Welcome aboard: Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam. (Photo credit: Allard van der Hoek)

Situated in a former migrant hostel in the up-and-coming Havens Oost Docklands district,  the revamped Lloyd Hotel took out various accolades on its opening thanks to the combined design efforts of Claudy Jongstra,  Marcel Wanders and Hella Jongerius and a revolutionary idea: 1-5 stars under the one roof.

A maritime spirit pervades at the docklands near Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam.

The Neighbourhood

Situated on the docks surrounded by new developments and artistic businesses, the hotel refers to itself  a ‘cultural ambassador’ which gives you a sense of what kind of an outpost it is. Super handy if you will be working in the area and it plays host to the city’s new restaurants etc. However, it may feel a little lonely on a dark winters evening – note that a cab from the city centre costs around €20.

The sunny breakfast and bar area at the Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam (Image by HWL)

The Hotel

The hotel is in big rambling building, a sort of rabbit warren of corridors and unexpected entry ways so the communal spaces – a large and welcoming mixed-use bar, restaurant and lounge area plays an important role in providing a focus for social life in the building. (Imagine the Lloyd Hotel as a labyrinth – the lounge is your ‘home’ page.) Note that the rooms vary wildly in terms of size, shape and feel; some are quite sweet some are rather utilitarian. The room with a bed that sleeps eight is allegedly one of the hotel’s most popular.

A standard room at Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam.

What We Loved

We do love the concept of 1-5 stars under the one roof. The idea is becoming more familiar (the Ace hotel in NYC and the Michelberger Hotel in Berlin being notable examples) but at the time it was launched it was – and remains – innovative. The social mash-up seems egalitarian and friendly, much like the Dutch themselves.  Other pluses: ease of Wi-Fi access ( a simple thing but so many hotels get this wrong) and the staff friendliness. Various events and art installations also give a sense of liveliness to this rather echoing building. While the rooms vary in size etc we appreciated that our room had loads of cupboard space – plenty of space to store clothes, coats and suitcases.

An especially nifty “1 star” room by Christoph Seyferth at the Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam. (Photo credit: Rob ‘t Hart Photography)

Room to Improve

Accommodation may be marketed at the 1-5 stars but service and maintenance hovers at a 3 star level – while we appreciate the difficulties of keeping a hotel with a high turnover in tip-top condition, scuff marks etc are not so difficult to clean up. The restaurant and reception appeared under staffed and some of those on the desk seemed experienced and unable to deal with even minor issues in an efficient way.  Also while we loved the free communal tea and coffee spots, somebody needs to patrol these areas throughout the day to ensure they remain spic and span (as was the one pictured below).

Communal tea & coffee cupboard at Lloyd Hotel, Amsterdam (Image by HWL)

Tips

If you are likely to be in a rush to check out in the morning, settle your bill the evening before as morning staff are few in number. Building works are currently taking place on one side of the building avoid rooms with scaffolding blocking the view.

lounge & dining area @ cool venice apartment (Image by HWL)

Searching for accommodation in Venice meant wading through websites offering a fearful combination of the fussy, the twee and the bland. Then, somehow, we stumbled across the self-described ‘Cool Venice Apartment’ on Facebook. Set in the Cannaregio district of Venice (a five minute walk from Ca d’Oro), the apartment is owned by a group of like-minded friends who pooled together for a two-bedroom pad in Venice. (And why wouldn’t you?)

Great things about the location – Venice is tiny so once you get your head around the maze factor everything is within walking distance. For us it made sense to steer clear of the heavily touristed San Marco and set ourselves up near useful things such as a bakery, supermarket, well-priced cicheti bars and some of Venice’s best restaurants!  Staying around here will also enable you to soak up the neighbourhood atmosphere without too much danger of being elbowed by tour groups over breakfast.

textures: ceiling beams, terrazzo & arched windows (Image: HWL)

