Leonardo Royal Hotel Berlin

Restaurant
Server Willet (sp) was very nice and fun and great for service. We had him service us two days in a row

Everything was good
Curry worst
Mackerel was fishy but my fault since it was mackerel I should not have ordered it

WORST hotel I have stayed in, in my 75 years on earth. Was depressed for a year, thereafter. Really!

I must say: this hotel was my big mistake. I've read good reviews and saw photos, and then decided to stay there, but it's absolutely uncomfortable place. First of all, we changed the room THREE times. Imagine that. First room was pretty dark and had a big TV right in front of the bed. So, actually, the TV stayed ON the bed. It's really crazy. And it's so fucking far from 4-stars hotel's style.

Okay. The second room was very old, dirty and air conditioner didn't work, the staff checked it and say -- "are you sure? it works!". But, of course, it didn't work properly. Everyone knows how the good conditioner feels, so staff just acted.

The third room wasn't dirty (thanks, God!), but still had problem with air conditioner. I suppose, the WHOLE hotel has problem with this system. I can compare it to Ibis or Holiday Inn, buy these guys don't know about good and proper air conditioning (even when it's +30!).

Bed linen was also old and uncomfortable. How this hotel can achieve 4 stars? I really don't understand. It's a shame.

And the final thing -- this is absolutely muslim hotel. With touristic groups etc. No problem for me, but it's very very loud! Decide you!

We had the greatest stay here!!

Alexanderplatz is maybe two or three blocks away, so it's a very short 10 minute walk until you're in the very busy part of town. Checkpoint Charlie is a GOOD walk from the hotel, it took us almost 30 minutes, but we also stopped and took pictures of things along the way. Brandenburg gate is also about a 20 minute walk away. If you're into walking short distances I would definitely recommend this place.

There's a few places to eat that are close by, we ordered take out from lily burger, since this place was not very kid friendly at all. But their burgers are extremely delicious and tall. There's also an edeka right before the hotel so if you don't wanna pay the 19€ per person for breakfast this is a LOVELY alternative; it's a grocery store.

There's three parking lots to park at, and with a rate of only 18€ for 24 hours it's not bad AT ALL. We kept our car at the hotel and chose to walk everywhere we possibly could.

Now the room, we traveled with a baby, we were given a handicap room because it's a tad bit bigger than the regular rooms they offer. Not complaining, since my daughter is a roller and after a long day sitting in the carrier she was soooo happy she had a lot of room to roll around. It was a little hotter in the rooms then we would have liked, our room temperature was all the way down to 5C but because of the positioning of the ac vents we couldn't feel them at all if we laid on the bed.

The food here is very pricey. But there's plenty of options. There's a bar downstairs along with a restaurant, both are very expensive. And we chose to go to edeka and lily burger and during the day we ate out.

Location of this hotel is convenient to reach via public transportation (close to the tram and the bus, and 15 mins walking from alexanderplatz train station). The area itself it not the greatest, there are some residential buildings mixed in with hotels and other businesses, but not much for tourists to see.

The hotel itself it large and nice. Bed was comfortable, and it had a full shower with no tub. The floor we were on was quiet and our room was close to the elevator and a vending machine with snacks, drinks, and alcohol. The only negative to this room was that the AC unit was really loud all the time. If you are a light sleeper this might be a problem for you.

The breakfast was included with our room and it has plenty of options to chose from. Staff were helpful and attentive both in the restaurant, at the front desk, and concierge.

I would not consider this hotel a 4 star, like it is listed, and even though our stay was pleasant, I am giving it 3 stars for the location as well as the issues with the AC unit.

Hotel was clean and very comfortable with very good buffet breakfast. It was a bit far from things, but only about 10-minute walk to Alexanderplatz. Great value! I would really like to give it 3 1/2 stars.

Some people advise asking for a courtyard room to minimize the noise from the churchbells. We tried but couldn't get one, but found the bells perfectly fine. Then again, we don't sleep in much while on this type of vacation.

I did send several emails to the hotel, about how to get in from the airport and requesting rooms on the courtyard side. Unfortunately, I never received any kind of response.

Food poisoning: ordered ravioli room service for dinner at this hotel. Two hours later, severe cramps, stomach pain and nausea to the point I could not get to the phone to ring concierge. Nearly 23 hours later, I made it to the phone to order ginger ale and they will not waive the room service fee unless I walk down to the bar to get it myself. They gave me food poisoning, yet....I'm charged to deal with the aftermath.

I missed a pre-paid full-day tour + prepaid driver + prepaid lunch and dinner because of this. And I was unable to eat for the next 4 days.

Possible solutions:
-Complimentary ginger ale
-Reimburse for the cost of the pre-paid trip + driver + meals
-Reimburse at least 1 out of 5 nights' stay
-Waive the room service fee

So many options, but they did none of these things.

