Ackselhaus & Blue Home

A pair of intimate hotels with a mix of exotic, colonial and marine-styled rooms and apartments, plus a very groovy café-cum-breakfast-garden

These twin hotels, one ochre and the other sky-blue, are just doors apart on a leafy road in the middle of Prenzlauer Berg. At first glance, both look like typical Gründerzeit tenement blocks, but step inside and you enter the eclectic, exotic world of Ulf Acksel, entrepreneur, globetrotter and self-confessed "Freigeist" (freethinker).

Each of the mini-apartments in Ackselhaus looks like its own film set - packed with photos, paintings and furniture to evoke China, Venice, Rome etc. It's mesmerising stuff, but we couldn't help wondering if less may have been more. Blue Home, however, took our breath away with its other-worldly marine theme. Land-locked Berlin disappears as you enter an elaborate wooden portal, take in the pink-walled patio with its palm trees, decked ponds and flower-filled urns, all reflected in a gilded mirror, and peek through tropical fish tanks, as if underwater, into the neighbouring breakfast-café, Club del Mar. There even seems to be a whiff of marine oil in the staircase. Inside you'll find teak furniture, white floorboards, plant prints and birds reminiscent of Henri Rousseau. You could be on a vintage yacht or in a colonial abode. It feels far away and homely at the same time.

Highs

• We loved the highly individual, personal style of the rooms - no two are the same
• Excellent location in Prenzlauer Berg, a short walk from Kollwitzplatz's restaurants, and within easy reach of the attractions of Berlin-Mitte
• Club del Mar serves a fantastic breakfast selection in a lovely leafy setting
• Most rooms have kitchenettes for those who are staying longer and want to cater for themselves
• Staff are polite and professional in an understated way
• Free WiFi in all rooms is a perk

Lows

• Bathrooms in Ackselhaus are small and rather poky (no tubs)
• Only breakfast is served; no lunch or dinner
• Both hotels share one reception desk (in Ackselhaus) and, besides internet, offer few services for business travellers
• You might expect a hotel like this to have a spa or wellness area, but it doesn't
• Charging for late check-ins seems a bit cheeky