The Mandala Hotel — Hotel in Berlin

Really comfortable hotel perfectly located in Potsdamer Platz with great service and fabulous rooms.|We stayed in a Management Suite with a Juliet balcony and kitchenette which meant we were free to have breakfast on our balcony at our leisure.|Rooms - Management Suite has a Juliet Balcony and Kitchenette. We asked for pots, pans and utensils and toaster and were able to make our own breakfasts and sit on the balcony to enjoy it. There are a lot of restaurants nearby and also supermarkets to buy essentials.|Nearby activities - Potsdamer Platz is centrally located, being 10 minutes walk from Brandenburg Tor and right next to sections of the Wall. The Sony centre has a multi screen cinema. The U Bahn and Train station is 2 minutes walk away as are the stops for the Hop-on-Hop off buses. Good routes to Eastern Berlin and the Zoo area.|Safety - A very safe area of Western Berlin. Well lit and full of restaurants and bars.|Walkability - Berlin is very flat and easy to get about. You can walk to Brandenburg Tor in 10 minutes and Reichstag in 15. Shops, restaurants and supermarkets are all within easy walking distance. We went on a free Walking tour from Rotes Rathaus which was well worth going on and showed us a lot of Berlin.|Food and drinks - The restaurant is 2 Michelin Stars and as such is very pricey. A 5 course tasting menu was 238 Euro each without drinks (8 courses were 295 Euro with wine pairing for 134.) We felt this was too much given we had upgraded on the room and felt the local restaurants offered good value. The Qui Bar was OK but lacked atmosphere and with a limited food menu which was not really what we were looking for. The hotel does not exude "fun". You can get that elsewhere in the city; but it provides a really comfortable and luxurious room to enjoy.|Noteworthy details - The restaurant is 2 Michelin Stars and is very expensive if you are on holiday (238 euro each without drinks). The hotel bar does not really cater for light meals and has a limited Tapas menu but there are plenty of restaurants and bars nearby. |Tips - Upgrade to the Management Suite to get a balcony and kitchenette. |Ask for the pots, pans, utensils and a toaster and you can enjoy breakfast on the balcony. |Note - The pillows are too soft. We had to ask for extra as they had no guts but even then are much softer than you would get in the UK.|It is an extremely comfortable hotel but maybe a little soulless if you don't go to the Breakfast (35 euros each per day). We enjoyed cereals, breads and fruit on our balcony for a fraction of the price bought from the local market (5 minutes walk away). |We would recommend it for its luxury rooms, location...

Stayed at the Mandala for five nights in an executive suite, and truly enjoyed our excellent stay. We initially booked a studio, but a few days prior to arrival decided to upgrade to a suite (for only 25€ extra). We were so glad we did.

LOCATION – Very convenient, with UBahn/SBahn/Regional train/key bus line right at the hotel. It is an upscale tourist area so even late at night it feels very safe to walk around in the area (granted, we are two young male…) Being close to Potzdamer Platz means it is always reasonably easy to get home. Finding a grocery or convenience store nearby was however a challenge.

ROOM: We were given room 903. It was a fairly large suite, close to 700 sq ft, with separate bedroom, living/dining area, and kitchen/entrance area, plus a sizable bathroom. The only small complaint was that the bedroom area is fairly small, so the only space to open our suitcases was in the living area. The room was at the northeast corner of the building, so we had views of the Sony Centre and its roof, and could see all the way to the Fernsehturm (TV tower). The living/dining area was great for entertaining (can seat/fit a dozen people comfortably). The décor of the room was quite nice, sleek and modern, though it lacked some of the modern touches that I expected of a top tier hotel (such as USB plugs, electrical outlets at work desk.) The wifi in the room worked well. The king size bed was comfortable. The bathroom was large and functional, with lots of counter space. Overall, the room was comfortable and homey, felt like staying in an upscale apartment.

Service/Facilities – Front-desk staff were professional, friendly and helpful, and the housekeeping staff were efficient and diligent. Check-in and check-out were both very quick. Since we entertained guests, we requested various items numerous times late at night, and they were all provided promptly. We stayed out late so we slept in most days, and the housekeeping staff accommodated and cleaned our room close to dinner time when...

We stayed at the Mandala from Thursday night last week through to Sunday morning. We chose the hotel based on its uber-central location (opposite the futuristic Sony Center), proximity to many historic and memorial sites and the great reviews on TripAdvisor.

We weren't disappointed. We had what I believe is a basic room, but it was more like a suite with a massive and very comfortable bed, a room divider that effectively split (but didn't close off) the bedroom and massive, well equipped bathroom from the area with settee, business desk, kitchenette (!) and huge storage room. The lighting and heating controls were hi-tech, slick and easy to use and there was even a pre-programmed Samsung tablet with information on the hotel, tourist attractions, local places to eat and drink etc. Also a decent-sized balcony. High quality fittings, soft, warm carpets and a Phillips HD TV which swiveled 180 degrees in the room divider completed the package.

The staff were all extremely helpful, courteous and friendly. Buffet breakfast was in the higher quality of the hotel's two restaurants on the fifth floor, yet guests have the illusion that they are on ground level thanks to the exterior garden and rain pattering on the raised glass roof. The food was excellent and a never-ending supply of coffee brought to our table.

We were so busy sightseeing and taking in the history of this great city that we didn't get a chance to use the complimentary spa or eat in the hotel at lunchtime or for evening meals. Next time, perhaps.

I would thoroughly recommend Berlin as a modern, dynamic and thought-provoking location for a city break, and the Mandala as the perfect base from which...