Recommendations for Berlin Hotels

Just stayed at Pension Peters and it is far from far-from-things. The Savigny Platz area is surrounded by sidewalk cafes (at least in summertime, no idea about October). Transport is right outside the front door with buses to the Zoo Bahnhof where you can get the 100 bus across town to Alexander Platz. Just 2 blocks away is the Savigny Platz S-Bahn station with trains to Mitte. Add in a very friendly host Uwe, who is happy to give recommendations on things to do and how to get around. There is a pleasant courtyard on the inside away from street noise. Good breakfast. I'd go back again.
Berlin is a large city with popular attractions spread all over, so no one place is going to have it all. The Ku'dam is just a couple of blocks south and is a main shopping thoroughfare, and was THE street until the wall came tumbling down, opening up the rest of the city.
PS. It is less than your budget with breakfast and city tax.

Thank you Sam! I will definitely look at Pension Peter as a serious contender.

I stayed in apartment in Mitte near Rosenthaler Platz and really liked the neighborhood. There were lots of small cafes and shops and it was an easy walk to Hackescher Markt and the Museum Insel. I am very glad that I stayed in the former East. If you are interested in a little more space, I rented an apartment from Berlin Habitat. The prices are quite reasonable and the owner was quite easy to work with. I rented the Capri apartment which was very Ikea-esque, but very clean and comfortable. He has a number of apartments that would be within your budget.
http://berlinhabitat.com

I stayed in Pension Peters for 5 nights last summer and I found it very pleasant, affordable, and well located. As the other posted mentioned it's just 2 blocks from the Savigny Platz station and, if you have no problem with walking a bit, you can walk to the Zoo Bahnhof station in about 10 mins for easy access to anywhere including the Berlin Hauptbahnhof for rail connections to other cities. In fact, I took two walking tours with Original Berlin Walks (which were excellent by the way) and one of their two meeting places was at the Zoo Bahnhof so that was very convenient. The Savigny Platz area had several cafes within walking distance.

Hi,

I don't stay at Pension Peters but at another Pension in the area near Savignyplatz. Peters' location at the corner of Kantstraße and Savignyplatz is in a very favourable spot....lots of restaurants of different cuisines, the Savignyplatz S-Bahn station has 3 lines running to Berlin Hbf. Alexanderplatz, Berlin Ostbahnhof, etc. as well going westward to Potsdam. and numerous Pensionen and small hotels are located there. Walk over to Kurfürstendamm, the U-Bahn station takes you to the Brandenburg Gate, without having to go through Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse.

I stayed at the Mercure Check-Point Charlie because Mitte was too expensive for me. It was pretty central, about a 20 minute walk or a short U-bahn or tram ride. It was quite safe and very quiet a night. When you check in, tell them it's your honeymoon - maybe they'll give you a free upgrade.

Thank you! All of your advice has been great. Looks like Pension it is!

Another vote for Pension Peters. Great location, comfortable rooms and wonderful staff. If you're so inclined, walk across the street to Dicke Werten's Pub for a pint and some pub grub. There's also Schwarze's Cafe, which as I recall is open 24 hours.

Aha! Schwarze's. We had to leave before breakfast and tasked with getting coffee at 6 am on a Sunday morning. I stuck my head out the door and noticed people coming and going two doors away. Got two cups "mit nehmen" and we were good to go.

Another vote for Pension Peters, we just checked out this morning. The location is great, close to the S- bahn Savignyplatz station and also a really easy walk if you wanted to Zoobahnhof station. I think it took us about 20min from the time we arrived at Hauptbanhof until we were at the hotel. Also lots of great restaurants - this is a really great neighborhood and we would absolutely stay here again. Our room for 3 was large, updated modern bathroom with a great shower and the room had lots of natural light. We had a RS rate of E80/ night with an excellent WiFi connection too. We absolutely loved our first visit to Germany and especially Berlin and look forward to a return visit.

A word on Berlin in general... it doesn't really have a "center", even though there is an area referred to as "Mitte". It's neighborhoods are far more dispersed than many similarly sized cities, but all are linked by a very efficient public transit network. So, you really don't have to stay near the sites that interest you. Just avoid anything in the vicinity of the Hauptbahnhof. The hotels are perfectly nice, but the area is sort of an isolated no-man's land of construction.

I had a nice stay a few years ago at the Maritim hotel on Friedrichstraße, very close to Brandenberger Tor, the Reichstag and Unter dem Linden. Ultra-modern hotel, which can be a plus or minus, depending on your perspective.