical core (like you find in many other prominent European cities). Mitte is not necessarily the best area for evening strolls, if that's what you're looking for. Yes, it contains Unter den Linden and Museum Island, but these two areas are kind of dead at night. Alexanderplatz is more lively, but if you have an aversion to chains... well, that's mostly what you'll find. I've stayed at the Maritim Hotel right by the Friedrichstraße Bahnhof. A very elegant hotel, but because this is mostly a government and business district, there's not a whole lot of restaurants in the neighborhood that stay open at night.

The area around Kurfürstendamm and the zoo might offer more of what you're looking for.

If you're willing to swallow the chain experience, I can recommend the Steinberger hotels (hey, it's a German chain... does that count as "local"?). I've only had good experiences with this company. I think they have two hotels in Berlin. I stayed at the one right by the Hauptbahnhof. Nice hotel, but not a very good area for strolling.

On my trip to Berlin in 2012 with my mother, we stayed in the Hotel Kastienhof near Prenzlauer Berg (former East) and then at the Pension Peters near Savignyplatz (former West). My impressions of both hotels are in this thread about the trip: http://tinyurl.com/9woj9zo

Based on what you're saying, while either would work, I think you'll be happier at the Kastienhof, although both are reasonable value (the Peters is cheaper). Both are near great restaurant streets, as I mentioned in the other thread.

I would recommend Casa Camper in the Mitte area of Berlin. (There are sort of a chain in that I think there around 4 or 5 of them in Europe) but they feel like a small boutique hotel. It is centrally located with easy access to East Berlin sites and Museum Island and easy walk to Unter Der Linden. Breakfast is a nice buffet plus omelets or other eggs/pancakes/French Toast to order. The dining area is open for self-serve 24 hours a day, and they restock it regularly with sandwiches, yogurt, snacks, juices, smoothies and the like.

Very highly recommended.

I would recommend the Hotel Kastanienhof. Its more a traditional small town hotel. www.kastanienhof.biz

Its in Eastern Berlin near Prenzlauer Berg. Hope that helps.

I stayed at Hotel Kastanienhof a few years ago. The rooms, breakfast and location were all very good. It's about a 5 minute walk from the Metro one direction and the elevated train in the other direction, so easy to get around. There are several small places to eat nearby (multiple ethnic choices), a nice beer hall closeby and some more traditional restauants near the elevated train. It's in the old eastern sector, but I found the old eastern sector much more interesting to explore than the old western sector. For me, that made the hotel's location another positive aspect of my visit to Berlin.