The knocking: as I'm laying in bed with nothing to do, unable to eat, just trying to sleep, the staff keeps knocking and waking me up! By 10am I had (1) someone checking the windows (2) someone asking about the minibar (3) someone bringing water (4) someone asking to clean the room (5) someone asking to fix the card key battery (6) someone knocking just to see if I was in the room and surprised to see that I was. SIX people knocking before 10am. It's IMPOSSIBLE to get rest.

My friends stayed at Hotel de Rome and had excellent food and service. That's my only other point of reference, but for only $150 more, it seems WELL worth it.

The only reason I didn't change hotels myself is because I pre-paid this whole stay as part of a group and I had to stay with them. My fees also could not be pulled or refunded from the group's.

Good: Location was good. Hotel room is confortable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bad: Cold but polite reception at the hotel. Only informed us our room number. We know nothing about the hotel facilities. No information. The room was little sign of not bothered. Tv channels did not correspond to the list provided. The iron had something stuck, could not be used ... hole in the curtain (a cigarette), sheets with small black spots (for a cigarette, probably) and some hair, dust in many places, carpet dirty, and worst of all: trash under the bed. Disgusting. At the reception we received only a timid apology. The last day the cleaning boy came to wake up at 8:00! (as we had no sign of "bother "...).

Nice place, but not quite a four star. The style is boutique, small, nicely appointed rooms and the staff is incredibly friendly, even to non-Deutsch speaking yanks! ;-)

However, the feel is a bit isolated, even in the renaissance of once Soviet bloc East Berlin. However, the area is considered nice, newer and in a somewhat fashionable area of town. There is a small convenience store near by, a larger market and steakhouse about a block away, but they aren't set-up as a full service Western style hotel. Room service can be difficult to come by and the breakfast here is PAINFULLY expensive, €18 euros, (plus €4 Euros each time you order room service)! My guess is that they're taking a bit of advantage of guests not having any other choice for breakfast. A'la carte ordering isn't an option, it's the pricey breakfast buffet or bust.

For guys like me who've gotta have their a/c, each room has it's own wall controlled central air and you'll be nice and comfortable. However, don't ask for a fan at the desk, they'll think it's odd. (I don't know why, they just will..I tried)

A lovely old church, gothic in style and looking both pre and post war, is right next door, on it's own little hill and surrounded by gardens and overgrowth. Very tucked away and a bit mysterious. If you stay on the 2nd or 3rd floors on the north-facing hallway, you'll look out at it; the bells ring each hour with longer ringings at noon and 10. If that bothers you, ask for a room away from the north side of the hotel, but I found it really lovely and such a nice thing to look out on each morning and afternoon.

Four nights, without breakfast included (which you can add for an additional €14.00 per day) came in a little bit over €300.00... Remember, that's Euros. A bit pricey, particularly for the area, but not the wurst deal going. (Ha! I said 'Wurst'! Get it?! Okay, sorry.)

Wi-Fi isn't free and is slow and very, VERY spotty. Not worth the money but if you've got to have it, you've got to have it. Enjoy your stay!

My wife and I moved from the Berlin Hilton to this hotel following a Viking river boat cruise on the Elbe (reviewed at www.cruisecritic.com). We made the move because this hotel saved us approximately $200 per day over the Hilton. We specifically requested a Leonardo Hotel because of our wonderful experience at the Leonardo property in Frankfurt Germany last year. We were led to believe that this hotel is centrally located ... close to Alexanderplatz. While it is only 0.6 miles from the square, that is a lot further than it sounds. However, there is a tram line that stops at the corner near the hotel that will take you to Alexanderplatz where you can change for subway, bus and other trams. Other than one Tex-Mex (of all things) restaurant nearby, there is NOTHING close to the hotel.

I suspect that this hotel is in one or more former Soviet era apartment building(s) that have been renovated after the reunification of Germany. This, in itself, it NOT a bad thing. The hotel is immaculately clean. The hotel does provide free wifi in the rooms; something that Hilton needs to do instead of outright thievery!

In the Leonardo room, the AC turns off unless key left in room switch. It takes hours to cool a room that has been unused for a while. The hallways are AIRLESS and highly unpleasant.

Possibly because of the Soviet era construction, the bathroom area design is somewhat strange. The very nice, very functional, shower offers NO privacy. The toilet is tiny cubicle but functional.

The front desk staff were friendly and somewhat helpful, but they defer to the Concierge who has short hours, is swamped, stressed and speaks much too fast, although with excellent English. In fact, the Concierge was our biggest disappointment! The Front Desk could have told us about the Berlin Welcome package, that includes multi-day transit and museum passes. None of the Reception desk personnel mentioned it! They referred us to the Concierge whose rapid speech provided no useful assistance. We found her information so confusing that we opted for separate transit and museum passes. We later learned that the Berlin Welcome package would have saved us money.

Breakfast was okay, but on our first morning it was pandemonium with many, many people from groups staying at the hotel. The breakfast staff tried very hard to be helpful, especially to to a gluten free guest.

I am giving this hotel only an "Average" rating because of the lack of air in the hallways and, notably, the poor assistance provided by the Concierge.