Hilton Berlin

Booked this hotel for a trade show. All the rooms are quite small, but the location is truly excellent. There's a subway station right outside, and the U2 line goes directly to Messe Berlin without any transfers. About 700 meters away, there's a fantastic Chinese restaurant that I ended up eating at every day. The hotel is also in the city center; it's just a 15-minute walk to the Brandenburg Gate and Museum Island. The breakfast restaurant, located under a dome, is beautiful and faces the German Cathedral.

Let's start with the positives: The location is excellent, right next to the U2 subway station and very close to the U6. If you have the Berlin WelcomeCard, getting around by subway and bus is super convenient and saves you a lot of walking. There's a Rewe supermarket across the street with a great selection of food, and their salad bar and hot food counter are both excellent. Now for the negatives: The staff were arrogant and rude. I waited in line to check in for almost 20 minutes when a white man just walked up and stood next to the queue, not bothering to line up. After the person in front of me finished, I walked up to the front desk with him. He said the balding male staff member at the desk had called him over. I told the male receptionist that everyone was queuing and should be served in order, but he insisted he had called that specific white man. At this point, another front desk was free, so I didn't argue and moved to that one. This is where it got even more interesting. When I tried to pay the deposit in cash, the female receptionist said they don't accept cash. Isn't it illegal in any country to refuse legal tender? And who says everyone has a credit card? I didn't want any trouble, so I pulled out my credit card, but for some reason, it wouldn't go through. Finally, this female receptionist said her colleague could accept cash, and indeed, the colleague came over and took the money. But if I hadn't asked, they wouldn't have even given me a receipt. For a hotel costing over 2,000 euros a night, they don't provide bottled water unless you're a Hilton Silver member or higher. The coffee is also terrible instant coffee, the worst among the four hotels I stayed at on this Europe trip. The facilities are old but reasonably well-maintained. In short, besides the location, there are no redeeming qualities.

Great location, and the hotel breakfast was plentiful. The facilities, however, are a bit outdated.

There were hairs, dandruff, and lint on the bed, and the pillows smelled awful. It was clear that the sheets hadn't been changed since the last guest. I went downstairs to report it to the front desk. They offered a slight apology but didn't replace the sheets or pillows. Absolutely terrible experience.

The hotel didn't provide complimentary bottled water. The Hilton Berlin's mini-bar prices are ridiculously exorbitant and completely unreasonable, making for a terrible experience. There was no clear price list in the room, and a standard bottle of mineral water cost 7 Euros, while the exact same bottle is only 2 Euros at an outside supermarket – more than triple the price. This is pure price gouging. We weren't informed about these charges at all during our stay, only to be hit with them at check-out, which was incredibly off-putting. As an international chain, using such opaque and unreasonable high prices to rip off guests is completely beneath the Hilton brand standard. I strongly advise against staying here.

Hilton was great, the surroundings were clean and quiet, and breakfast was decent too.

The hotel is right in the heart of Berlin, with a subway station just outside. You can walk to Museum Island in about twenty minutes. Even though the hotel is a bit older, the room facilities are well-maintained and not outdated. The staff were also very warm and attentive.