MICHELBERGER HOTEL

If you’re one to jump in at the deep end, this is where you’ll want to stay to immerse yourself fully in a creative Berlin experience. Owner Tom Michelberger and designer Werner Aisslinger have created a 119-room hang-out that mixes industrial raw with quirky DIY chic, and a place to stay with a place to meet and interact with other people. The rooms – basic but comfortable and with TVs and free Wi-Fi – vary from small “Cosy” habitats to the eight-bed “The Big One”, with several intermediate options to accommodate groups or simply a desire for more space, but it’s the communal spaces that make the place come into its own. Full of interesting design details, the restaurant, lounge and bar – doubling up as a performance space at night – attract the kind of arty, self-consciously cool Berliner crowds that you’ll either love or hate. Either way, the value and design experience offered by Michelberger’s creative commune is hard to top.