Suggestions on Berlin Hotels and Areas
 

I will be in Berlin this summer, and am having quite the time trying to find a place to stay. (Yes, I have already done a search on this site!)<BR>Does anyone have suggestions on what areas of the city are the best (in terms of safety, location) to stay in, and what kind of hotels I can find there?<BR>I'm not looking for something fancy as I'm on a tight budget.<BR><BR>Thanks everyone!

It's been a couple of years since I've been there, so I might be a bit dated, but for safety's sake, stay in the former 'West' Berlin sector. It will probably be cheaper in the old Eastern sector but you might have some concerns. I seem to remember a nice, cheap hotel on Bleibreuestrasse called, I beleive, The Fuchs Hotel. There's always the tourist info agencies around Berlin that will book you a cheap room for a small fee.

ttt!

My wife and I stayed at the Gendarm Garni in 1997. It's a nice hotel on a beautiful square, and the price was under $100. It's within easy walking distance of the Unter den Linden, Checkpoint Charlie, Musuem Island, etc. My only concern is whether it's still in operation. It was a low-price operation in what had become an upscale area.

If anything there is a larger selection of lower-priced properties on the former West side; there are many pensions near the Ku'damm. I stayed at Hotel-Pension Funk in 1998--great location, safe, one of the nicest residential areas in the center yet very close to transportation and tourist sights.

I'm going to Berlin in a couple weeks and staying at a place called Hotel Art Nouveau. It's right off the Ku'Damm near Savigny Platz. It comes highly recommended through a newsletter I receive about Germany/Switzerland/Austria. So far in my correspondence with the hotel, they've been very helpful and prompt. It's a no-smoking hotel, however, so if you smoke you may not want to stay there. Their e-mail address is www.hotelartnouveau.de. Good luck.