Melia Berlin
 

This property seems to be popular on this forum, and understandably so. I just checked the prices for June, 2011 and they seem a little steep for our budget. Just wondering if anyone has managed to get a discounted or reduced price, or if rack rate is simply what they charge, no exceptions.

Thanks for the input -- first time to Berlin, and looking forward to it.

We got a good rate that included our intra-Europe flight. It also included breakfast. Check out other websites as some other third parties sometimes have deals that Melia doesn't have on theirs. Also look for promo coupons by googling to use at expedia , hotels. com , etc. Sometimes you can get 10-15% off a stay that way.

But I do think Priceline works very well in Berlin at the 4* level. That is what I would do.

www.betterbidding.com to read up and see winning bids for -Berlin.

Or take a look at www.hotwire.com and see if you can decipher one of their 4* hotels.(Also at betterbidding.com there are hotwire hotel lists to help you.

I LOVE Berlin. I am sure you will find a NICE 4* hotel for under $100 if you follow my advice. There are many.Berlin is huge and many areas are very nice.

Thanks for the heads up. If you're doing one of these bidding sites, can you give me a general idea of their cancellation policy? Thanks!

there IS a NO cancellation policy.. like.. you bid it.. you win it.. done deal. So you must be sure. read up and you will see if it is for you.

most cheaper rates at hotels are also non-refundable anyway, so not much differnce there, IMO.

We stayed at Melia twice... you have to keep checking their prices..sometimes they are different for different weeks and change with time
Expidia works for me.

If the Melia is too expensive, there certainly is no shortage of comparable or even better hotels in Berlin that are worth checking.

Try the Radisson Blu, the Marriott, Casa Camper, the Sofitel on Gendarmenmarkt, Soho House and (also worth a shot, and the best of them all in my opinion) the Grand Hyatt to name but a few, all of which are either on slightly sterile, but central Potsdamer Platz (Hyatt and Marriott), the others in Mitte.

Swissotel, Concorde Berlin, Hotel Q and (slightly less upscale) the Bleibtreu are viable options in the West around Ku'damm.

Most of the better hotels on the above list were more expensive than Melia when I was traveling ( sept 2010 and July 2009).

Prices fluctuate. If the above suggested places don't work out, look in a slightly lower class where there is also good quality to be found. The Arcotels John F. and Velvet are o.k, as is the brilliantly located Gendarm Nouveau on Gendarmenmarkt.
The Park Plaza Wall St. could be an option or Lux 11.
The Courtyard Mitte is min. away from Gendarmenmarkt in a slightly unattractive corner across a busy street, but still acceptable.
In the West, there is Ku 101 (a bit too far down Ku'damm for my taste, but still central) and the Ellington.
And slightly off Potsdamer Platz there is a brand new Scandic Hotel that looks attractive enough from the outside.

Absolutely priceless info from all, thanks. Any input on location/area to stay in -- tend toward safe and lively, more in the thick of things, but not dangerous thick!

Well, melia is in just that location ( in addition to being in walking distance to many attractions)
...so you might look around that area .

Mitte, Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf as well as parts of Tiergarten are all in the midst of things. Of the hotels I mentioned, all are central, all are in safe areas.

Mitte is the centre of old East Berlin. It attracts most tourists these days and Museum Island, Gendarmenmarkt, Brandenburg Gate are all located there.

Potsdamer Platz is part of Tiergarten and is in the former deathstrip between the Eastern and Western sectors. It is still quite new and a bit artificial, but very convenient for Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and Reichstag.

Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf are parts of the centre of former West Berlin around Kurfuerstendamm and convenient for Gedaechtniskirche, KaDeWe and Charlottenburg Palace. Today they may be less touristy than Mitte.

All of the mentioned areas are perfectly safe and in fact lively (Potsdamer Platz would start to become slightly less lively after midnight, probably than Mitte or Charlottenburg). Berlin is quite a vast city and its sights are scattered. There is not one location that is central to everything and you will have to use a pretty good public transport system (which would be even better if the amateurs at Deutsche Bahn would finally figure out how to operate an efficient and civilised S-Bahn system, but that's digressing a bit). I would therefore argue with the above comment that the Melia's location is perfect. It's good, but there are others that are just as good (and arguably less touristy). None of the hotels I suggested to have a look at is in a bad or unsafe location.

Were it me, purely based on location I'd probably look into Mitte hotels first, then Potsdamer Platz and then Ku'damm (unless a certain hotel would be my priority over location) - but one may as well decide on different priorities.

I agree with hsv's comments about location.

I think one of the reasons the Melia is so popular on Fodor's is that when it opened, not all that long ago, their promotional rates were incredibly low. It was a great pricing strategy, because the word of mouth from those of us who leapt at the offer has probably netted them a lot of customers.

That said, Melia hotels tend to be very well run -- although were I going back to Berlin, I would not want to spend a fortune on lodgings. Public transport is great, the city is safe, so as long as you read reviews to check on amenities on cleanliness, you don't have to sweat location. Personally, for more than a few days stay, I might split my hotel stay between something within walking distance of the Museum Island and staying in the former "west" Berlin, but that is just quirky me, and I wouldn't do for a stay of less than 6 or 7 days.

I agree. I would not pay a LOT to stay at any particular hotel, but instead of Priceline on my particular trip, we got a flight+hotel offer including breakfast that was very competitive with a mid range Priceline bid in Berlin for 4 nights.

Luckily, German hotels, even 2*, tend to be clean and comfortable.

We are just back from our second stay at Melia Berlin and find it to be a great hotel in a wonderful location. I booked very early on solmelia.com and got 2 rooms for 95E a night, a great rate for this popular hotel.

I check all the discount sites for deals - Otel.com, Easyclicktravel.com, kayak.com, octopustravel.com, etc. Rates can vary wildly for the same dates at the same property.

For a longer stay (or saving money) I would consider renting an apt.
Many are in the range of 60-80 euros for a studio or one bed.

http://www.holidayflats-berlin.com/

I am thinking about staying in Mitte location this summer

http://www.tc-apartments-berlin.de/e...FQPsKgodqhCrHA