Casa Camper Berlin

A sleek and unpretentious hotel in the heart of Berlin’s vibrant Mitte district

This is the second hotel venture of the Spanish shoe giant Camper, and like its sister hotel in Barcelona it effortlessly combines minimalist chic with down-to-earth and intelligent comfort. Once again, interior gurus Jordi Tio and Fernando Amat (creators of Barcelona’s iconic interior design store Vinçon) are behind the hotel’s fresh and functional design. Clean lines and a restrained use of colour (dominated by wine-red and grey) are offset by quirky details like retro-style bedside phones or window blinds emblazoned with the room numbers.

The hub of the hotel is the seventh-floor Tentempié lounge with views over the rooftops of Berlin. Here you can help yourself to snacks and drinks at any time of day or night, and mingle with an assortment of cool clubbers, iPhone-toting businessmen and young families. The 51 rooms are simple and efficient without skimping on comfort (truly excellent power showers), and there’s a sauna and relaxation area to unwind. To top it off, the hotel’s location in the heart of Mitte, surrounded by some of the city’s best bars, restaurants, boutiques and galleries, is hard to beat.

The 51 rooms, including three suites, are uniform in style, with wooden floors, wine-red walls and simple, stylish furnishing. Standard rooms are a very respectable 32 sq.m.; suites are double the size and also have a proper seating area.

The emphasis is on cool minimalism, with an eye for detail: powerful bedside reading lights, a night-light in the toilet, a safe that fits a laptop, and an iPod docking station and large LCD TV with satellite channels. You can even plan your day’s itinerary using the big map of Berlin on the wall, which highlights the main tourist attractions.

Bedroom and bathroom are open plan but can be separated by a curtain, and the toilet and shower have doors. There’s no bath, but this is more than made up for by a powerful rain shower, and women will appreciate the spacious bathroom counter complete with a stool and make-up mirror. Natural soaps, copious toiletries (including shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, hand and body lotion, sewing kit, nail file, shower cap, toothbrush and shaving kit), fluffy white dressing gowns and Camper slippers are also provided. Suites have two bathrooms flooded with natural light.

From the fifth and sixth floors there are views over the rooftops of Berlin; the lower you go, the less inspiring the views (all of the rooms face the street). Luckily traffic noise is only a background murmur thanks to the excellent insulation.

Named Tentempié after a Spanish word for snack, the hotel’s airy buffet-bar and lounge area is located at the top of the hotel, offering wonderful views over the rooftops of Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, and exclusively open only for hotel guests.

There’s a hearty breakfast spread of cereal, yoghurt, bread and pastries, jam, cheese and ham, as well as eggs and pancakes cooked to order - served from 7am to a leisurely 12 noon, and until a positively decadent 2pm at weekends. You can even order breakfast in bed.

For the rest of the day – and night – there’s a buffet of light snacks including sandwiches, salads and soups – ideal if you have an erratic schedule or have the munchies after returning from a late night out on the town. Food, tea and coffee, and soft drinks are included in the price of the room, and you can help yourself to beer and wine, or mix your own cocktails, in the honesty bar.

The hotel’s restaurant, Dos Palillos, an Asian inspired tapas bar, is open to the street and well worth a visit, but be sure to book – especially on a Friday or Saturday night – as it is already a firm favourite among the hip Mitte crowd. No wonder, as the chef is Albert Raurich, formerly chef de cuisine at the legendary Catalan restaurant El Bulli. Sit on the large wooden table in front of the kitchen and watch your food being prepared by team of cooks. In the evenings choose between an 11- or 15-course degustacion menu; lunch is à la carte. Most of the seating is at a long bar facing the open kitchen, where the authentic Asian dishes are expertly prepared before your eyes by Spanish and German chefs.

And whichever way you walk out of the hotel, there is a huge choice of restaurants and cafés, from the popular Asian eatery Monsieur Vuong on the Alte Schönhauser Straße to the cosy Italian Al Contadino Sotto le Stelle on Auguststraße, or the Sophieneck on Sophienstraße, which serves big portions of traditional German food.

