Apartments elPilar Friedrichshain

The apartment was nice, but we paid around 350 eur/night, which felt very expensive. There was no street parking available, so I had to walk half a kilometer to find a space, and parking costs were incredible. Six hours came to 30 eur, all in coins, plus another 5 for withdrawing cash at an ATM. In general, I feel tourists are being ripped off at every step in Berlin.

There were plenty of useful things in the room, including coffee, tea, kitchen supplies, trash bags, towels, and a washing machine. The supermarket is right across the street. Although this is a busy Berlin neighborhood, street noise didn’t bother me, so the sound insulation seems pretty good. I had an electrical issue, but someone came to look within an hour and moved me to an even better room without charging extra. The staff were nice and quick to respond. The woman who came didn’t speak great English, but she understood what I was explaining. Just speak slowly instead of getting upset. My room was clean, and everything went well. The entrance and key setup looked tricky at first, but turned out to be simple and practical for check-in. Make sure you have internet access in case something goes wrong, and they’ll help quickly. I’m surprised to see the negative comments. I had a very good experience at this apart hotel.

ElPilar said luggage storage was available, which mattered because our flight on the last day wasn't until the evening. But when we went to use it, the door was locked, and the checkout email said a staff member had to unlock it. We couldn't find anyone at the property, there was no email contact, and the emergency number went straight to voicemail. We ended up taking a cab to a nearby luggage locker and paying to store our bags. The apartment itself was clean and well equipped, in a fantastic location. Check-in and checkout were easy, and using a keycode and phone access meant we didn't have to share or look after keys among the guests.

The interior was very basic and not really my style, but that wasn't why we came to Berlin. For the price, it was good value, and the location was great, with all kinds of food nearby, major public transport links, and famous nightclubs within walking distance. We arrived half an hour before check-in, so the codes didn't work at first. Someone helped right away, activated them, and we got into the apartment early. Throughout our stay, someone from the ElPilar team was immediately reachable on WhatsApp whenever we needed help.