Traditional Venetian flats are set over three floors – the first floor is essentially an entry way/storage area with staircase (left vacant presumably as a flood precaution), second floor is the living area and the third floor is for bedrooms. In this case the flat occupies only the first two floors, but is nonetheless extremely generous in size. While the master bedroom is a bit bigger with more clothes storage the second bedroom (with twin beds) is very light and spacious so there’s really no need for anyone to feel like they’ve drawn the short straw. The flat has lovely views from most rooms, the kitchen is well-equipped, and the bathroom has a jacuzzi (noisy, but after all that walking around its worth a try at least once).

a stroll nearby (Image: HWL)

The furnishings are a mix of IKEA and Philippe Starck; it’s a little bit cold and in winter one feels a floor rug in the bedrooms wouldn’t go astray; but there’s nothing to offend the eye and given that everything has to be transported by barge we can understand the appeal of lightweight and easy-to-assemble furnishings! Plus the simplicity of the decor really allows the architectural details to shine: the original terrazzo floor, wooden ceiling beams and glass detailing all reveal an understated, simple beauty. Overall there’s something incredibly pleasing about this understated yet extremely elegant flat – the proportions, the light… It just feels good.

Tips: the owners will supply you with all the information you need to get to the flat from the airport. Terrazzo isn’t the quietest flooring choice – you may hear people moving around in the flat upstairs.

Cicheti & an ombra of wine at nearby Un Mondo di Vino (Image: HWL)

If you arrive in the evening kick-start the night over cicheti (Venetian tapas) and an ombra (glass) of wine at Un Mondo di Vino nearby (Salizada San Canzian 5984a). With its rustic atmosphere, tasty snacks and an ombra  going for a Euro or two, it’s guaranteed to be a very cheerful start to the evening.

If you’re planning to eat somewhere special during your stay you definitely need to book in advance – you’ll be glad you did. (The owners provide a useful list of their favourite neighbourhood joints to get you started.)

To Book the flat: contact the owner for availability and rates via the Facebook page or the Cool Venice Apartment website.

We heart Venice: Romantically inspired graffiti on the Rialto bridge (Image: HWL)

Miami style: NYC design firm Roman & Williams meld vintage patina with a cosy, contemporary aesthetic at the Freehand Hostel. (Image by Adrian Gaut)

Freehand, a new venture in ’boutique hostels’ that recently opened in Miami, will be a hit with the short-on-cash but big-on-style boho crowd that inundate the city every year for Art Miami Basel. Situated in an 1930′s deco building a block from the beach the hostel is kitted-out with a welcoming mix of vintage flair and contemporary art. Located in the former Indian Creek Hotel, the hostel is a new venture by the Sydell Group the taste-makers behind the ACE NYC and Palm Springs, the NoMad Hotel in NYC and  the recently opened Saguaro Hotel in desert art hub, Scottsdale. This is the first of several planned ventures in the ’boutique hostel’ space and it seems fair to say that they are onto something. If the interiors look inviting that’s because they are by New York outfit Roman and Williams, the space-maker team behind the buzzing  Breslin at the ACE hotel and the jaw-droppingly awesome 18th Floor Club at the Standard Hotel. In short: this joint has design credentials.

Bunking down at the Freehand Hostel in Miami, designers went for a nostalgic, slightly tongue-in-cheek ‘sea-side holiday’ camp atmos. (Image by Adrian Gaut)

The Rooms: From US$35 a bed, dorm rooms are a thrifty option for solo travellers, a band on tour, or a bunch of friends out to raise hell in Miami. Lovely double rooms (from US$150) are also available though it’s hard to say whether a quiet night’s sleep is assured, what with all the ji-jinx going down. (We can’t speak from experience as we haven’t tried it yet, so if you have, please let us know!)

Mixing it up: Freehand hostel in Miami also caters to grown-ups and lovers with these sweet double rooms. (Image by Adrian Gaut)

What we like the sounds of: The friendly, community ethos of a hostel combined with loads of style. The social strata mash-up, similar in ilk to the fantastic Michelberger Hotel in Berlin.

On the menu: a swish swimming pool, ping-pong tables, bicycles and organised events for interested guests based around art, music and local culture.

On yr bike! Freehand Miami offers guests hispter-ish accessories like vintage bicycles. (Image by Adrian Gaut.)

