As I’m due to attend a conference in the German capital, I’ll be staying at the Regent Hotel, located right in the heart of historic West Berlin.
Here is the itinerary followed:
| # | Type | Review |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lounge | British Airways Concorde Room, Londres Heathrow T5 (unreported, see report here) |
| 2 | Flight | British Airways Club Europe, London Heathrow – Paris Charles-de-Gaulle, Airbus A320 (unreported) |
| 3 | Hotel | La Côte Saint-Jacques, Relais et Châteaux, Joigny (unreported, see website here) |
| 4 | Hotel | Intercontinental Paris Le Grand Hôtel (unreported, see report here) |
| 5 | Hotel | Brach Paris (unreported, see report here) |
| 6 | Flight | Lufthansa Business (operated by Eurowings Discover), Paris Charles-de-Gaulle – Frankfurt, Airbus A320 (unreported) |
| 7 | Flight | Lufthansa Business, Frankfurt – Berlin Brandenburg, Airbus A320NEO (unreported) |
| 8 | Hotel | Regent Berlin |
| 9 | Lounge | Tempelhof Lounge, Berlin Brandenburg |
| 10 | Flight | British Airways Club Europe, Berlin Brandenburg – London Heathrow, Airbus A319 (unreported) |
Booking
I booked this property a few weeks before my arrival in Berlin.
I originally booked at theInterContinental Berlin, but ultimately follwed the advice of one of my friends used to IHG Loyalty program, I changed my reservation for theRegent, located where the Four Seasons used to be.
Nevertheless, rates aren’t cheap, and it’s for a standard room at nearly €350 a night that I’ll be making a reservation.
Arrival
Two days before my arrival, I receive a notification from the IHG app indicating an upgrade… Yet, no change on the horizon in my reservation in the app… Strange.
I arrive by Uber from the new Berlin-Brandenburg airport in about thirty minutes. There’s no doorman to welcome customers, at least not at the time I arrived (around 11pm).
I have to wait a few minutes in the lobby before a check-in agent becomes available and I can calmly complete my check-in formalities.
These are executed quickly but precisely. I’m told I am being upgraded to a Premium room, although I don’t really know what that is (it’s not listed on the IHG website). I’m also told that breakfast is included, so I’ll get the points as a welcome gift.
Room
My room, 604, was on the 6th floor of the property.
The latter is in a style… very particular, take a look at the photos…
The entrance is quite spacious, with a closet and a mini-bar with a Nespresso machine.
On the left is the bathroom, very spacious, with shower and bath. The toilets are separate.
Then there’s the room itself, very spacious and even a little empty. The styling is really old-fashioned, and you can even feel it in the dated desktop connectors.
A rather meager welcome package was left for me.
The décor is in stark contrast to the very modern but very small balcony from which I’ll be smoking a few cigars during my stay.
To finish, a video tour:
Hotel facilities
The hotel features a fitness room and sauna, both located on floor -1.
I’ll be visiting the fitness room on both mornings of my stay, the space is quite large and even though the equipment is old-fashioned, the session will be rather pleasant.
Catering
The hotel has a main restaurant, Charlotte & Fritz, located on the first floor of the property, and a small adjoining bar.
Bar
On the first evening of my stay, my colleague joined me for a drink at the bar. The service is very attentive.
We’ll both have a Bellini, served with peach puree and Veuve Clicquot Champagne as it should be, and not with vulgar liqueur and Prosecco.
All served with good-quality walnuts.
Breakfast service – Charlotte & Fritz
Breakfast is served in the hotel’s restaurant, Charlotte & Fritz, from 7am to 10:30am daily.
On arrival, I’m seated by the attendant at one of the available tables.
In addition to a well-stocked buffet, breakfast can be ordered à la carte at no extra charge, with a variety of egg and pancake dishes.
The whole thing will be succulent, and I’ll vary the pleasures for my two mornings.
Dinner service – Charlotte & Fritz
On my second evening, I’ll reserve a table for my colleague and me at the hotel restaurant.
The menu is rather strange, and not very sophisticated for my taste.
For starters, I’d go for the beef tartare, which is really, really not to my taste.
On the other hand, the dish will be excellent with this tagliatelle with mushrooms, chicken and black truffle.
Dessert will be rather plain, with a crème brûlée.
Service will be very slow, and not very friendly. We won’t be back.
Service
My expectations were quite high after my recent stay at the Regent Taipei. I was highly disappointed, and regretted not having stayed at the Intercontinental after all.
Departure
The departure formalities will be very simple and I’ll receive the invoice by e-mail as soon as I leave.
Bottom line
A mixed stay. While the hotel is of good quality, the decoration needs to be reviewed and the service is only good, without being exceptional. A real disappointment.