• The Casa Camper couldn’t be better located for exploring Berlin. The bars, galleries and boutiques of creative-chic Mitte are all on your doorstep: Auguststraße and Linienstraße are crammed with small art galleries and cafés, while the Alte Schönhauser Straße and the warren of little streets immediately north of the hotel (Steinstraße, Mulackstraße) are fantastic for boutique shopping
  
  
• Some of Berlin’s biggest cultural highlights – the Pergamonmuseum, Bode Museum and Neues Museum – are just a 15-minute walk away on the Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
  
  
• From there it’s another 20-minute walk – or a short bus-ride – down to the Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag
  
  
• Heading north from the hotel you are quickly in Prenzlauer Berg, one of Berlin’s trendiest neighbourhoods, great for hanging out in sidewalk cafés and watching the world go by
  
  
• From nearby Hackescher Markt, it’s just 15-minutes on the S-Bahn to Berlin’s biggest shopping street, Kurfürstendamm, and there’s an U-Bahn (underground) station right by the hotel which will whisk you off to the nightlife hotspots of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain
  
  
• Casa Camper also has bikes to hire if you want to explore the city at a more leisurely pace
  
  
• And the hotel can arrange a guided tour of the city for 2 or 3 hours, or a 2-hour Trabi Safari so you can explore Berlin in one of these iconic cars

• Dining: 24-hour snack buffet in the spacious top floor Tentempié lounge; food and soft drinks are included in the price of the room, alcoholic drinks are charged to your bill. The hotel’s Asian tapas restaurant Dos Palillos is right next door.
• Communal areas: Relax with newspapers, magazines and assorted books in the Tentempié lounge on the 7th floor. There are no outdoor spaces.
• Internet Access: Free WiFi and modem connection throughout the hotel plus a small ‘Business Centre’ with two computers and printer.
• Swimming Pool: No pool.
• Spa Treatments: There's a sauna, relaxation/wellness area and small gym on the lower ground floor.
• Recreational: You can hire bicycles from the hotel reception who can also provide personalised city maps. Reception service is available 24 hours.
• Weddings and Celebrations: Can host cocktail parties and receptions in the Tentempié lounge.
• Meetings/Functions: There is a meeting room in the basement with seating for up to around 15 people. Catering can also be provided as well as a digital projector, screen, flipchart, cordless phones, WiFi internet and any other equipment if required.
• Disabled Access: Elevator, two rooms have wheelchair access.
• Pets: Not permitted.
• Languages Spoken: German, English, French, Spanish, Italian
• Parking: A few reserved parking spaces in a parking lot across the street.

Environmental Policy

Casa Camper strives to be a green hotel in every department: deploying waste management practices, energy saving lights, the building is well insulated to save on heating costs, dispensers rather than little plastic bottles for body lotions.

When to go?

Berlin is a year round destination. Summers are similar to the UK, perhaps a little warmer and more humid. Winters can be bitingly cold, but as long as you are wrapped up well, a crisp, clear January day would be perfect to explore the city without the crowds. It can get busy during fairs (such as ITB in March) and the Christmas markets (late November to end December).

Author's tips

There is enough in Berlin to keep you busy for weeks, but Casa Camper is an excellent base for a short trip or weekend break, as many must-see sights are within walking distance. But do leave plenty of time to hang out with the locals in Mitte’s bars and cafés.

Features

• Restaurant
• Room service
• Bar
• Organic produce
• Vegetarian menu
• Walk to restaurants (offsite)
• Guest lounge
• Internet access
• WIFI internet
• Guest computer
• Business centre
• sauna
• Gym
• Bicycles available
• Concierge service
• Meeting rooms
• Disabled access
• Off street parking
• Airport Transfers

Babies and children are welcome and, while it is not pitched at families, they would be more than comfortable. The hotel can provide cots, baby baths, high chairs, changing mats, and even bottle heaters and teddies, as well as a babysitting service. Kids aged 12 and under sleep for free in their parents' room.

• Best for: Toddlers (1-4 years), Children (4-12 years)
• Family friendly accommodation: Family rooms comprise a king and a twin which share an interconnecting door.

• Kids Activities nearby: The hotel’s location is ideal for children, as Mitte and neighbouring Prenzlauer Berg are Berlin’s ‘baby boom’ neighbourhoods. Not only are there playgrounds on every second street corner, but most cafés and restaurants are very accommodating of children.

Location
Casa Camper is located on the corner of Weinmeisterstraße and Rosenthaler Straße in the district of Mitte in former East Berlin. There is an underground station (U8 Weinmeisterstraße) and tram stop right by the hotel, and an S-Bahn station (Hackescher Markt) five minutes down the road.

By Air:
Berlin is served by lots of airlines from airports around Europe and the world - click on the links below for details. There are 2 airports in Berlin: Tegel (8km NW of city centre) which serves most of the flights from the west; and Schönefeld (19km SE of city centre) which serves some flights from the west (particularly budget airlines) and most from eastern Europe and Russia

From the Airport
From Tegel, the Airport Express bus takes you to Alexanderplatz (30 minutes) from where it’s a 10-minute walk (if you’re travelling light) or short taxi ride to the hotel. A taxi from Tegel costs around €25 (in 2010) and takes 20-30 mins. From Schönefeld there are regular regional trains (20 minutes) and S-Bahn trains (30 minutes) that stop at Alexanderplatz. A taxi from Schönefeld costs around €30 and takes about 30-40 minutes. Or the hotel can arrange a transfer - see Rates.

By Train:
Certainly a viable option for those with more time and prepared to change en-route. See Seat 61 for more details.

By Car:
The hotel has a few reserved parking spaces in a parking lot across the street, and generally traffic in Berlin flows better than in many cities, but as a tourist there would be little point in having a car here.

Detailed directions will be sent when you book through i-escape.com.

More on getting to Berlin and getting around

Press Reviews

Conde Nast Traveller (UK), Hot List 2010
"...From bedside lights to bathroom fittings, every detail is fit for purpose, with mod cons kept to a minimum and no superfluous frills or clutter. The communal spaces are sparsely furnished but the hotel still feels cosy, and the penthouse bodega has the intimate élan of a private members' club... the highlight is the all-day buffet, serving complimentary snacks and soft drinks. If you fancy something more substantial, Albert Raurich, former chef de cuisine at Spain's most famous restaurant, El Bulli, produces Asian tapas downstairs in the new Dos Palillos restaurant. With no spa or gym, this is a compact bolthole rather than a fully fledged resort hotel, but with helpful, friendly staff and bicycles for hire in the lobby, it's a great base from which to tour central East Berlin."

Conde Nast Traveller (UK), February 2010
"Spanish shoemaker Camper is famous for its simple but stylish footwear; the hotel is similarly suave and understated..."

Time Out
"[The] second Casa Camper hotel offers the same eco-meets-cool atmosphere. The 51 rooms are cleverly minimal and painted in warm, cheery Camper red; offbeat amenities include a top-floor snack lounge open 24/7, a tapas-style Asian restaurant downstairs, and bikes to rent. A place for grown-up hipsters with a heart."

The New York Times, November 2009
"[This] 51-room hotel in the Mitte district of Berlin, was fully booked when it opened on Sept. 15. The hotel, run by the Spanish urban clothing label Camper, drew a youthful clientele that included fashionable Europeans in party mode... “Our mission is to make tourists feel like locals,” said Alexander Schneider, Camper’s general manager."

Guest Reviews

Reviews are from people who have booked through us.

• “The service was great on reception but I cannot say the same for the breakfast service, which was frankly rude on our last morning.
  
  Otherwise it was terrific.
  
  There are great shops just a stone's throw from the hotel if you turn right as you leave the building. For the main sites you would turn left so these shops can be easily missed.
  
  The next door restaurant, dos pallilos, is excellent! Expensive but worth it.”

  Christine, United Kingdom (23.10.11)

• “LOVED IT! The rooms are very well thought out. We had connecting rooms for 2 adults and 2 children. The snacks and bodega are brilliant. Everyone we dealt with was cheerful and ready to help. Have already recommended to all my friends. Also like the location, lots of great eateries to walk to (Kuchi for sushi, Transit for Indonesian). Breakfast and snacks yummy and healthy. Nice honour bar, too. Easy to feel at home.”

  David, United Kingdom (13.10.11)

• “Staff were very friendly and helpful, providing excellent advice and good restaurant recommendations.”

  john, United Kingdom (07.08.11)

• “Friendly and informative staff - especially on reception. Room and bathroom were excellent.
  
  Very good South East Asian style tapas restaurant attatched to the hotel.
  
  Would definitely recommend the "original walks in english" by Insider Tours - we did the "famous walk tour"”

  shelagh, United Kingdom (06.06.11)