Drinking: The on-site bar, the Broken Shaker, promises affordable cocktails using herbs and spices from the on-site garden. (No doubt they also have their own supply of hipster bees creating politically correct honey for your organic breakfast in the morning as well…) A restaurant is planned for 2013.

In the drink: chilling at the Freehand Miami Hotel (Image by Adrian Gaut)

Look out for: Art works by Miami artists Sky Farrell, known for her low-fi collages, and Justin H Long, inspired by all that is maritime.

Tips: If you’re planning to stay at the Freehand for Art Miami Basel book AHEAD, like now! (What are you waiting for?!)

For bookings: Contact Freehand Miami

Playing around in Miami: Click here for our Perfect Day in Miami

Wythe Hotel, Brooklyn: hipster epi-centre, hot river views.

WYTHE HOTEL IN BROOKLYN

Picture all the hipsters in Brooklyn and then imagine opening up a hipster hotel sending  hipsters from all over the world into this hipster zone and what you have is a kind of hipster theme park where thoughtful interior design meets scruffy facial hair meets politically correct caffeinated beverages….

Sleep like a baby in the Baby Queen Room, Wythe Hotel, NYC.

Situated in the a former textile factory, the 72-room Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg makes a feature of its industrial past, while a renovation has opened up amazing new river views to Manhattan. Like Manhattan’s Ace Hotel, it aims to cater to the full-deck of clientele – lofts for the loaded, bunks for the broke. Also on offer, hipster-ish eating options at the Renard restaurant that draws the local foxes, Instagram competitions for guests and if you ask nicely they probably have a fixie out back that you can take for a spin. For details and bookings: Wythe Hotel.

HOTEL AMERICANO IN CHELSEA

Ever since we unwittingly stumbled upon some photos of the beautifully nostalgic  La Boca Chica in Acapulco a few years ago we’ve been watching the Grupo Habita hotel group to see what they would do next… The Mexican group’s latest ventures is situated in the heart of NY’s Chelsea art district, the hotel was designed by Mexico City-based architect Enrique Norten with interiors by Frenchman Arnaud Montigny (best known for his work on the Paris concept store Colette).

NYC likes to mix it up: Latin heart with a hint of modern Japanese at Hotel Americano.

The hotel’s steel exterior presents a hard shoulder to its gritty urban environment but inside an industrial aesthetic is softened by Danish-style leather sofas, wooden sleeping platforms a la  ‘urban ryokan’ (as the marketeers would have it) soft Japanese textiles and homely touches such as gas fireplaces (in suites). We like the occasional splashes of bright yellow that brighten up the neutral tones and remind us of New York’s iconic taxis. Perks include a roof top swimming pool that converts to a hot tub in winter. Guests can cement their hipster credentials by borrowing a bicycle from reception. Rooms priced from US$255. For details and bookings: Hotel Americano.

Sex and the city: she’s all your’s baby at Hotel Americano, NYC

NOMAD HOTEL IN BROADWAY

Broadway, NYC is at the centre of everything yet until now it’s been hard to find a cosy hotel to call home. We love the rich bohemian vibe of NoMad Hotel – the mash-up of pictures, textures and colours evoke a mood of travel, a sort of melting pot that reflects the make up of this most cosmopolitan of cities.

New York’s NoMad Hotel features art work drawn from the photographic travel series, Portraits de Villes.

Housed in a Beaux-Arts building, the interiors were given a classic make-over by French designer Jacques Garcia. The French influence is apparent in the art work drawn from Be-pôles’ Portraits de Villes  art book series that document a city through the eyes of a single photographer. Another French touch includes the in-house Kitsune boutique, the hipper-than-thou Parisian music and design label. The end result is an old school European-style hotel with a New York sensibility and service ethos. Modern nomads better be packing plastic: room rates start from $395. For details and bookings: The NoMad Hotel.

Not afraid to make a splash. The NoMad Hotel’s dining room evokes the exotic imaginings of an Anaïs Nin novel.

Except the 100 metres: a very East End Olympics, welcome to Bethnal Green. (Photo by HWL).

