Hotel NH Collection Berlin Mitte am Checkpoint Charlie — Hotel in Berlin

A genuinely wonderful hotel, I stayed for a special birthday visit to Berlin and the staff treated me wonderfully, with a lovely dessert welcome waiting for me in the room. Whilst it’s not an inexpensive hotel compared to some others, if you’re after excellent service and prime location, well worth spending a little extra for. I thought I’d already checked in the day before arriving after receiving the email with link, however there was a problem with the system, and in the end I was lucky to be given a terrace room on seventh floor as a treat (many thanks to Rio who checked me in, much appreciated), the room was spacious, had a lovely view of the surrounding area, fantastic shower (wonderfully hot with great pressure) and super comfy bed. As noted by other guest reviews the TV was lacking in English channels compared to other European hotels - apparently it’s a local provider issue - and sometimes it’s nice to be able to catch up on CNN or BBC news, but on the whole not a big issue and no-one’s there to just watch TV! The hotel was perfectly located close to many of the sights I planned to visit including Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Holocaust Memorial and Brandenburg Gate. Adequate restaurants, a supermarket and corner shop (one open until 2am if you’re ever stuck for snacks!) are situated close by as well as a huge shopping mall if you’re after that sort of thing. U-Bahn stations are close and on a number of occasions I walked up to Friedrichstrasse which is a convenient key U-Bahn/S-Bahn/Train junction. As noted in many other reviews, if you opt to include breakfast (not cheap at €25 but well worth it if you value a quality, substantial, healthy all-you-can-eat breakie with lots of variety) it’s highly recommended, there’s nothing it doesn’t cater for and if you plan to spend long days out exploring the city and its many delights, sets you up wonderfully in the mornings, and there’s plenty of tables and room to sit and plan the day ahead. Especially loved the ‘make your own muesli/granola’ offering, and the hot fried mushrooms are to die for! Be cautious if using ‘Booking.com’ as you may think you’ve chosen to include breakfast but sometimes it’s not clear and you may be disappointed to find when you arrive that it’s not been. Booking.com really need to rectify this on their site. The bar in the evenings always looked buzzing whenever I returned which was usually quite late.

The electric supply tripped one morning whilst I was in the bathroom, the entire floor I believe was affected, and within minutes of me calling reception (I couldn’t get through at first, so dialled the restaurant number where someone picked up and passed my message on), a staff member was knocking at my door to confirm it had been rectified and checking all was ok.

Special mention should be given to Stephanie on the Travel desk who patiently answered all my questions and gave lots of useful recommendations which helped my itinerary enormously. And also to Ivo at the adjacent Guest Relations desk who also helped with my many queries, provided helpful tips and generally made me feel very welcome. I shall indeed be returning to Berlin as soon as I’m able (Ivo, your Berlin being beautiful in December recommendation was noted!) and I’ll certainly be looking to stay at NH Collection Checkpoint Charlie when I do. All in all the NHC team helped make my first trip to Berlin both memorable and delightful, and made me want to return to this fabulous city....

We checked in on Monday evening March 20th and were given room 494 a junior suite. The room was also very dark with inadequate lights, the furniture looked like it came from IKEA which we taught was disappointing for a junior suite. We noticed that the room was extremely hot and I turned the air conditioner down on the thermostat on the controller, However, the unit did not function and continued to circulate the warm air already in the room. I had to open the window to cool the room.

I rang reception to say our unit was not working, and they sent up a woman who did not know how the unit worked. She said it was broken and she would inform an engineer who would call to the room in the morning.

On the way out to dinner that evening, I went to the reception desk. I told the receptionist that our unit was broken and that the woman had said an engineer would call in the morning to fix it. I mentioned I was not happy with the room and asked about being moved. They said the Hotel was too busy and we should wait and see how the engineer gets on.

The next day Tuesday 21st March we noticed that the shower unit had no soap. These are fixed units on the wall. We informed the receptionist and they said they would have some soap sent up straight away. We left to tour the city for the day. When we arrived back in the evening I checked the shower soap and it was not replaced. I checked the air conditioner unit and it was not fixed however there was a 2 drink voucher on our table to apologise for the inconvenience. When we were leaving the hotel that night to go for lunch, we went to the reception to say again that there was no soap and that the air conditioner was still not working. The man there said they would look into it and that the soap would be sent straight up.

