air conditioning

Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 04:17 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
air conditioning

How necessary is air conditioning in the hotel I book for Berlin in July? Many hotels do not have it listed. I am from Florida and concerned because you cannot sleep in summer without A/C due to the humidity.
4QueenBee is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 04:24 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 7,763
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It really depends. How do you feel about staying in a hotel with no A/C when it is 85-90°F outside? One cannot predict the actual weather on your travel dates. Before this current hot spell, it was actually quite cool.

That being said, I would err on the side of caution and go for the A/C knowing that it probably won't make your room super cold.
sparkchaser is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 04:25 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 57,091
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
lots of people will tell you that you don't need it in Berlin, but the July we were there it was stinking hot and we were glad of it.

sorry it's so long ago I've forgotten where we stayed!
annhig is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 04:27 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 7,763
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It is not Florida humid, so don't worry about that.

It's 90 right now in Mittelfranken and it is not unbearable.
sparkchaser is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 04:54 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,713
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hello
Ac question comes quite often.
My view on AC is the following :
- you are European, usually you don't need AC
- you are US, you usually need an AC

You are US AND you ask if you need it -> you need it.

BTW it is 38 in Bruxelles right now and the same in Paris.
Most tourists are claiming they can't breathe...
I was in Paris and slept with the window open, which is very rare for me - alt least be ready to use earplugs !
Berlin can be hotter than Paris as it is more continental weather.

Ps : I have never bothered with Fahrenheits, but I think 38 C is above 100 F : x 9/5 + 32 no ? Anyway 38 C is hot, it is feverish for your body...
F, miles, gallons, ounces, pounds, stones... I'm surprised you talk in months and not in moons
pariswat is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 05:17 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,198
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
@pariswat
Not only tourists are claiming they can't breathe. I can't either and it's *only* 33C in Antwerp. This is because of the high ozone concentration in the air which is absolutely unhealthy.
I'm glad we have A/C in our house.

@4QueenBee
Do look for a hotel with A/C.
MyriamC is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 05:37 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 57,091
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
just come to Cornwall!

overcast and 19C - perfect.
annhig is offline  
Old Jul 3rd, 2015, 05:42 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 27,609
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
It really depends on the weather, which you cannot predict. If you were there this past week, looks like you would need AC, by the time I get there week after next maybe not.

What I have done is book hotels with AC that I can cancel without penalty if I choose. It's true that there aren't many to choose from if you're looking at the budget end. I booked the Motel One at Leipziger Platz and will probably keep it even if I don't need AC as the location looks good for getting around.
thursdaysd is offline  
Old Jul 4th, 2015, 09:28 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,226
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The last 4 times I was in Berlin in July, I was very happy to be in a hotel with AC. Right now, temps in Germany are hitting 100°F. It is not comfortable here. All of the stores have run out of fans and people are just plain miserable.

Book a place with AC. If you don't need it, you don't have to use it as most hotels have windows that open.
Mainhattengirl is offline  
Old Jul 4th, 2015, 09:45 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,343
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ok, I don't get this at all, either.

Yes, it's been about 90 or 100 deg here in Garmisch, and I (obviously) don't have air conditioning. I just close the shutters during the day to shut out the sun and open the windows at night to get the cool air into the apartment. I truly don't need a/c and wouldn't even think of looking for it, even travelling in July.

s
swandav2000 is online now  
Old Jul 4th, 2015, 09:51 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,902
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
s, I agree for towns in the countryside. Like Garmisch. Or where I live. But not for big cities - like Berlin. It's unbearable there. It doesn't cool off much at night. Cool air? LOL
Ingo is offline  
Old Jul 4th, 2015, 11:05 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,343
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ok, so add a fan. Or two. Bam. Done.

Again, I wouldn't even think of asking for a/c, yes, even in a big European city.

Doesn't cool off at night??? According to wetter.de, Berlin will be 22 deg C at night tonight. Monday night it will be 17 C and Tuesday night it will be 14 C. Cool enough, lol. Especially if you keep the shutters closed during the day.