The neighbourhood: What’s the deal?
Bethnal Green: the real East End. Our friend Pete likes to reminisce how there didn’t used to be any supermarkets in the area because the chains were worried that people would steal the food. Today the mix is decidedly eclectic (and don’t worry, there is a Waitrose!). Bethnal Green is halal pizza, Vyner St First Thursday art openings, take away curry, chador-wearing teens, free Russian newspapers, boating nomads living on the canals, and graphic design hipsters on fixed gears stopping off for a latte. In short, all the diversity of London in one slightly industrial zone that is still a while off total gentrification.

We like the gleam of old fashioned timber at the Town Hall Hotel, in London. (Photo by HWL.)

The Hotel: What’s the concept?
It’s a design hotel inserted into the body of an former Town Hall. The UK doesn’t mess around when it comes to privitisation – post offices, libraries, Town Halls – they’re all up for grabs. The hotel group, the Singaporean-based Unlisted Collection, has done well to retain the building’s original elegance. Built in Edwardian times the edifice also features some deco extensions – there are loads of original details throughout. It’s been used as a film set a number of times with appearances in the period drama Atonement; based on Ian Mc Ewan’s Booker Prize nominated novel of the same name; and Guy Ritchie’s edgy crime heist Snatch – ask at the hotel’s reception if you’d like to watch these or other films during your stay.

An elegance of stairways at the Town Hall Hotel – note the designer chairs in the lobby, one of the trademarks of Singaporean hotel group, the Unlisted Collection.

The crowd: What’s the vibe?
Mixed. The edgy flavour and slightly out of the way location of the neighbourhood means the hotel offers a very good price for the standard of facilities – big rooms, designer chairs, even a swimming pool. Among the crowd you will find a mix of in-the-know globe trotters as well as middle-aged couples standing on the corner and looking bewildered as as a bus pulls up and unloads 100 cape-wearing Somalians.

A dash of deco, a glint of gold. (Photo by HWL.)

Tell us about the rooms:
Room are very generous and some of the apartments have good-sized kitchenettes so if you’re planning a long-term stay you can DIY bacon and eggs.  In terms of aesthetics, the hotel has gone for a ‘classic look’ that is in keeping with the building, but to our mind it was a little, well, corporate, compared to the groups other offerings such as the showy Waterhouse on the Bund in Shanghai.

A very generous standard hotel room in the basement level at the Town Hall Hotel. Note, for more light, request a room on one of the higher floors. (Photo by HWL.)

The Hotel: What is it ideal for in the context of London?
The hotel is perfect for Shoreditch-friendly street smart types who are doing business in the East End or frequent visitors who want to soak up some of the community atmos in the area. Highlights include Broadway Market on Saturday, taking the fixed-gear for a zip down the tow-path, ogling the handsome waiters at the fashionable eatery Bistroteque or grabbing a £1 lager and wandering about the Vyner St art openings. Note that the hotel is on the Central Line which is ideal for exploring sites and central London (click here for Tube map).

The hotel has retained many of the original details, including this rather quirky fireplace in the middle of a very long bathroom. (Image by HWL.)

Pluses: What is to love?
Both of the in-house restaurants are very good. Viajante, headed by a chef who interned at the legendary El Bulli, does a wonderful and very reasonably priced set lunch and dinner. (Book in advance and request a table at the front so you can watch you meal being prepared with tweezers.) Swimming pools are not a given in London hotels, so we appreciated the opportunity to do a few laps. The bar is also a lovely spot to meet friends for drinks.

Lighten up: breakfast is served in the lovely Corner Room restaurant. We also recommend it for a cosy and elegant meal during your stay. (Photo by HWL.)

Minuses: Where could it improve?
Based on our stay, we would say that the staff are not quite up to standard (a number of incidents suggested a lack of experience) and there were some technical issues with the heating system. Also, while we appreciate the need to diversify the business to functions and weddings, events shouldn’t take place at the inconvenience of other hotel guests. We’re as big a fan of Freddy Mercury as anyone, but do we really want to hear the reverberations of Another One Bites the Dust as the wedding DJ attempts to crank-up the party? Probably not.

