Berlin’s Hotel Adlon Kempinski is a strange paradox – it’s Europe’s newest old hotel. First opened in 1907, this once legendary Berlin landmark hosted the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich between the wars. The glory days ended in 1945, however, when a fire caused by Soviet troops carousing in its wine cellars all but gutted the place. It was not until 1997 that the hotel was reopened, in a spanking new building that, with its stone façade, copper roof and retro-styled interior, nonetheless paid homage to the Adlon’s golden years.
Today the Adlon has regained much of its former lustre. With its excellent site right opposite the Brandenburg Gate, it’s a popular bolt hole for visiting presidents, and more notoriously, it was here that Michael Jackson dangled his infant son out of the window in 2002. The hotel’s rather curious updating may not be to everyone’s tastes – it makes no attempt to be hip – but it definitely has a certain charm. The broad lobby is a lively place popular with women of a certain age for Berlin’s best high tea, its modern day belle époque details (stained glass, antique-looking wood veneer lifts) offset with more contemporary cream walls and a constant bustle of guests. With a small collection of luxury shops, an excellent wine bar specialising in half bottles and three restaurants with Michelin stars, the Adlon is as much a destination for well-heeled locals as for visitors.
The rooms are cosy and attractive, filled with old prints and mellow wood panelling, equipped with lavish bathrooms and often blessed with views of the Brandenburg Gate. Veneer cabinets open to reveal TVs and DVD players. Thoughtful details such as special lifts down to the basement’s sizeable swimming pool are also helpful, meaning you can descend in a dressing gown without passing through the lobby. Also down in the hotel’s bowels is a large spa, offering a host of treatments and an unexpectedly sleek modern décor. It strikes an unusually minimal and stylish note in a hotel that is otherwise rather lacking in bold design statements, but which nonetheless succeeds admirably in conjuring up the bygone bustle and luxury of a steam age grand hotel.
Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Unter Den Linden, 77, 10177 Berlin (+ 49 (0) 30 22610, hotel-adlon.de)
