Berlin - searching for family friendly, budget hotel in Dec

Erika, not spend a huge amount is a pretty broad question - your not huge may be somebody else's huge, or the other way around. Can you try, in Euros, to put a figure on what you'd like to pay?

Yes, like Nigel said, "a huge amount" is subjective. Berlin is a massive city so "central" is also subjective. Do you prefer to stay close to the sites or in a residential neighborhood with lots of grocery stores and restaurants? Hotels are usually quite reasonable in Berlin but December is a busy month. Have you looked into such budget chains as Ibis or Etap? Those might be a good bet for a shorter stay such as yours.

I stayed at the Hotel Kastanienhof in the former East and Pension Peters in the former West (both found in Rick Steves Germany, which I recommend using). My impressions of each are are in this thread in the Helpline Trip Reports. I'd stay in both again; my mother would stay at the Kastanienhof, but was less fond of the Peters. I feel both were reasonable values for the price (€58 per night for a single at the Peters, €96 per night for a single at the Kastanienhof). If these are not suitable, let us know your price range so others can make suggestions.

Thanks for your advice. As far as budget, we'd like to keep it below 100 euros a night if possible, and we are flexible on staying in a hotel or a neighborhood setting (ive been browsing airbandb.com for short term rentals of flats). We'd like to be near public transit to get around.

Fortunately, Berlin has excellent public transit so you will usually never be more than a 5-minute walk to any U-Bahn or S-Bahn stop. I highly recommend the neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg, in the former East Berlin. It reminds me of my neighborhood here in Chicago: Lakeview, or the Upper West Side in your city. Lots of strollers, especially on Kollwitzplatz; an abundance of small restaurants and funky clothing boutiques, and a large piece of the wall still standing on Bernauer Strasse.

Erika, If you're looking at staying at a reasonable, budget German chain as regards to location, then I suggest the Meininger Hotel and Motel One. The Meininger is located two mins or so once you exit Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station), walk out and it's to your right. Motel One is also close by. At Bahnhof Zoo is another Motel one if you want to be closer to the western part of the city, which is less than 10 mins to Pension Peters, as suggested above. At Berlin Hbf the S-Bahn lines stop there as well as numerous buses outside on Invalidenstrasse that go to the sights in Berlin-Mitte (and the airport too). That special train from Schönefeld will get you to Berlin Hbf. "...looking not spend a huge amount on our hotel stay."...Meininger Hotel at Hbf. will fit your needs. Relative to other capital cities, Paris, London, etc., Berlin is quite inexpensive.