Air con didn’t work, super bright room. Wasn’t able to sleep much

I really love SO Das Stue, it's design is so timeless and beautiful. It has perfect location, even though it's not central yet close to park and the zoo. Service is perfect and the uniforms they are wearing is really interesting, like an elephant, giraffe and fish. Yet it was bit sad because I noticed they are short of staff. They must be proud of their work but there is simply not enough people working. This will effect directly customer satisfaction yet I understand Covid-19 has done it's trick but still please hire more staff.

Front office needs training. Urgently. When I arrive at the reception, I expect 3 things: 1) a smile, 2) "welcome", 3) explanation of all the hotel services. (I won't go so far as to push for a "Thank you for your loyalty".) None of this was provided. Check-in was rushed and chaotic. I didn't feel welcome at all. My status was also ignored and the welcome drink voucher wasn't prepared, I had to ask for it. In a 5-star hotel? Terrible first impression. Embassy room far too small for the price and with no functioning A/C. It was like a sauna! I don't care if it was unusually hot in Berlin, I expect a full functioning A/C in a luxury hotel. When I asked for the room to be cooled down, because I thought I was doing something wrong, I got a fan. A nice gesture, but a bad sign, indicating that the A/C isn't really working. In an extremely expensive 5-star hotel?! Bed too hard, I had to ask for a mattress topper. The receptionist didn't understand what I was talking about, so I left a note to the housekeeping team. When I asked her for the pillow menu, something I expect in a luxury hotel, the same receptionist asked me what kind of pillow I wanted. How can I say if I don't see the pillow menu?! I guess it doesn't exist? In the end I just asked for a feather pillow. Of course, I didn't get it. I guess they don't have feather pillows at this supposedly 5-star hotel. I could go on... Breakfast, again, not worthy of a 5-star hotel. The a la carte menu is so short that I couldn't believe my eyes! And why was there no buffet on Sunday? Buffet is supposedly served on weekends. Let me guess, a la carte breakfast costs the hotel less? The staff at breakfast were very nice though. They should switch places with the receptionists, to be honest. I was very unlucky in that I dealt with the same receptionist every time. An incredibly cold person who has no place working in the hospitality industry. She didn't even ask me whether everything was OK at check-out. That was probably smart as she would have got an earful. Good things about this hotel are the location next to Tiergarten and the welcome amenity was very nice. The building itself is beautiful but a grand exterior and a spiral staircase do not a 5 star hotel make. The service was so disappointing that I couldn't believe it. At 450 EUR a night, this is an incredible insult. I will never return. I am aware of the staff shortages and all the challenges the hotel industry is facing, but if you're going to charge so much money, I expect to get my money's worth. All in all, an incredible disappointment. In conclusion, the impression I got is that this hotel only cares about your money and not your satisfaction.

The room we booked is located on 4th floor which doesn't belong to the original floors of the historical building. This room is poorly designed and constructed giving the us only prisoner's feeling. That's a design disaster to ruin the original charm of this historical building. At the end, we would rather to add more money to change the room as this was not tolerable at all. Although the staff services and foods were nice, the first experience with this room at 4/F would not convinced us to come back ever again.

One of the best Hotels in Europe, both for business and for leisure trips. Highly professional, great taste, well located and the right amount and level of service.