Hotel Karlshorst

The room doors weren't secure, with rotten door frames. That added to an already frustrating stay. Before booking, I read the negative reviews about guests being unable to get into the hotel or their rooms late at night. Since I wanted to enjoy Berlin's nightlife, I checked and confirmed with reception that late access would be fine. The woman at the desk assured me the key would work 24 hours at the side entrance to the right of the main doors. I got in at 1 a.m. the first night. On the second, I came back at 3 a.m. and found the lock had been changed. I was stranded outside with no way in. They could have told guests about the change and given us updated keys, but left us in the dark, literally. The whole thing was deeply disappointing. I'd strongly advise future guests to be cautious about booking here.

We were treated like criminals instead of getting an apology. The main hotel staff member was loud and aggressive, openly misogynistic, refused to speak to my wife "because she's a woman," and threatened to throw us out with our three children unless we paid for the so-called damage. I had to call the police. Even so, we were made to pay 200EUR for the mirror, though it had fallen because of negligent installation. There were visible holes from an earlier installation, so it may have fallen before as well. The mirror had suddenly dropped off the wall because it was attached with weak, bent metal hooks and installed badly. We decided to provide photos. If anyone had been nearby, it would have caused a serious injury. Luckily, we were out of the room. This was the worst stay we've had. The room appeared to be infested with bedbugs, and the children were badly bitten. The employees were misogynists in their purest form. The hotel was in terrible technical condition, with visible damage everywhere. A loose ventilation cover was falling from the ceiling, and one window had what appeared to be a bullet hole. The shower curtain was tied up with string, and the shower cabins were missing, likely taken out after previous breakages. It seemed guests were blamed and charged for poor-quality fittings. Holes and glue from the previous installation were visible. Even when we tried repeatedly to tuck the curtains into the shower tray, water leaked from every side and flooded the bathroom.

The room was fine, though it got a little warm without AC. The big windows let in a breeze, and we didn't have any other issue except one night when our key card failed at the after-hours entrance to the right of the main doors. We called the posted emergency number and waited for staff to let us in, then open our room door. You can hear the metro all day, so noise-sensitive guests may not like it, but we didn't mind. The hotel is near a metro station, and a 3.50-euro ride takes about ten minutes to the city center.

The staff were absolutely lovely and very accommodating. The rooms are big and have everything you need, and it's close to several stations, making it easy to get around Berlin. A really lovely hotel, highly recommend.