Hotel Riu Plaza Berlin — Hotel in Berlin

I just got an ad for Riu Plaza hotels and remembered our experience. We had a booking in Riu Plaza Berlin in July 2023 for a Deluxe Double Room with 1 queen bed. Upon entering the room we discovered that the room had two separated twin beds, which couldn’t be pushed together due to a wall mounted nightstand. We were a bit annoyed since usually if the room that was booked is not available, staff at reception will notify us when checking in.I am Bulgarian and speak English, my partner is German. I let my partner discuss the situation with the reception staff that checked us in. We were told: ‘It is what it is. Nothing can be done for now.’ I stepped in. At this point an older staff member, who might have been the manager, stepped in and asked us to explain our situation again. We did and we were told that there is nothing that could be done in an unpleasant tone directed at me. I explained that this is the first time something like this has happened to us since usually when we book a specific room through booking we are expecting to have the same type of room, and if any changes are made, the room is switched to one similar to the one booked and we are notified in advance. I am a socially anxious person. When having to confront someone in public I speak fast and my voice trembles.This is not me being angry. The staff member was being rude, making me out to be angry and constantly telling me to ‘calm down’ while I was visibly calm. I was never rude, I never raised my voice. I expressed my annoyance with the situation by stating: ‘This entire thing is stupid. This is ridiculous.’, CLEARLY addressing the situation as such. The staff member misunderstood me and became offended and defensive that I was calling her and her colleagues stupid. Any attempt at explaining that she had misunderstood me was ignored. At this point I felt the clear favoritism of my German partner over me. I turned to him and said: ‘I give up on trying to explain myself. You continue this conversation since you are German and they are clearly favoring you over me.’ I then let my partner continue. He was not acting any different to me, yet the tone of voice of the reception staff changed completely. She was now extremely polite, accommodating and ready to fix the issue, rather than arguing with me about how nothing can be done and shoving her fingers into her monitor. From: ‘there is nothing we can do, call booking and ask them to deal with it’ the solution quickly changed to ‘we can give you a room specifically designed for disabled people’. We quickly denied because we can’t take a room from a disabled person, when those rooms are limited in general, and prevent their potential vacation. A new solution was then discovered. A room with two twin beds merged together. Something that I had asked for INITIALLY when we were told that they didn’t have any queen bed rooms available. I don’t understand why the staff decided to be rude towards me specifically and not listen to my simple request but when my German partner has the same request magically, it becomes available. The rest of our stay was pleasant, the other reception staff were very pleasant. The restaurant staff were lovely. I contacted booking regarding the issue and they that they are: ‘only an intermediate between the guest and the property. So it is the hotel’s responsibility to provide you with the same facilities as booked and Booking.com has nothing to do with it.’ So I was lied to by the same staff member. I saw another review about an anti-black racist manager & front desk staff. I would like to add xenophobic , specifically for the older lady with short hair (who I believe was the manager). A simple request of mine to switch rooms with one where the beds were connected instead of separated was met with a defensive attitude, a lot of ‘es ist wie es ist, call booking’ and attempts to make me look angry since I was a foreigner speaking English. The same request, made by my boyfriend who is a German citizen, was met with a quick and polite solution. Make...

My partner and I stayed here recently and were very disappointed. Overall advice: there are better and more convenient hotels in Berlin for the same or a lower cost. Book somewhere else instead. I've stayed in many hotels in Berlin before and would never re-book this one.

The staff were friendly but this was about all there was positive to stay about our stay. When we arrived the room we had booked (more than 2 months in advance) was no longer available. How?! This is a 17 floor hotel - they clearly either over-booked or didn't want to open up the other floors for their paying guests. Awful.

The hotel is nothing fancy, but that's OK for a 2.5/3 star hotel. The biggest issue was the lack of basic amenities that you are expecting from a hotel. If you like to sleep with more than one pillow, or to sit-up in bed, then too bad. You only get one! Aside from a bar of soap guests are provided with a communal hand/hair/body wash tube in the bathroom. This is honestly sub-standard and no other toiletries are provided as standard - some cream? Some actual shampoo?

The worst thing is that there really are no tea/coffee making facilities. Yes a kettle is put in the room, but if you want to actually make simple tea/coffee you either need to bring your own ingredients or find some from the communal bowl in reception. It's much like being on a school camp where you have to line-up to collect a few sugar and tea/coffee sachets in reception and bring them back to your room every time you'd like to make yourself a cup of tea. Clearly management can't be bothered to restock the rooms with these facilities. There's no reason why this can't be done.

A couple of more concerning things - the floor in the shower room is very slippery and cause for concern - the drainage hole was also moving when stood on. In addition, the bathroom window cannot be covered, so when you go to use the bathroom facilities or shower anyone outside behind the mirror can see you. This makes no sense for a private bathroom space.

The windows do not open in these hotel rooms. So, if you cannot manage the aircon then you will certainly receive no fresh-air.

The hotel is located nearby a u-bahn station which is handy, however it is not in a particularly nice location, on a main road and very noisy.

Honestly surprised by the other reviews on here after...

Just recently completed a stay at the Riu Plaza Berlin for 3 nights. I am a solo, leisure, but experienced traveler and this was my first time coming to Berlin. This hotel is located in a GREAT location: one block away from the U-bahn, bus stops, plenty of cafes, restaurants and pubs, and attractions. If you feel comfortable figuring out and using public transportation - this place is EASILY accessible to all of the major tourist attractions in Berlin and the airport, hands down. This gives you an opportunity to see different parts of Berlin without necessarily having to stay in the middle of museum district - if that is something that interests you when visiting a new city. The surrounding vicinity feels very safe as well.

The hotel itself is also very nice!! I was pleasantly surprised by the decent size of the standard room I booked and the views from the 13th floor toward the city were magnificent! The shower pressure is amazing with a sky shower that you almost don't want to get out of - however a word of caution here for those traveling in pairs or families - the bathrooms were designed without a door or privacy (only a small room for the toilet, at least this was the case for the room I stayed in) but the shower is a glass door that is visible to anyone else in the room who may be passing by the bathroom to leave or enter the room. This was not an issue for me as a solo traveler, but I'm sure it's something that can bother some people who desire more privacy or who are sharing rooms or if traveling with kids.

Cleanliness: Overall I was satisfied with the cleanliness. I am not extremely picky as long as all the basic things are taken care of (disinfected bathroom, clean linen, clean surfaces) and that was all met here.

Food and Beverage: Excellent! I really felt that the breakfast option has a really great value for your money, a variety of options for all tastes and diets, and just overall very satisfying to start your day. The f&b staff is also very attentive and friendly!!

The front desk team members were also very pleasant to interact with when I checked in and when I had one or two requests for laundry service and I noticed that they are a multi-lingual team so that is...