A room with a kitchenette. The apartments enable a division of sleeping and living areas, with room left over for guests. (Photo by HWL.)

Tips: let’s hear them.
Have a well-made morning coffee at Hackney Bureau. Check out Viktor Wynd’s Little Shop Of Horrors – an art slash curiosity store that doubles as the Last Tuesday Society HQ, specialising in off-beat events. See what’s on at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club – a sort of tongue-in-cheek venue where activities might include a roller skating tea-party, a David Lynch inspired cabaret evening, or a retrospective of John Water’s films. (Note that attending in costume is encouraged.) Pellicci, one of London’s best known old school caff’s is around the corner, if you can stomach a fry up, give it a go, otherwise, stick to a cuppa served strong enough to strip your teeth. Low-key but pleasant activities ideal for a Sunday include visiting the V&A Museum of Childhood, strolling in Victoria Park (duck feeding is optional), or taking a look at Anish Kapoor’s rather silly Orbit sculpture at the recently inaugurated Olympic stadium.

A mere dawdle from the Town Hall Hotel will get you to Hackney Empire, a great coffee and lunch spot. Note street artist Conor Harrington’s work on the wall above it. (Photo by HWL.)

Bookings: Contact the Town Hall Hotel

Lullaby: Catch former Bethnal Green resident Peter Doherty in a nostalgic mood in The Last of the English Roses.

BREAKFAST: that‘s Frühstück to you. Take yours hale & hearty over Der Spiegel at the classic Cafe Einstein (pictured) or Literature House. (Thanks to travel writer Swissing Around for this brilliant breakfast tip!)

MEMORIAL: The memorial dedicated to the Murdered Jews of Europe by Peter Eisenmann is sobering, graphic and disorientating. During our visit we observed parents beninly looking on as their young children ran giggling through the ‘maze’; and a blonde being told off for skipping merrily between the blocks. #WhatWereTheyThinking? For details check the website.

ICH LIEBE GREEN: If the weather is good, hit one of Berlin‘s many green spaces that sprout wild and luscious throughout the city. Lustgarten is right in the middle of tourist mayhem, but we prefer biking through the lovely Tiergarten (it also welcomes sun-loving nudists!)…or take a stroll along the Spree…

ART ZONE: Looking into the window of a Mitte art gallery a middle-aged American guy enthuses, “This is my kind of art” at a knitted sculpture of Superman crashed into a wall… Get started with a chilled art crawl and coffee hop of the galleries in Mitte… Check out the latest shows on SugarHigh or create a hit-list with this gallery hit-list by BangBangBerlin. The free app by the Collecionist Art Guide is also pretty decent.

At the Barn Cafe all the waiters had Antipodean accents. They do a mean cup of coffee and some of the best sandwiches we’ve eaten. Ever. Anywhere. Too bad we didn’t have room for cake.

EAST SIDE GALLERY: A crush of elderly tourists obstruct a mural of Reagan and Gorbachev in a passionate embrace. Blocking my view: a cane wielding gent in his late 70’s wearing a New York Yankees cap, I note the blue veins running down the back of his elderly ears. The longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall is one of those ‘must-do’s. Hire a bike – it‘s more fun that way.

COFFEE: In Bonanza Coffee Heroes a near religious calm prevails as two hipsters work their magic over the Synesso Cyncra coffee machine; like priests in a pulpit or DJs at the deck. Note, seating is limited to outdoor benches and perching on bags of coffee beans. Great for a perk-me-up or refresher after a trip to Sunday‘s Maur Park flea market where gems spotted include vintage crockery sets and a child’s pair of green suede lederhosen.

MUSEUM: “I didn’t quite catch that.” Eerie, sad, kitsch and surreal; re-live the Lives of Others at the slightly-down-at-heel Stasi Museum where unfortunate East German citizens previously found themselves “detained for the clarification of facts”. An ominous charge if we ever heard one. Displays range from watch-operated spy cameras to bugged bird-houses and human ‘smell samples’ of potential dissidents. Get the background by reading Anna Fundar’s hypnotic and excellent Stasiland.

