Berlin Accommodations for Under E80?

Do they require a private ensuite bath? Assusming yes, they might try Berlin Ibis Mitte, or whichever Motel One looks like a good location to them. (Maybe Alexanderplatz).

Would they be comfortable in a private room in a hostel? (My mother didn't like the sound of this, but others are fine with it). If so, take a look, as these can be very reasonably priced. Some have en-suite bathrooms, some do not. If they can accept being in western Berlin, the Pension Peters is within their budget, and gets good reviews (not just from me).

Yes, there are some less costly hotels in the Pankow neighborhood. But the drawback is a 20-min tram or subway ride into areas of most interest.

Motel One are great. Only 59 euro per night, with several locations in Berlin. I stayed at the one in Bellevue last time I was there. Nice, residential setting, only a 5 min. walk from the U-bahn, and 1 station away from the Hbf as well as the Zoo.

Hi, If you don't find what you want in Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg, I would suggest Charlottenburg, where I know of Pensionen going for 60-70 Euro, a double (DZ).

Heather, For stays in Berlin, I would highly recommend Pension Peters. It's in a great area between Savignyplatz and Bahnhof Zoo, the staff are wonderful, the rooms very comfortable and they provide a good breakfast. There are some nice Pubs and Restaurants in the area, including Schwarze's Cafe which is only a few doors from the Hotel and open 24 hours. Cheers!

Novotel and Holliday Inn are chain hotels that have great deals sometimes. There's a couple of each in Berlin.

If it isn't last-minute, you can probably get that price at Ibis Budget Potsdamer Platz, which I would recommend. It isn't in Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg, but western Kreuzberg, but it's adjacent to Anhalter Bahnhof S-Bahn station, from where you can easily get to all bits of Berlin.

There are several directory sites where you can provide narrowed requirements and be given returns - like www.booking.com (and in this case have reviews from those who have certainly stayed at the accommodation).

Thank you for some of the suggestions. They are not comfortable with a hostel room, being they are two young women traveling together in an unfamiliar country. They would prefer a little more security. A hotel or a personalized option like a good B&B would not be unwelcome, but budget and location matter a bit more than experience. Sadly their schedule won't provide much time for interacting with the property owners because they're going to be out in the city for most of the time. I'll check into some of the business hotels in addition to others. Thanks for the suggestion for Charlottenberg. I didn't find much in the Rick Steves guide for that area.

Hi, I stay in the area where Pension Peters is located, a very good and advantageous area well served by public transportation, the S-Bahn and buses on Kantstrasse and different various cuisines, be it French, Greek, Mexican, Chinese, German, Italian, Austrian. I don't stay at Pension Peters although I can see why it is recommended, it's modern, its very location. But it's no longer the traditional old style Berliner Milieu Pension if that's what one really wants. Peters used to be cheaper than it is now, ie., since it was remodeled and refurbished ca. ten years ago. There are numerous Pensionen and small hotels in the area with rates cheaper than Pension Peters. As regards to staying at Holiday Inn Express, Ibis, Best Western, etc in Germany, I personally wouldn't do it, not worth it.

First, let me say that I have never been to Pension Peters but I have always trusted Ken. After a few years of seeing his posts I have a bit of an idea of what he likes and I generally like what he likes. I don't understand the particularly sharp tone of our new member, Kay, who is so violently against the Pension Peters. The posts are so very negative that they sound more like a personal grudge. Do you work for one of their competitors, Kay, or did you have a particular experience that you would care to share? How can a property in the TripAdvisor Top 10 be as bad as all that? Somebody must stay there, and they seem to like what they get. As for the "Rick Steves" style, some here are more inclined that way and some less so. But the website is provided by the author of those tomes so perhaps it is not so very surprising that visitors here might espouse those values. Usually this is a pretty laid back, friendly sort of Helpline. If we wish to disagree with something we usually give reasons, not just blast away.

"like" button for Nigel.

Kay has said elsewhere that she doesn't like pensions and guesthouses: "I dislike very much the "Garni" (old fashioned German bed and breakfast) hotels." And she really likes the chains like Ibis and Holiday Inn Express: "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Holiday Inn Express properties in Germany. They are still brand new at this point. The Ibis and Holiday Inn Express breakfasts cost 10 euros per person. The difference tis that the ALL Holiday Inn Express roomrates include breakfasts." 1/8/13 3:28 AM Kay New York
Posts: 42 that last part about the breakfast at Holiday Inn express is a little confusing, though. Is it free or 10 euros?

