- A Different Kind Of Trip Report: Introduction
- Review: Emirates Lounge Dallas DFW Airport
- A First Timer’s Thoughts On Emirates First Class
- The World’s Most Over The Top Afternoon Tea
- Review: Emirates A380 First Class Dallas To Dubai
- Our Late Night Las Vegas Experience In Dubai
- Review: Park Hyatt Dubai Park Deluxe Room
- EK17 To Manchester: Having The Best Time And Keeping It Green While Ben Goes Amber
- Review: Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai B Concourse
- Oh MAN…
- Arlanda Express: Speedy Transport For Dummies
- Should A Few Instances Of Bad Service Spoil Overall Perceptions Of A Hotel?
- Review: Emirates A380 First Class Dubai To Manchester
- Review: Hilton Manchester Deansgate
- First Time In Lufthansa First (With Two Celebrities): Review Of The First Class Terminal In Frankfurt
- Review: British Airways Lounge Manchester
- Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge London Heathrow
- Review: Sheraton Stockholm Hotel
- First Time In Lufthansa First (With Two Celebrities): Review Of LH450 from Frankfurt to Los Angeles
- Review: Aurora Lounge Stockholm Arlanda Airport
- Review: Grand Hyatt Berlin
- Review: Airberlin Lounge Berlin Airport
- Review: Park Hyatt Vienna
- Review: Austrian HON Circle & First Class Lounge Vienna Airport
- Review: Austrian A320 Business Class Vienna To Frankfurt
- Review: Lufthansa First Class Lounge Frankfurt
- Review: Lufthansa 747-8 First Class Frankfurt To Newark
My family is from Germany and collectively I’ve probably spent a year of my life in Germany. That being said, I haven’t visited Berlin in nearly two decades, so it’s one of the major German cities I’m least familiar with. I was excited to finally visit it, so we planned a three night stay there.
For our visit we decided to stay at the Grand Hyatt Berlin, where we paid a rate of ~200EUR per night. I’ve heard generally good things about the Grand Hyatt, and given that they have a club lounge, it seemed like quite a good value.
The Grand Hyatt is about a 20 minute drive from Tegel Airport, near Potsdamer Platz.
Grand Hyatt Berlin exterior
The entrance to the hotel is on a tree-covered side street.
Grand Hyatt Berlin exterior
As soon as I walked into the lobby I felt like we had entered a Park Hyatt and not a Grand Hyatt. The lobby was chic and minimalist, though I realize that probably isn’t everyone’s taste.
Grand Hyatt Berlin lobby
The lobby had plenty of natural light thanks to windows on the ceiling.
Grand Hyatt Berlin lobby
Grand Hyatt Berlin lobby
The reception desk was located past the entrance on the left, where we were quickly helped my a friendly associate. It was a perfect check-in experience, in the sense that he covered everything that needed to be covered (basics of club lounge, offering Diamond amenity and late check-out, explaining basics about facilities, etc.), without being annoyingly chatty.
Grand Hyatt Berlin reception
We took the elevator up to the seventh floor, where our room was located (along with the Grand Club).
Grand Hyatt Berlin elevators
The hallways were quite sleek, and again, gave me more of a Park Hyatt vibe than Grand Hyatt one.
Grand Hyatt Berlin furniture near elevator
Grand Hyatt Berlin hallway
We were originally assigned room 722, a Club King room.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room entrance
The room featured an entryway with the bathroom on the left side and a mirror on the right side.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room entryway
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room entryway
The room featured a king bed, and then across from that was a table with chair and a TV.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room bed
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room bed
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room TV & table
Across from the bathroom was part of the minibar setup, which included a kettle.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room coffee maker
The bathroom was spacious and could be accessed from both the entryway and from the side of the bed.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room bathroom
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room bathroom
It featured a partitioned off shower & bathtub “complex,” which again, felt very much like what you’d get at a Park Hyatt.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room shower/tub
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room bathtub
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room shower
The one thing which didn’t at all feel Park Hyatt were the June Jacobs toiletries, which are among my least favorite.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room June Jacobs toiletries
Then there was also a toilet with a sliding door.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room toilet
The room had nice views, even if they were a bit obstructed.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club King Room view
So there was only one slight problem with the room. We requested a twin room and were assigned a room with a king bed. We went to the Grand Club reception to ask about that, as apparently that room showed as being a twin room in their system. After the associate made a few phone calls we were assigned room 704 instead, which was located right across from the Grand Club.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club Twin Room entrance
The room was almost identical, except it featured “twin” beds… in the European sense.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club Twin Room
I won’t dig too deep into that again, but I do find it frustrating how twin beds in Europe often seem to have about two inches of separation between them. Puzzling!