DINNER: We can’t decide what’s nicer, Da Baffi, a cheap, cute-as-a-button Italian restaurant in Wedding or old school elegance at Renger Patzch in Schoenberg. (We road tested these excellent tips thanks to Foodie in Berlin, who also suggested HBC in Mitte for the atmosphere – we’d put it on the hit-list for drinks and hi-jinx. ) Other ideas include the Shy Chef, eating dinner with strangers at a secret supper club, or pop-up, food events staged by the likes of the Agora Collective.

DRINKING: In the dimly-lit Hotel Bar a young woman sits on the floor beside me and starts eating an enormous Lebanese cucumber she pulls from her bag. Meanwhile a gently smiling bartender carefully snuffs and replaces the candles and adjusts a humble glass jars of garden flowers on my table. This innocuous watering hole in Kreuzberg hides an cheerful interior that can border on the frenzied. Hipster crowd, cheap drinks, great music,…. Low-Fi buzz meets gemütlichkeit. The owners also offerrooms (elsewhere) that are available for rent on request according to an ephemeral selection process.

Welcome to Berlin: echoing a cabaret act from the 20′s, enjoy Berliner Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester, he and his dancing girls await you…

Shoreditch, loads of graf including this little squirrel beastie by Belgian artist Roa (Image by HWL)

The neighbourhood: Tell us about it.
Shoreditch – still killing it after all these years. The recent regeneration has only made it better and more approachable, if not a little more self-conscious. Natural home to the hipster (don’t wear socks if you want to blend in). Train carriages on top of warehouses, chalk stripe suits with pink shirts, the creative bourgeoise, a constant waft of sweet tandoori, with a layer of graffiti on top.

Hang it all at the Eames Room, at the Boundary Hotel in London.

The Hotel: What’s the concept?
Design hotel on the financial fringes, catering to media and creative industries and the odd discerning City exec. part of the Conran group it builds on the successful example set by Shoreditch House without all the bells and whistles. Good value when compared with the standard bearers of London hoteliery.

The Eileen Gray Room, the risk here is going out and coming home to find that Le Corbusier has decided to paint all over it. Not much of a risk, given the circs…

The crowd: What’s the vibe?
Relaxed and cool, maybe a touch Parisienne…

Tell us about the rooms:
Room was massive… It was one of the corner suites, the ‘Shaker’. Standard rooms are still pretty good… Bigger than normal.

Get back to your modernist roots in the Bauhaus Room at the Boundary Hotel.

The Hotel: What is it ideal for in the context of London?
Brilliant business hotel given proximity to the City. On your days off you have something more exciting than the West End to explore. Great little pubs close by like the Owl and Pussycat and the George & Dragon. Voluminous shopping opportunities at Boxpark, Spitalfields and Brick Lane… and just along Redchurch St there are some fun boutiques like APC, Catch & Release and Aubin & Wills.

The Hoxton branch of the White Cube gallery is within strolling-while-whistling distance….Here shown a previous exhibition by Marcus Harvey featuring a mohawked Churchill and a portrait of Thatcher constructed from an assortment of cast objects, including sex toys and corn cobs. (Image by HWL)

The clubs have become a little ‘bridge & tunnel’ (like the lower east side), so best avoided on weekends or stick to the pubs and bars. Oh, and have a beer with Tracey Emin at the Golden Heart… if she’s not there you can enjoy some of her original work in the loo.

Breakfast bacon bap at the Albion – they do a decent light supper and scrummy afternoon tea too.

Pluses: What did you love?
The food is incredible… the Albion caf is a great way to start the morning with porridge and prunes or a bacon bap. The formal French restaurant downstairs is simply awe inspiring… the lapin a la moutarde is still fresh in my memory. Not to be eaten every night as you will rue the lack of a gym, but don’t leave without venturing downstairs.

Mind your silver plates and go the chaud lapin at the Boundary…

Minuses: Where could it improve?
The reception and entrance are quite small and not that awe inspiring, although functional. I would say a gym, but there are plenty of Boris Bikes around…

Tips: do you have any?
Take the east London line down to Peckham Rye and visit the park and Lordship Lane.

