Thanks for the advice about booking hotels in Berlin. Now any advice as what area is the best to stay. We will be there a week in October and would like to be able to walk to as many places as we can and to be close to the transit options. I have heard the Gendarmenmarkt area is great.

Yes, the Gendarmenmarkt area is great. "Mitte" is where you want to stay in Berlin.

Around Gendarmenmarkt is pretty and offers good walking access to Unter den Linden, Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island and Hackesche Hoefe.
But then the same could be said if you'd stay closer to Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag or around Hackesche Hoefe.
Personally I would also include Potsdamer Platz, which is modern and still feels a bit sterile, but central to Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and Reichstag - and home to my favourite and what I consider to be the best hotel in Berlin (which goes a long way) plus some other noteworthy hotel options.

Thx hsv
So just curious what would the best hotel in Berlin be then???

If you stay in or around Potsdammer Platz you'll be close to both transit and sites you can walk to but do you really need both if you are close to transit?

You really need to tell us if there is a budget issue here. I can think of several hotels in that so-called "sterile" Potsdammer Platz area and also at least several over near the KaDeWe. Major difference in prices and also amenities.

There are a few candidates when it comes to the position as Berlin's best hotel - among the usual suspects are the following:

1. Adlon:
Fantastic location on Unter den Linden, just opposite Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial. It is (to some extent deservedly famous) and attracts throngs of non-hotel guests who just come for a coffee - and has to guard its hotel guests from too much intrusion (which they do well). For my taste it is too traditional (in fact it's a new building) and the commotion is also not for me.
http://www.kempinski.com/en/berlinad...s/Welcome.aspx

2. Regent:
The former Four Seasons has a fantastic Gendarmenmarkt location, a great restaurant and keeps a very appealing low profile in a modern building. Unfortunately there is a lot of faux historic panache in the interior - and it lacks a pool (which is why Four Seasons dropped the management contract).
http://www.regenthotels.com/berlin-hotel-de-10117/berre

3. Schlosshotel Grunewald
For me it's just too far from anywhere central to even consider it.
http://www.schlosshotelberlin.com/index.php?page_id=84

4. Hotel de Rome:
Rocco Forte's Berlin hotel sports a starkly modern interior behind a historic facade around the corner from the Regent, between Humboldt University on Unter den Linden and Gendarmenmarkt. It's a very civilised place, but comes at a price (especially considering notoriously low Berlin prices). It would be my personal #2.
http://www.hotelderome.com/

5. Grand Hyatt:
Arguably its location is not quite as picturesque as the others' (but still very central to the Holocaust Memorial, Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor and Unter den Linden - and there is a station around the corner). However, it features a clean modern design in very well sized rooms with a particularly smart bathroom layout. Service is very personal and attentive, but knows when to leave you alone. They offer a very good breakfast (not cheap) and have a fantastic indoor rooftop pool, saunas, spa and fitness club with a rooftop terrace.
It has won several awards as Hyatt International's (usually a notch above US standards) best property and some independent national awards as a leading hotel. In my book they do a lot of things right.
http://www.berlin.grand.hyatt.com/hy...index.jsp?null

The Melia and the NH Friedrichstrasse put you at the north end of Friedrichstrasse, near the Spree river and across the street from an S and U Bahn station. They have you 5 minutes from the heart of Unter Den Lindem and within a 10-12 minute walk of; Gendarmenmarkt, the Reichstag, MuseumInsel, Berliner Dom, and Hackescher Markt.

Absolutely in the Mitte of everything.