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club Twin Room
This room was on the other side of the hotel, so had nice views of the surrounding neighborhood.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club Twin Room view
Grand Hyatt Berlin Club Twin Room view
As I said above, the Grand Club was located right across from our room.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club entrance
The Grand Club was gorgeously appointed, and was never really full. There were a variety of seating options, from more traditional dining tables to a couch in the back to comfortable leather chairs.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club
The food and drink setup was on the left side upon entering, just past the reception desk.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club buffet
The lounge faced the interior courtyard of the hotel.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club view
Soft drinks and coffee were available all day.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club coffee machine
Then in the afternoons there were a handful of sweet options.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
Every day there were two types of cookies and then some sort of sweet granola clusters.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
Then there was some rotating “sweet” item every day, ranging from chocolate cake…
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
…to berry tarts…
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
…to some sort of peanut butter cake.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club daytime snacks
The breakfast spread was quite good as well, and featured several types of pastries, muffins, croissants, etc.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club breakfast buffet
Then there was a nice selection of cold cuts, including excellent smoked salmon.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club breakfast buffet
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club breakfast buffet
Then there was cereal, fresh fruit, and fresh juice.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club breakfast buffet
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club breakfast buffet
Eggs were also available upon request. I thought the breakfast spread was perfect, though I’m someone who just wants coffee and granola in the morning anyway.
Then the evening spread was available from 6PM until 8PM. There was a good selection of self serve beer and wine.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
Then there were three types of snack mix (the one on the right was especially addictive).
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
And then there were rotating options. While the spread wasn’t huge, the quality of what was on offer was fantastic.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
The options were always served in little jars, and you could help yourself to as many as you wanted.
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
Grand Hyatt Berlin Grand Club evening spread
All-in-all it was a great club lounge with excellent service. While the Sheraton Stockholm was a good base from which to explore the city, the club was consistently crowded. That wasn’t a problem at this hotel.
It also reminded me of what my favorite thing about club lounges really is, as someone who lives in hotels. They’re a great place to get work done, so being able to sit in a soothing environment other than your room for hours on end is sort of invaluable.
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there was Club Olympus, the hotel’s spa and gym. It’s open daily from 6AM until 11PM, and features a gym, pool, and a full service spa.
Grand Hyatt Berlin spa
The gym was a decent size with modern equipment, even if it wasn’t huge.
Grand Hyatt Berlin gym
The pool was quite impressive for a city hotel in Europe, and also featured a hot tub.
Grand Hyatt Berlin pool
Grand Hyatt Berlin hot tub
Service throughout the Grand Hyatt was excellent, and all the staff seemed eager to please. Berlin is a sprawling city, so I don’t really think there’s one “best” place to stay, though all things considered I thought the Grand Hyatt had a great location.
Bottom line
My expectations were exceeded by the Grand Hyatt Berlin. As Matt recently wrote about, hotel branding is sometimes a mystery, and this is an example of that. In many ways this felt more to me like a Park Hyatt than a Grand Hyatt. While the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong remains my favorite Grand Hyatt in the system, this definitely ranks up there as one of my other favorite properties.
I’d definitely return to this property if in Berlin.
Do you have a favorite hotel in Berlin?
Was that a hotel you stayed at or were you in a hospital for medical treatment...I couldn't tell from the pictures? And that room...what a joke! The Ritz Carlton Potzdamer Platze kicks ass over this place with more luxurious rooms, larger and more plush bathrooms, and Purple Rain toiletries for LESS money.
I echo your point on club lounges being a great place to work. Glad to see I'm not the only one - having gotten stares from other hotel guests before for being at the lounge three days in a row just working and not actually 'using' the lounge otherwise. Heh
Next time you're in Berlin... Take one of this group's walking tours http://www.insidertour.com. We took the Cold War tour. Normally, I despise tours. But this group's are great, creative, and fun. And, there is none of the "selling" of certain products or restaurants along the way.
Lucky, you mention quite a lot that it could be a Park Hyatt instead of a Grand Hyatt, but you never mention what is the difference between the two. From your comments, I can only guess that Grand Hyatts are for older retired people and Park Hyatts maybe are for families with children? But I'm not at all confident in that. A little explanation would go a long way.
The photos of cute little snacks in jars are adorable.
Having spent 1 year of my life in hotels in Berlin collectively ;-) I still go with the Ritz-Carlton. Actually not a big fan of the Grand Hyatt, as it often is pricier than the Ritz and in my opinion the Ritz is one category above the Grand Hyatt and it still has the best breakfast in town. Hotel de Rome (Rocco Forte) is also great but usually really expensive. Not a big fan of...