Honestly.

s
swandav2000 is online now  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 12:11 AM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,902
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
LOL, now this is something we cannot agree upon, it seems. In the end everyone must decide for themselves. I admit I'm used to really cool nights.

But cooling off at night? Have a look at this site for example: http://wetterstationen.meteomedia.de...ahl=vorhersage (Berlin-Kreuzberg)

It's not the point what the minimum temperature is - that's in the morning, about sunrise. But did you have a look at the temperature at *night* - and I mean before the weather change arrives in the next days? For example at midnight? Still 27, 28 C! Even worse last night - it was 27 C at 3 am. Is that cool enough to sleep? Not for me.

Keeping the shutters closed during the day ... 1) Are there shutters at your hotel window? 2) Will the maid keep the shutters closed? Do you want to go back at noon to check?

I.
Ingo is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 01:15 AM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 42,602
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
It is not Florida humid, so don't worry about that.

Sorry, but I disagree with that one. Humidity is humidity regardless of where it is and even if it does get "cool at night" that doesn't mean it also gets dry at night.

How many hotels in Germany are run by people/companies who have decided to install air conditioning in a city where "it is not needed?" Does that sound like some sort of sound business practice? No, I didn't think so, either.

I live in Florida and I've been to Berlin and other parts of Germany when it is hot and humid and I wouldn't consider staying on some property that wasn't air conditioned with heat in the winter and cooling in the summer.
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 01:41 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 93
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
swandav2000
You remind me of my granddad, dad and my husband.
Gramps and pops are no longer amoung the living
But hubby does not relish (throwing money out the window and poision into the atomishere )
SaylerT is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 02:01 AM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 6,534
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I don't happen to like air conditioning but in big cities like Berlin, I need to close the windows because I am sensitive to noise, and even earplugs are not enough in a city as busy as Berlin.

I also agree with the observation that hotel service people will often leave the curtains open after cleaning the room, and it can make the room an oven. Also, most hotel rooms have no cross ventilation.
sandralist is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 02:02 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 7,763
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Doesn't cool off at night???

In theory yes but night is also when the buildings release the heat from the day. It's the harsh reality of living in a city

Heck, even though I live in a village, it didn't get comfortable enough to open the windows until around 1:00 AM this morning and with the fans pulling air through the house, but at 8:00AM when we had to button the house back up, it was only cooled to 25°C.
sparkchaser is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 02:05 AM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 6,534
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
This too: In big cities like Berlin, unless you wear a sleep mask, closing the curtains is usually the only way to make the room dark at night. Too many bright lights outside, and of course the rising sun will wake you too. Hotel room curtains are usually pretty effective in shutting out most air flow as well as light. They are not like shutters.
sandralist is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 02:36 AM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 57,091
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
s, I agree for towns in the countryside. Like Garmisch. Or where I live. But not for big cities - like Berlin. It's unbearable there. It doesn't cool off much at night. >>

the July we were in Berlin, it was still hot at 11pm - I remember walking back to the hotel after being at the Opera [not air-conditioned] and it was steaming. without the a/c I don't think that we'd have slept a wink.
annhig is offline  
Old Jul 5th, 2015, 03:01 AM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,258
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes, we always look for air conditioning for summer travel in cities, which trap heat in a way that places in the country don't. And the low temps are meaningless. For example, Basel was supposed to have a low of 20 degrees last night. From a high of 38, it had "cooled" to 29 when we went to bed at 1 am. I got up at 5 am to open the terrace door and let the cooler air in -- that's usually the coolest time of the day and it was still 22 degrees. A few hours later, we were back up to 30 (it's 36 now). We have AC at home and are grateful for it!

A city hotel room that has carpeted floors, gets afternoon sun, and has no AC is an oven in summer heat. And it will stay uncomfortably warm well after dark.

FWIW, we really liked the Hyatt in Berlin. You get AC and a top floor pool. And you're across the street from an air-conditioned mall. No problems beating the heat there!
WeisserTee is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -