Hotel Gunia

Staying here feels like getting a bit of real Berlin. It’s an old, stylish apartment converted into a hotel, and the owners really try to make you feel at home. The metro nearby goes straight to sights in both the east and west. If you want a modern place with air conditioning and a minibar, but don’t mind it feeling soulless, this probably isn’t your spot.

We’d be happy to return. The owners were warm and ready to help, and breakfast was fresh and really tasty. We also loved the old-fashioned feel of the building. It made our family stay feel like a step back in time.

You get a key for the apartment complex, so there’s no curfew and no need to wake a receptionist if you come back late. The rooms are good, though a few parts look a little worn. Staff were friendly and helpful, and the hotel is about a five-minute walk from a main metro station, with plenty of nearby restaurants offering good food at low prices. For an independent hotel, it’s a nice place at a fair price. Well worth it.

The subway connections make it easy to get around Berlin, and the gay nightlife is right nearby. This is a fairly good budget hotel in the city’s gay area, with friendly staff who speak several languages. The building dates back 130 years, and the parquet floors creak. I’d read about a wonderful private city garden, but I couldn’t find one. Breakfast is very cheap, though the food is the same each day: eggs, cheese, sausage, bread, juice, yogurt and coffee.