At this stage, I gave up on the air conditioner and resigned myself to the fact that we were not getting a room change or a fixed unit. Wednesday 22nd. Still no soap. We rang reception again to ask why we had no soap and were told someone would come up with it shortly. A woman knocked on the door, the same woman that checked the air conditioner. She just handed my wife the soap at the door. I had to try to figure out how to replace the bottles on the wall, she did not do this as part of the service.

Thursday 23rd, we checked out. The woman at the desk did not ask how our stay was. I mentioned I was not happy with the service and the fact we had to ask 3 times for shower soar and also that our air conditioner was not fixed. Her attitude was not professional and she took a defensive stance blaming me, saying that I did not understand it was not an air conditioner, in my room, that our room temperature was correct and that a thermometer outside the hotel dictates how much heat and cold the unit in the room provides. Total nonsense. Then I was asked if I had taken a chocolate bar from the mini bar, which I did not.

Instead of appeasing my exasperation with a dismal service, the receptionist was more concerned that a chocolate bar was missing. This also indicated the room was not checked properly before we checked in. This is not basic customer service. When I told the receptionist I would write a review, they said to go ahead. I said I was leaving and then she mentioned, “well we are talking about compensation here, do you not want compensation”, I said no, I don’t want compensation, I just wanted the service your hotel promised and advertised, which I did...

Overall I like this hotel. However the service by 1 rude receptionist should be improved. check in experience was ruined by lady receptionist. Service at receptionThe full payment including city taxes have been paid via my credit card upon booking. The payments paid and breakdown including city taxes are stated very clearly on the booking voucher. However despite this, I was asked to pay a deposit of amount close to Euro 600 which was the full amount of my stay that was paid using my credit card. Upon asking, I asked the trainee/Lena why I have to pay so much again when I had paid the full amount via credit card. Lena then checked with the another lady receptionist on the deposit that should be secured. However, this lady receptionist informed us to pay a deposit of euro 50 which I have no issue. However, she rudely informed me that I have to pay city tax. I told her that it has been paid and I showed her the booking voucher which clearly shows that city taxes have been paid. But she informed rudely that the amount was charged in other currency, not Euro. Seriously, when I heard this, I was shocked with the “intelligence” of this lady receptionist. She needs to be educated on what is “foreign currency equivalent” and to have some common sense. I disputed this and insisted that i had paid the full amount including city taxes, which was stated very clearly on the booking voucher. Lena agreed with me and reiterated to this lady receptionist that the booking voucher indeed stated that all payments including city taxes have been paid. Thereafter, the lady receptionist left rudely without any apologies. The receptionists should be trained and their service should be improved. Firstly, they should have checked that I have fully paid and should not secure a a deposit of almost euro 600. Only when I asked, they rechecked, but no apologies. Secondly, even after they rechecked, they did not check clearly that city taxes have been paid and insisted me to pay city taxes. No apologies either when they found out. The service from the lady receptionist (shorter girl with curly hair) was so rude and no apologies even though she was wrong in the first place. I highlighted this issue and feedback to the shiftleader, Andreas Levi and made known to him about the receptionists. He immediately went to check and confirmed that all payments including city taxes have been paid earlier via credit card. Thanks Andreas Levi for checking and making our stay better. BedNot sure why some beds have comforters/topper while some beds without. The beds with comforters are so comfy! Our bed without comforters. Breakfast For Europe’s standard, I think the breakfast in this hotel is considered good. With few hot food such as overcooked bacon, overcooked sausage, baked bean, and eggs. The omelette is nice (thanks to the chef!) Some selections of bread, lots of choices of good quality teas. Few selections of juices. Coffee machine. Fresh honey comb. Complementary water It is odd that complimentary water is only provided to the guests for the first night despite I stay 3 nights. This is the first time I experience this in Europe. Perhaps guest should make different booking for each night. Proximity to trains and attractions Close proximity to train stations and some main attractions. SummaryOverall service was good (except for 1 rude lady receptionist). I will still recommend this hotel. Take...