Hotel Q

Super stylish design hotel, well connected for exploring the city and mixing with the in-crowd

Step into the Hotel Q!, just off Berlin’s glittering main drag, the Kurfürstendamm, and you'll be hit by the über-hip vibe. Chilled, funky tunes play from concealed speakers in the red and white lobby while young, all-in-black staff behind the desk seem genuinely pleased to see you. (Want to know the latest clubs and newest restaurants? – these guys are the people to ask.) Slip into the restaurant, patio and members-only bar, where glam 20-somethings lounge around on chaises-longues by the fireplace, or recline on ostrich-feather cushions in that enviable, dressed down but actually oh-so-dressed-up kind of way.

Corridors are lined with a thick burgundy-red shag pile carpet which would be unfashionable in most other places. Here it comes over as cool, very cool, with a low level red glow and more vibey tunes playing at just the right volume. Cream and slate bedrooms flaunt cocoon-like design, with swooping bath-cum-bed combos and barely a right angle in sight.

Highs

• Young, fun, stylish
• You never know who you might be having breakfast with (J.Lo and Drew Barrymore are among recent guests)
• Friendly staff know all the hippest places in town
• Breakfast is served until a clubber-friendly 3pm at weekends
• Retail junkies can buy Q!'s own clothing range or hire a personal shopper to sniff out the city's latest fashion outlets
• Unlike some would-be design hotels, this place is undeniably cool, with a bold red-white aesthetic courtesy of Graft Group (who designed Brad Pitt's Hollywood Hills studio)

Lows

• You're paying for a lifestyle as much as a bed (but then you can't put a price on style, right?)
• The bath-by-the-bed arrangement looks great, but you need to wash gently or you'll splash your sheets
• The hotel has a good restaurant, but for other exciting dining options, you'd best head across town
• The penthouse suite is great - other rooms are more modest (but still very cool)
• Be prepared for noise from the bar until late
• No twin rooms, and bathrooms open-plan: more a hotel for couples than friends