Having spent 1 year of my life in hotels in Berlin collectively ;-) I still go with the Ritz-Carlton. Actually not a big fan of the Grand Hyatt, as it often is pricier than the Ritz and in my opinion the Ritz is one category above the Grand Hyatt and it still has the best breakfast in town. Hotel de Rome (Rocco Forte) is also great but usually really expensive. Not a big fan of the Adlon, can't really tell you why, but I just never really feel comfortable there. So my ranking would be:
1. Ritz-Carlton
2. Hotel de Rome
3. Waldorf Astoria
4. Marriott
5. Hilton
6. Adlon
7. interconti
8. Grand Hyatt
9. Westin Grand
Is "...sleek and minimalist..." a euphemism for "Most of the furniture got re-possessed?"
Agree with farnorthtrader...business hotel but great service. One minor quibble: at the incredible breakfast buffet (comped for Diamonds), I asked for a Diet Coke and got about 4 oz in a glass. Then I was informed when the bill came that there would be a 6EUR surcharge as soft drinks were not included -- even though I could have gone up to the Club and pulled as many Diet Cokes from the fridge as I needed.
Aside from that minor issue, everything was top class.
The Grand Hyatt is very much a business hotel. When we stayed there (my family of 8) last year, they really did not know how to handle us all. We went to the club lounge for breakfast and they looked at us and looked at their (rather small) lounge and told us to go downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast! I am pretty sure that our children were the only children we saw during our...
The Grand Hyatt is very much a business hotel. When we stayed there (my family of 8) last year, they really did not know how to handle us all. We went to the club lounge for breakfast and they looked at us and looked at their (rather small) lounge and told us to go downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast! I am pretty sure that our children were the only children we saw during our stay. The restaurant breakfast buffet was quite amazing, so I was happy to oblige them. The service was very good, we appreciated it after having quite poor service at the Park Hyatt Paris.
"Just soooo…happened to…be there during Folsom…eh?"
Nope.
https://onemileatatime.com/the-park-hyatt-vienna-is-incredible/
Note the publication date and the following (emphasis added):
"We finished up our trip to Europe with a visit to Vienna..."
Nice to see the readership stays classy, though. ;)
My guess about English there is that most guests are likely businessmen or tourists and English has replaced French as international language. If you stay at a pension or Gasthaus it will be Deutsch gerne.
Sofitel Kurfurstendamm. Great location, if a tad touristy, right across from the U Bahn, recently redone so looks very brand new and spiffy. Nice modern large hotel, great f&b and wonderful big rooms. Disappointing gym, Hermes toiletries. Huge wonderful bathrooms, the reason I really love it the most, I always got a great price, this last stay in April I got a deluxe club king on Hotels.com for $138 USD! I've stayed there 3 or...
Sofitel Kurfurstendamm. Great location, if a tad touristy, right across from the U Bahn, recently redone so looks very brand new and spiffy. Nice modern large hotel, great f&b and wonderful big rooms. Disappointing gym, Hermes toiletries. Huge wonderful bathrooms, the reason I really love it the most, I always got a great price, this last stay in April I got a deluxe club king on Hotels.com for $138 USD! I've stayed there 3 or 4 times and in terms of 5 stars in Berlin this deal can't be beat. Just make sure you get a rate that includes the breakfast OMG it's awesome. The club lounge is tiny and often packed at peak hours, like breakfast. As a solo traveller I never had a problem, getting a table. I never went at any other time so I don't know what it's like in terms of capacity, it is a very nice room with wonderful windows and views. More cozy than spacious. Try it you'll like it ;-)
One thing to add is that (at least as soon ago as 2012), if you stay in a Grand Suite and up (I redeemed suite upgrade certificates), you get access to the Grand Club *and* you get a full bar in your suite with spirits, mixers and snacks, all of which are complimentary.
@Patrick, in Berlin I rarely hear German spoken at all. English is far more common, at least in the more central areas.
Just soooo...happened to...be there during Folsom...eh? ;-)
It always shocks me how cheap Berlin hotels are--everything is cheap, as a matter of fact. I've stayed at the Intercontinental a couple of times, but the Sana Hotel is my favorite. It's a small Portuguese (I think) brand, but the rooms are great. I've had a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath suite (on the top-floor corner of the hotel with a wrap around terrace) for something like...
Just soooo...happened to...be there during Folsom...eh? ;-)
It always shocks me how cheap Berlin hotels are--everything is cheap, as a matter of fact. I've stayed at the Intercontinental a couple of times, but the Sana Hotel is my favorite. It's a small Portuguese (I think) brand, but the rooms are great. I've had a 2 bedroom, 2.5 bath suite (on the top-floor corner of the hotel with a wrap around terrace) for something like €195 a night. It's great being able to stay in the same room as 2 or 3 of your friends and only pay that much. The bedrooms aren't even next to each other. I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Why would the lounge food labels be in English instead of German? The hotel is in Germany after all.