For Ostalgia

EASTERN COMFORT
Anyone pining for the old East/West divide — a condition known as Ostalgia — should check out this “hostel boat” on the River Spree. To reach it, you have to travel to Ostbahnhof and pass through part of the Berlin Wall (much of which is now decorated and designated as the East Side Art Gallery).

The boat’s mooring offers a great view of the Oberbaumbrücke bridge, which in the early days of the divided city was used for prisoner exchanges. Over the bridge is the thriving club scene of Kreuzberg, and restaurants abound within walking distance. As well as doubles, triples and “dorm” quads, the boat has a lounge, a bar and a TV room; the clientele is a mix of backpackers and tourists looking for something more unusual and freewheeling — and a lot cheaper — than a regular hotel.

Doubles with shower from £34, room-only; dorm beds from £13; 00 49 30 6676 3806, www.eastern-comfort.com

For design

MANDALA
Too many “boutique” hotels offer you a glorified cupboard with low-wattage lights, and tell you to get on with feeling groovy — never mind if you can’t find the light switch or figure out how to flush the lavatory. This is different: comfortable and straightforward, with intelligent, rather than intimidating, design.

So comfortable, in fact, that many guests settle down for weeks on end, taking advantage of the kitchenettes and the reasonably priced shopping service. The 166 rooms are a good size — most come with balconies — and facilities include a top-floor solarium and a well-equipped gym. Add a good restaurant, Facil, and the trendy Qiu bar, overlooking Potsdamerplatz, and you have a design hotel that’s pleasant, practical and unpretentious.

Doubles from £100, room-only; book through Design Hotels, 00800 3746 8357, www.designhotels.com

For luxury

BRANDENBURGER HOF
Berlin’s obvious top-end choices are the Adlon and the Savoy, but this is the less flashy alternative. It’s tucked away on a blissfully quiet street, a few hundred yards from the whirl of Kurfürstendamm and Zoo station. With 72 rooms in a fin-de-siècle mansion, it successfully mixes modern facilities and styling (predominantly Bauhaus, enlivened with a dash of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier) with a few choice antiques.

State-of-the art communications are cleverly hidden (as, in some rooms, is the TV — it rises out of the foot of the bed). The public areas are built around a “winter garden” (conservatory, to you) and there is a Michelin-starred French restaurant, Quadriga. The hotel prides itself on personal service, tailor-making opera, shopping and gourmet tours.

Doubles from £168, B&B; 00 49 30 214050, www.brandenburger-hof.com

For fishy business

RADISSON SAS
Once one of the dullest of business chains, Radisson has reinvented itself with a series of spectaculars — hotels with a grand talking-point centrepiece. The Berlin property, opened last year, has really gone for it: walk into the atrium and there in front of you is a vast cylindrical aquarium that houses a million gallons of water and several thousand fish. The hotel boasts that courtyard-facing rooms come with a sea view. Others of the 427 contemporary rooms have balconies overlooking the River Spree and the cathedral. The hotel is convenient for Unter den Linden, Alexanderplatz and the nightlife of Mitte. At weekends, guests can have breakfast on a tour boat, which departs for an hour’s cruise at 9am, at no extra charge.

Doubles from £110, B&B; 00 49 30 238280, www.radissonsas.com

For charm

HOTEL ART NOUVEAU
Quiet, romantic and far friendlier than the average hotel, the Art Nouveau is a pension near Savignyplatz, deep in the heart of the former West Berlin — but, with its ancient (but safe) birdcage lift, it feels more Parisian than Berliner. The lift takes you to the fourth floor, where you’ll find 22 rooms carved from a former grand apartment. Ceilings are high, rooms are spacious and furnished with contemporary pieces and antiques. The hotel has a breakfast room, offering free tea and coffee, and an honesty bar, where owners and guests review the day each evening over excellent Russian vodka. In fact, the Schlenzkas are the Art Nouveau’s trump card — they speak excellent English and are always ready to recommend bars and restaurants, and to make sure you’re enjoying yourself.

Doubles from £75, B&B; 00 49 30 327 7440, www.hotelartnouveau.de

I want to go

Getting there: there are flights to Berlin from nine UK airports and from Dublin. Airlines include: Air Berlin (0870 738 8880, www.airberlin.com), British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com).

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