Hotels in Berlin

Why do you want to stay near the train station? I stayed in the East. It's not hard to get around Berlin on S Bahn. It all links through it. I stayed at the Hotel Kastanienhof when I visited on a Rick Steves tour a few years ago. It was great. Nice breakfast! http://www.kastanienhof.biz/ Pam

As for avoiding "certain neighborhoods in Berlin," the main one I would say is Neukölln...you don't need to be going there anyway. I wouldn't. Historical Berlin is eastern Berlin, that means a lot of the sights are in Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. Aside from those two, you can see Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf. There are plenty of two and three star hotels and Pensionen in Charlottenburg (that's where I stay). The S-Bahn stations at Bahnhof Zoo and Savignyplatz get you to the Hbf. At Hbf. the S-Bahn runs laterally, east-west and back, a major junction point for the S-Bahn. In the eastern part of Berlin, especially in Mitte and Prenzlauer berg, are the newer hostels, a lot of them. The hotel nearest to the Hauptbahnhof (central station) is Meininger Hotel on Ella-Trebe Straße 9, a big white building to your right as you exit the station. Check their website for the cost of a double. Berlin is a very safe city...by day I'd go anywhere, also a great walking city. Kreuzberg (counterculture, interesting...just to see it), Spandau, Wannsee, and Grunewald to see how green the city, to see more semblances of "Old Berlin" go out to the far eastern area of Köpenick and Karlshorst.

Do you have Rick Steves' "Snapshots: Berlin" guide book yet?
If so, good. If not, you should get it as it has lots of good information that will help you find what you are looking for. We are going to Berlin in August and found it very helpful, although we ended up buying the bigger Germany guide book that has less Berlin and more Germany. Happy travels.

Staying near the main train station would be a bit boring as it is sort of out in the middle of a field. Move into the city just a bit. For reasonably priced hotels, I am now a fan of Motel One. Usually just 59 euro per night, big bed, big bath, flat screen tv and you can choose to have the breakfast buffet for a low price or just go to a cafe. Food is cheap in Berlin, so you don't have to eat in your hotel if you don't want too, though lots of coffee refills at breakfast is a plus for eating there.

Hi Karen, My husband and I loved the Circus hotel it's in the Mitte area, close to everything. Easy to get to by bus. Wendy

Karen, I second the Circus Hotel. We were there for 5 days last May. Great in every way. Wonderful staff. It's #1 on Trip Advisor of all the hotels in Berlin!! Metro right outside the door. Enjoy