Nigel, your response is wonderfully articulated and well-said. We may all have our preferences and biases for where we like to stay, how we like to travel. The RS Guides and this community provide valuable insight for getting outside our expected comfort zones. For someone unused to B&Bs or pensions, the recommendations can be an opportunity to experience something new and wonderful. The hostel crowd might want to splurge on a fun boutique hotel in their price range. I appreciate all the feedback. My friends had some great success finding a place last night, and we were able to use the recommendations here to narrow things down. I'm personally going to try to use the Peters Guesthouse for a night in Berlin.

@Nigel, Thanks for the kind words! I agree, we need a "Like" button. Somehow I missed seeing the brief but mildly vitriolic comments from Kay. She's welcome to her opinion, but I stand by my recommendation for Pension Peters. I don't consider it to be "bad value" at all. The prices seemed reasonable compared to others that I checked, and I would have absolutely NO hesitation in staying there again. I much prefer staying in a small local hotel rather than a large "international hotel". Aside from more pragmatic aspects such as location and the nice neighborhood, one of the best features of Pension Peters is the staff, whom I found to be enormously helpful. As the old saying goes, "each to their own". @Heather, If you want to go for a "cool one" while at Pension Peters, Dicke Wirtins Pub is right across the street ( www.dicke-wirtin.de/ ). It's a neat kind of "old fashioned" place, and also serves good food. I couldn't find an "English" link on their website, but Google Translate should take care of that. Cheers!

Yes, of course. Even brand new design hotels: MotelOne

Heather,
Perhaps your friends should do a little bit of online research into Berlin hostels before they decide they don't feel comfortable with hostel environments. That comment suggests that they may not be familiar with what is actually available in modern hostels. I stayed at City Hostel Berlin for four 4 nights in 2009, and had a private double room( two single beds) with ensuite. To me it was not much different than a budget hotel, safe, secure, and didn't share my accommodations or bathroom with strangers. In addition, this hostel is centrally located and within walking distance of many of the sites

A number of hotels have been suggested that are within their price range, so they don't need to consider hostels. We will be in Berlin later this year and are paying a bit more than that because I favor a particular location and ambiance. But if I were on as strict a budget, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at a MotelOne. I actually booked one in Munich, but then decided to bypass Munich this trip in favor of more hiking in the mountains further south.

Countdown before Kay joins the fate of Steve and Ralph...

Why? I mean, her advice to stay in budget chain hotels is not exactly consistent with the RS approach, but is that a punishable offense? or typing in all caps? I personally wouldn't pay 10 euros for an "all you can eat" breakfast, but maybe that is important to her. ( Seems more American than European to me, but apparently that is what " real Germans" like).

What is German life magazine? I don't see that as part of the conversation.

"What is German life magazine?" It's a German-American heritage magazine published 6 times a year. Every issue usually has a few articles about lesser-known German towns, festivals, or some lesser-known aspect of one of the major cities. It also includes Austria, and the German-speaking areas of Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and even Alsace. Without this magazine, I probably would not have heard about the Hessentag festival, I probably would not have visited Bad Hersfeld, Bad Wimpfen, Schwerin, Magdeburg, Marburg (well, that one was also recommended by Fred in SF), Quedlinburg, Stolberg, and several other towns.

After reading Tom's description of German Life magazine, I went to the website to check it out. It looks interesting. I decided to buy one back issue (with a cover story about Berlin) and a copy of the cookbook (since I am a new Oma to babies whose parents lived in Germany for a time and love German food). Thanks for the heads-up, Tom.

Oh this thread. Back on topic, a lot of people here like to recommend pensions in the west, because RS suggests saying in the West (like he recommends staying on Rue Cler in Paris). I guess for his target audience it makes sense in theory ,but I have to agree with James and Kay that the east is the place to be. Plus Heather ASKED about the east. Archotel Velvet is in Kreuzberg, not far from Mitte, and I think advance rates are slightly under 80/night. I've wanted to stay there but haven't yet, but have heard only good things about it and plan on staying there in the future. Go-Apartments can be very affordable and have many locations in the mitte. Even an apartment meant for 4 people may be cheaper than many hotels for 2. It's not luxurious, but the locations have always been super convenient in the Mitte in terms of transit. Less so for having anything interesting when you step out of your front door - which is why I'm not really a fan of staying in the Mitte in general. Talk about a dead zone at night, except for Potsdamerplatz, which manages to be dull in the way all major corporate chain areas are. But... convenient. Try Airbnb for a small apartment in Prenzlauerberg maybe?

http://www.bandb-ring.de/p/r88059e.htm Strassburger Strasse 16
10405 Berlin My wife and I stayed at the above address last year for 3 nights. It ran about 73 euros a night. Very basic flat but nice people and convenient to metro. Tom