smartments Berlin Prenzlauer Berg

The room equipment was fine, and self check-in was straightforward. The location is good, next to Landsbergerallee S-Bahn, but no one mentioned that there’s an exit just steps away. I took the far exit and dragged my bags for a while instead of going straight to the closer one. Neither exit has a lift. I might have rated the place higher because the offer is good, but I booked while renovations were underway and wasn’t warned or offered any kind of discount. Drilling started at 7:30 in the morning and went on through the day, probably until 18:00. You couldn’t have breakfast in peace or sleep past 7:30, and it went on for days, not just one. No one told me how long it would last. Why have this work going on during a holiday, in an apart-hotel where people want to eat?

I was disappointed by both the conditions and the lack of support during my three nights at Smartments Apartment Prenzlauer Berg. Renovations were going on for two days, and the drilling was very loud, especially on the seventh floor where I stayed. It was hard to rest, particularly because my wife was ill. I contacted the company on the WhatsApp number they provided. An automated message said the case had been forwarded, but I never got a useful response. My follow-up messages went unanswered too, as did an email I later sent to smartments company. The surrounding area also made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe. There are other large accommodations for international visitors nearby, and the REWE store seemed to draw many people under the influence of substances.

I stayed nearly two weeks and had to check out earlier than I’d paid for. A big reason was poor management, along with a long list of problems. The garbage room was hard to find, and when I did find it, it was usually too full for my rubbish. Internet was unstable enough to interrupt video calls and meetings every five minutes or so. Construction workers were around the building all the time, and they smoked outside the lobby, leaving it smelling bad during the day. Cleaning was chaotic and sometimes incomplete, with towels occasionally left unchanged. There were times when no staff responsible for room security seemed to be in the hotel. The only way to contact staff was WhatsApp, which switches to an AI chatbot for part of the day. I work in AI research and know how useless these systems can be with situations they haven’t seen before. No one seemed to check how many people were using the rooms. One Friday around 11 p.m., a woman next door was partying with four very large men. They tried our door by mistake. We heard someone push the handle, then laugh and go to another room. Sound isolation was poor too: we could hear people walking, talking, and laughing in the corridor, as well as drilling from morning to evening. The lighting was poor, though maybe that’s a German thing. If you’re fine with a generally dark room, you can ignore that point. There were more things wrong, but I hadn’t taken notes early on because I hoped the issues were temporary. When I booked, I did think the location near the city center, trams, and S-Bahn was a plus.

A modern, quiet place for a Berlin visit, and in general a very good choice. It’s a little far from the center, but public transport connections are good. The apartment was small, though still big enough for a comfortable and quiet stay. The microwave didn’t work, and there’s no reception over the weekend. An automatic WhatsApp responder does try to suggest ways to deal with problems.