A city abundant in vampirish nightclubs open till days gone by, stylish side streets full of vibrant art, and kitsch coffee shops, Berlin is a hot ticket if you wish to down a limitless pill and go on whirlwind excursion.
Most frequent stories shared about Berlin involve late night (or late morning) nightclubs like Berghain and nights at Soho House.
What was most eye-opening on my recent Berlin trip was the plethora of amazing foods from homemade Chinese dumplings at Meet You, varieties of mouth-watering X-Berg duck at Kreuzberg restaurant within Orania Hotel, amazing Baklava homemade in an award-winning Syrian shop Konditorei Damaskus, and my first time trying Yemeni cuisine at Jemenitsches. In my research, I discovered the Instagram account Berlin Food Stories which led me down the path of dumpling hunting.
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SubscribeBerlin has a similar monetary value of food as London does so it’s quite a high-priced city where you see financiers on bicycles and can buy a small 100g bag of coffee beans from The Barn for around 12-14 Euros. I found myself searching for the best coffee, eating some of the best spicy Shanghainese noodles I have ever had at Liu Nudelhaus, and discovering beautifully baked homemade doughnuts at Atelier Dough.
And, after all the food hunting, the top place to stay in Berlin is Telegraphenamt Hotel.
Located in the high-end town of Mitte, Telegraphenamt Hotel is a gorgeous grand building that was once an imperial telecommunications centre, and the largest post office in all of Europe. Built by architect Max Lehmann between 1910 and 1916, the building sent 20,000 Telegrams a day.
Upkeeping the historical building, it was transformed into a private hotel in 2020 and now reigns as one of the most gorgeous hotels in all of Berlin. Imposing stonework, massive windows, and gorgeous interior accents of natural earth tones from woody brown, gilded bronze, sage green – the design is reminiscent of industrialisation in the 1920’s. Interior design firm Dreimeta retained original exposed brickwork whilst incorporating modern design to each room.
The cosy bedrooms, maisonettes, and suites are moody with atmospheric lighting, large grey stone bathrooms with rainforest showers, and underfloor heating. Room views are over Monbijoupark, Berlin Cathedral, the Pergamon Museum, the Rotes Rathaus, and the TV Tower.
The hotel entrance leads into a maze of different rooms – from the open dining room with large globe lighting painted like Miro baubles. The high ceiling filled with light and tree foliage enhances the inner courtyard-like atmosphere. There is a separate seating area where the old post office equipment, the pneumatic tube system, can be seen through glass.
Hallways lead to the best gym and aesthetics facilities in Berlin – a huge 1,200m² gym with TechnoGym equipment, spa, steam bath, Finnish sauna, and Dr Emi Skin Spa aesthetic treatments area.
Telegraphenamt boasts an amazing sushi restaurant at reception called Root Bistro headed up by chef Ryota. Onsite, you will also find the popular Bavarian brewery and restaurant Dieselhaus, known for its winter goose and Wiener Schnitzel.
Telegaphenamt is in Mitte, across from Fotografiska Museum in the former Tacheles and near the Sprüth Magers gallery, and Hackesche Höfe. Landmark sites are nearby such as Brandenburg Gate, Alexanderplatz, and Checkpoint Charlie.
Monbijoustr, 11
10117 Berlin
Germany
+49 (0)30 994 05 90
By Jessica Patterson
