Hotel Ambiente Berlin City

I found another hotel at short notice, fortunately, since it was still early evening. But what if I’d arrived at 3 a.m. without a European phone number or reliable internet? Or if a big event had filled every hotel? A young woman travelling alone could have been left on the streets of Berlin. Travellers should be wary, especially women on their own. This happened just before the December holidays. The hotel’s handling of it was so astonishingly incompetent that I’m writing in mid-January to warn people. I booked just before my flight and received an email confirmation. After that, there were no updates, so I boarded assuming my accommodation was settled. I arrived that evening after a delay and was told the reservation had been cancelled because there was a problem with my credit card. That would have been fine if they had told me. I received no cancellation email, text, update, or other attempt to reach me. The woman at reception didn’t know whether her colleague had tried calling. I was standing there with my luggage, facing complete indifference about a problem on the hotel’s end. Somewhere, the communication had broken down, with one inept colleague apparently handing things over to another. They had even printed my details, and I’d started filling in the form before anyone told me the booking was cancelled. Why have my information and make no effort to contact me?

Being able to check in at any hour was a huge help. I arrived early in the morning after two days of sleepless travel and didn’t have to wait, and when I realised late in the evening that I’d made a mistake, extending my stay by a day was easy. The balcony was nice and had a good view. It’s a simple place for a bed, toilet, and shower, in a handy spot: Penny is right next door for basic groceries, and Nollendorfplatz is an easy walk with public transport connections across Berlin. The area itself feels fairly out of the way. The hotel is pretty good.

The location is handy, within walking distance of bus connections and the metro, and the staff were quite nice. But the room didn’t look as good as it did in the pictures. On arrival, we were given a key to a room that someone was already using. If that happened, I’d be worried about my bags and other things inside.

The location is a plus, with the garage and Penny shop downstairs and a small pizza place around the corner. Nollendorfplatz S-Bahn is close, so Potsdamer Platz and Alexanderplatz are quick to reach. Room service was good; we didn’t use any other special services. The beds were okay, but the pillows need replacing, and the showers are in bad shape. With the window slightly open, smoke from someone outside would drift in, though shutting it stopped that and it wasn’t too bad. The room needs renovating. Fix that and it could be a very good hotel. Berlin’s worth seeing once in your life :) Enjoy.