Bookings: Contact the Boundary Hotel

Lullaby: Fall asleep to Golden Brown by the Stranglers

Christian: Employee of the Month

About Christian:

Corporate hostage with enthusiastic delusions of creative escape.

Explore the inner workings of his heinous mind on Tumblr Everything I do Is Wrong.

Or why not stalk him on Twitter: @legalotter.

Our drawing of our Loft Room on the 2nd floor at the Michelberger Hotel. For the last couple of years we have been drawing our favourite hotel rooms, and we now have a nice collection of Moleskin Japanese albums… (Image by HWL)

The Michelberger Hotel in Berlin has been on our hipster hotel hit list for a few years now. Finally, we had the chance to go! A Leonard Cohen soundtrack and retro glasses of well-priced prosecco in the hotel’s candle-lit bar kicked-off the perfect sojourn in Berlin…

Wise words in the lobby of the Michelberger Hotel, Berlin. (Image by HWL)

The neighbourhood: Looking on a tourist map of Berlin you feel like the Michelberger might be a little bit out-of-the-way – but not at all. The location offers all the transport links, from trains to bike paths, to get you into the heart of the action (naked sun-bathing in the Tiergarten, jostling it out with the tourists at Brandenburg Gate, strolling the bijou boutiques in Mitte or tagging  hapless passers-by according to your tastes). But more importantly in Berlin it’s the suburbs where the good stuff is happening – so if you want to eat, drink and make merry, you’re in close proximity to the emerging areas of Kreuzberg and Neukölln. Note that East Side Gallery – the largest remaining painted stretch of the Berlin Wall is just around the corner.

The Clever One – an example of the Luxe room category at the Michelberger Hotel – has a saucy librarian aesthetic. Now to take off those heavy frames and shake-out that hair.

The Hotel: The Michelberger weds a bohemian aesthetic and happening vibe with a friendly welcome (OK, so it’s less of a wedding duo and more of a love triangle).  It seems to have taken the best of those 20-something travelling experiences (camaraderie, sociable communal areas, friendly service) and combined them with the best of hotel living – clean rooms, fresh linen and a more sophisticated design aesthetic. The cool bar area is great at any time of the day – if you find yourself knackered at the end of a big day in Berlin and can’t convince your feet to take you back out over the threshold, there’s no shame in spending a night in. (Well, only a little bit.)

Boomshakalakaboom: the exterior of the Michelberger Hotel in Berlin (Image by HWL)

What we loved: The creative atmosphere, the playful design aesthetic, the friendliness of the staff. Late check-outs on request for night performers such as burlesque dancers/DJs/musos/ and other creative slash types. While we didn’t take advantage of them we thought the free daily activities (eg: Sunday outing to the Mauerpark Flea Market) were a nice touch for travellers in the mood for company and hassle-free entertainment.

Paper lantern: while you can start the day in the breakfast room, we preferred a quiet coffee and pastry in the cafe/bar area…a very chilled way to wake up. (Image by HWL)

Minuses/Room to improve: Rooms on the first floor may be exposed to some bar noise; some room categories (Loft, Band) have mezzanine sleeping areas accessed by precarious and narrow staircases – not recommended for the non-mobile, the non-thin or if you’re planning to get drunk a lot. (In the latter case, we recommend crashing out on the day bed on the ground floor.) Mezzanine rooms are warm and could get rather hot in summer – if you of the sensitive ilk, pack ear-plugs so you can sleep with the windows open without being woken by traffic and assorted merry pranksters of the night. While the cleaning staff get our full sympathy (imagine lugging cleaning implements up those teeny stairs) some rooms could do with a little more maintenance – the odd scuff mark removed etc – to keep things looking sharp.

Bunking down with the roadies in one of the big band rooms. Both these and Loft Rooms feature mezzanines.

