Hotel Insider: 25 Hours Bikini, Berlin

Checking into the new 25 Hours Bikini hotel in Berlin, Germany.

Jungle room at 25hours Hotel Bikini. Courtesy 25hours Hotel Company

The welcome

No one can say the 25hours Bikini is dull. On entrance, a Morris Minor with a makeshift bed sits underneath three dangling bicycles. A rotating advertising billboard displays street art-esque collage images. And the lift up to the third-floor reception plays a video art installation. The room’s not ready when I arrive (fairly early in the morning, admittedly), so I take a lazy swing in the hammock next to the in-house bakery. Out of the window, I can look down at the enclosures of Berlin Zoo. And, when I do get to the room, more wildlife awaits – there’s a grinning stuffed monkey on the side table.

The neighbourhood

The Zoo area (no prizes for guessing where the name comes from) has been in something of a hibernation since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. It’s close to west Berlin’s main shopping street – the Kurfürstendamm – but has felt ploddingly commercial while the east of the city has undergone massive change. But things are starting to click again. The new Waldorf Astoria hotel opened recently, and the hip-looking Bikini “concept mall” is in the soft-opening phase at the moment. The 25hours hotel is at the eastern end of the mall.

The room

It’s definitely going for sexy over standard. There’s a somewhat open-plan feel, with the shower only partially blocked from view and an open rail instead of a wardrobe. Lights hang down, pot plants sit on top of the fridge and cushions on the bed say: “Let’s spend the night together”. As with the rest of the hotel, it’s young and it’s fun.

The scene

The queue outside the lift to the top-floor restaurant, with its imperious views overlooking the zoo and the Tiergarten park, is a fair indication that the hotel has the hip factor. It plugs into Berlin’s sizzling energy quite marvellously – anyone wanting neutral and conservative need not apply.

The service

Many similar hotels fall into the trap of having staff who think their sole purpose is to look cool. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. It’s casual – no one’s in any sort of uniform – but all very helpful.

The food

Reservations are a good idea for the restaurant, which is clearly something of a hotspot so soon after opening. But staff will try to juggle bookings to squeeze hotel guests in where possible. There’s a strong Levantine leaning to the menu. My €19 (Dh97) grilled chicken with Oriental spices, fresh herbs, hummus, tahini and pitta bread, was fabulously flavoursome and got wolfed down quicker than is strictly decorous.

Loved

That they lend you an iPad if you want one and have a range of free bikes that they let you loose on in an excellent, flat city for cyclists. And they even have a Mini which, subject to availability, guests can use gratis.

Hated

The lighting in the room is all very cool and moody – one by the door is constantly changing colours – but even with everything switched on, when the curtains are closed the room is incredibly dark. As in often struggling-to-read-what’s-right-in-front-of-you dark.

The verdict

Bursting with creativity and a great fit for the high-energy city it’s in, the 25hours Bikini reaps the rewards of daring to be different.

The bottom line

Doubles at the 25hours Hotel ­Bikini Berlin (www.25hours-­hotels.com; 0049 30 12 02 21 0) are from €111 (Dh567) a night, excluding breakfast.