Tips: Ask for a room on the third or second floor for more light, better views, and more distance from the bar/street noise. Those facing the main road will get the sun in the morning. Transport enthusiasts and urban planners will enjoy watching the stream and interaction of pedestrians, cyclists, tramways, the U-Bahn and S-Bahn  lines and street traffic. The hotel has two excellent maps at reception featuring their personal guide to the city – one of cultural sites; one of bars and restaurants. We recommend you pick one up.

Hello sunshine: we advocate a Loft Room with a window desk for anyone with a transport spotting related compulsion. (Image by HWL)

Bookings: for bookings contact the Michelberger Hotel.

Lullaby?: That’s too easy. Fall asleep to the Leonard Cohen classic…

Mornin’ Sunshine: room with balcony and wooden shutters. (Image by HWL)

The neighbourhood:  Predictably Shoreditch House is located bang in the middle of Shoreditch – that means you are looking at a semi-industrial landscape with a trademark EINE graffiti wall on one side and the light railway line on the other. It’s glamour, London-style, but on the upside you are very much in Hipster-Central, near a patch of excellent cafes such as Terence Conran’s Albion Cafe and the rustic Leila’s Shop; art galleries like the Rocket Gallery in the Tea Building & White Cube (Hoxton Square branch), street art galleries like Pure Evil and the Village Underground and the cool shops of the surrounding streets and Brick Lane.  There’s great street art everywhere, too.

A rather forceful looking ’4′ at Shoreditch House. (Image by HWL)

What’s On Offer/The Crowd: Shoreditch House is part of the growing SOHO House empire – it is essentially a ‘member’s club’ for London-based media types which offers multi-level indie entertainment (bar, restaurant, cinema etc) including a much loved and photographed rooftop pool and bar. They host a swag of invitation-only media events such as book and film launches, which attract a nice crowd of creative types every night of the week.  Basically if you work in media in London there is no escaping Shoreditch house.  The good news is, the hotel is open for everyone, and if you are visiting London it’s your chance to mix with a cool crowd of locals at a very reasonable price (for London, that is).

London calling: the devil is in the details, at Shoreditch House. (Image by HWL)

The Hotel: It’s a good place to stay if you are in London for work and your meetings are on the East End. It’s anything but corporate but it is well set-up with a lot of common areas (think football tables; many bars etc) and is a great way to get people to come to you for a change – Londoners find it hard to refuse a rooftop drink on a sunny day. It’s also nice for a weekend if you are planning to hang out in Shoreditch, Dalston or London Fields (which is where things are these days in London).

A heady mix of cocktails and the famous ‘Gherkin’ on the fabulous roof-top of Shoreditch House.

Pluses: The bedroom decor is a success – think ‘institutional’ with a subdued ‘maritime’ theme –grey vertical wood panels, school chairs, white tiles. While this sounds like a very bad idea on paper, it works, and creates a rather minimalist, yet warm and cosy atmos. The individual balconies are great, and so are the large internal wooden shutters with which you can play to create your own personal light show. All in all, it’s rather upbeat, and very comfortable.

The public spaces – the downstairs bar is beautiful and the rooftop one, well… it’s spectacular.

Decisions, decisions… An understated slightly salty maritime theme pervades at Shoreditch House, in London. (Image by HWL)

Minuses:  I wasn’t a great fan of the overly warm and OTT welcome (including hugs, or was it an arm squeeze?) and detailed instructions as how to fill my bags with the complementary beauty products. (Yes I have been in hotel before! – mind you it was a rather nice package of Cowshed stuff and I did take them home, as instructed, thank you!). But one can hardly complain about warm welcomes.

Shoreditch House: a nice mix of mod cons and homely touches, such as hot water bottles and wooly blankets. (Image by HWL)

The Vibe: Staying there reminded me of French artist Philippe Ramette’s  ‘Device for Becoming the Hero of your Own Life’ artwork (a sort of wearable harness that plays a soundtrack for your life – to see it, scroll down on this annoying web page) – you have been cast in a film where you are a cool urban creative with an exciting network of cool urban creative friends signing up book deals or generally going somewhere. I suspect it can be a bit tiring, sometimes, and not always relaxing if you are feeling a bit low.

Anyone for mind games? Playtime at Shoreditch House in London.